 Donna L. Jones |
Studio Lights Since my very old norman power pack just literally went up in flames during a senior session I need to buy some monolight quickly! Can anyone help me? I need something to use in a small home studio but also strong enough to shoot prom pictures and large groups in a gym. I don't want to be tethered to the lights, use umbrellas now but would like to use softboxes..I'm trying to research: How many watt seconds do I need? What's a good recycle time? What about a slave unit? Which brand is good?...I've heard of Alien Bees,Norman, Photogenic, RSP Studio. Our local store only carries Pro Master which I think is an off brand?...recommendations?....please....? Thanks to anyone who can help!
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hello Donna, I have Alien Bees and a lot of photographers I know also use them. I started with (2) AB800's (the Digi-Bee kit) that comes with 2 lights & 2 CB1 Single Light Carrying Bag 2 LS3050 10-foot General Purpose Light Stands 1 U48TWB 48-inch Translucent White "Shoot-Thru" Umbrella 1 U48SW 48-inch Silver/White Umbrella Here are the specs for their lights: B400 The AlienBees B400 Flash Unit • 160 true Ws, 400 effective Ws, 7,000 Ls • 5 f-stop power range (full to 1/32nd power) • 2.5 pounds total weight $224.95 each B800 The AlienBees B800 Flash Unit B1600 The AlienBees B1600 Flash Unit They also have an assortment of softboxes, beauty dishes, ringlights, transmitter/receivers, etc.. Lots of great stuff - Paul C. Buff - Rocks !!! Pocket Wizards are worth consideration as well. I bought a Pro Master ring light and am not happy with it especially compared to other brands. Lots of Photo stores sell Pro Master stuff but I think this is because of their markup/profit margin more than the quality of the product itself - IMO :) You may be able to get some cheaper gear from Ebay and John Siskin (who teaches a great class for studio lighting) may have some suggestions as well. Hope this helps,
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
I also just saw in this months Rangefinder that Paul C. Buff now have an 86" parabolic light modifier & I will be ordering one very soon :) http://alienbees.com/plm.html http://paulcbuff.com/ Carlton
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Donna L. Jones |
Thanks Carlton! I was thinking of the Alien Bees because I've heard others mention them often. And, I feel the same about Pro master.... I'll get on the Alien Bees site today! Thanks for taking the time for such a thorough answer....great help! Donna
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Donna L. Jones |
Hi Carlton, Just thought of one question. My Normans have a setting for 200 or 400...watt seconds I think. I don't know what true vs. effective means. If I get the 320's would that be close to what I have do you think?
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Hi Donna, I think the B800s would be equivilent and if you will be buying 2 lights, this will suffice. If you are going to get just one light, I would recommend the B1600 as you can always turn the power down, but you cant get more power than what you have to start with. I often do not need to use full power with my B800s and they are easy to use & control. The Alien Bees have a slide control for their power so you dont have just 2 settings, you can adjust for a 5 f-stop range from Full down to 1/32nd of the total power, in whole f-stop increments, and in between :) You will love them Donna, Cheers, Carlton
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Donna L. Jones |
Sounds good to me! Thanks so much for the help! Donna
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Donna, Over the years I have had Norman pack explode, but not catch on fire, yet. I teach here at BP and I have recommended Alien Bees to a lot of students, including, I think Carlton. They are well designed units at a modest price. I usually recommend getting the B1600 for your most powerful light, but I believe in large light sources. Instead of the pocket wizards you might do an eBay search for digital radio slave, you will find hundreds of radio slaves from China priced at about $25. I bee using them for a while, and have been happy. The business with true/effective watt seconds is marketing gone bad. Watt seconds is a measure of power consumption, thus measurable across brands. Since some brands are more efficient at producing light they wanted a measurement that showed that, thus effective watt seconds. The idea is that since my 300 watt second light produces as much light as the other guy’s 600 watt second unit I should be able to say so. I think that the should find some other way of describing light output, because now it is increasingly difficult to talk about power across brands. I think Paul Buff started this, I’m pretty sure he wishes he hadn’t. Promaster is a house brand, usually junk. The other brands you mentioned do produce good gear, but the pricing is not as attractive as the Alien Bees. Carlton,
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Donna L. Jones |
Hi John, Thanks for taking the time to explain the watt/effective thing! And, for letting me know you like the Alien Bees as well. I actually had about 4-5" flames leaping out of the power pack where the cord from the light connected! Quite dramatic if nothing else! I have been tempted to take your lighting class but did the entire New York Institute photography course and used the doll head to practice lighting etc. I would love a course that explains the different types of studio lighting and which is best for which type of subject...also wondering about soft boxes vs. umbrellas, effect of backdrop color on skin tone....things of that sort are what I'm beginning to want to study...so, if something like that comes along please let me know! Thanks again for your help! Donna
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John H. Siskin |
Hi Donna, You might like some of my classes, I would hope they would answer your questions. There will be links with this message. Perhaps you should check out the Business to Business or the Portrait lighting class. Regarding the difference between soft boxes and umbrellas, they are really much more alike than different. The real key is the size, this is square feet of the light source. So if you have a 60-inch umbrella, that has a surface area of about 19.5 feet, about the same as a 4X5 foot soft box. These two units produce about the same light. There are subtle difference at the edges, and, of course, in the reflections of the light. I use umbrellas, and also light panels, most of the time. I have both umbrellas, and soft boxes, as well as light panels, and I use umbrellas most often. They are easier to set-up and cheaper to buy. I almost always use umbrellas in a bounce configuration, rather than shoot through, as this gives me much more control over my light.
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Donna L. Jones |
Thanks John. I really appreciate the info on soft boxes v. umbrellas! I always wondered about that! I have been shooting through the umbrellas thinking it might be softer and more like a soft box but guess I'll go back to bouncing the light into the umbrealla like I used to! When things slow down and the senior portraits season is finished I'll try to sign up for a class! Donna
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John H. Siskin |
Thanks Donna, Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help. John Siskin
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