josheudowe Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 <p>I am looking to purchase my first lighting setup and it was suggested that I look at AlienBees. Knowing little about which brands are the higher quality and which are lower, more cost effective solutions, I knew this is the place to get some feedback!<br> Thanks!<br> Josh</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 <p>You will find nearly endless threads here and elsewhere praising the AB products for their quality and for the company's customer support <em>given the price range</em>. <br /><br />Of course there's better equipment. In practical terms, you get stuff that's more rugged, has a more consistent color temperature as you vary power, etc. But you'll often pay several times the money. I have a few devices from Paul Buff (the guy who makes the Alien Bees, White Lighting, Zeus, and upcoming Einstein brands). Have never had a single problem. <br /><br />A lot of this will have to do with how abusive you think you'll need to be (are you shooting on location 5 days a week, with a crew of interns banging the equipment around?). <br /><br />If your budget for a given configuration (number of lights, modifiers, etc) happens to line up with gear from the AB line, then you'll not be unhappy at all. Very pleased, actually.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 <p>If you are thinking about getting the Alien Bees, you should wait till the new Models come out. They should be out by the end of this month. From what I heard, the quality is great but they are still a beginner/budget set up so don't expect the quality you get in units costing a grand and up.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_a5 Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 <p>I have used the sister white lightnings all of my career, about 20 years as a pro, and still use my original heads! Color balance has never been an issue with them for me and they have travelled pretty much throughout the entire US on assignment. I looked at all the different systems over the years and couldn't ever really justify switching. There were features here and there that might have been nice on other systems, but overall the flexibility of the WL's was just perfect for my needs. Even for the table top work I did for much of my early career, the WL's ability to adjust power with a slider versus in fixed increments just fit my way of working perfectly.</p> <p>The people I know with the Alien Bees seem very happy with them and my units, the Ultra 1800's, look very similar to what I have seen on line as part of AB's current offerings.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josheudowe Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 <p>Great, thanks a lot!</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_yee Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 <p>Harry: FYI, the ABMax is having its power supply redesigned to be analog instead of a switching PS. There's no way they'll be released by the end of the month because of testing/prototype/certification time. Think 3-4 months. However, they have a nice upgrade policy in place...anything you buy after July 1st can be traded for the new ones when released for full price minus shipping.</p><p><br></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josheudowe Posted July 17, 2009 Author Share Posted July 17, 2009 <p>That's great to know... I was hesitant on waiting, but now I know I can buy now and worry about trading up soon.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan_stiles Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 <p>I have one Buff product, and I've had to send it back for repairs after limited use. B/c of the descripency in reports-- and the amount of praise to customer support-- I'd guess the quality itself is good, but the quality control is what you'd expect for the price.</p> <p>Photogentics now has a unit that takes the 2lb. battery from another company for remote work: that has put them over Bees for my monolight recommendation now.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 <p>The beauty about the Bees is that they have a very low Flash duration during Full Power. This a great feature when it comes to Sports, or fast moving subjects.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vishi_anand Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 <blockquote> <p>Photogentics now has a unit that takes the 2lb. battery from another company for remote work: that has put them over Bees for my monolight recommendation now.</p> </blockquote> <p>Nathan - Can you please give some more info about this. Thanks.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_abbitt Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 <p>Anybody have a link for Photogentics?<br> I was waiting for the alian bee max units, but have really got fed up with waiting,<br> cheers</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bolton2 Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 <p>Why wait? The "regular" Bee line is awesome.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devon_mccarroll Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 <p>Ken, re: what you mentioned about buying the original AB's and trading for the new ones when they come out, that only applies to the people who pre-ordered the new AB Max lights. If you didn't get on the pre-order list, they won't give you that deal.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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