I am looking for a new set of strobes and really have come to an end. The extensive varieties are just clouding my decisions. I want a good set of 4 for portrait work, my last set was by square perfect a good starter set but never really had the power or recycle time. Any recommendations out there.
my personal recommendation would be photogenic...although our studio uses alien bees as well...both work great and are fairly economical but still high quality. Both companies offer strobes with different power...and both offer a nice set of light modifiers.
I'm just getting into it but I can tell you from the research that I have done that Alien Bees/White Lightning are very popular but are considered by some not to be "pro-level" quality although I do see professionals using them. Profotos are considered to be high quality and very durable and hence many rental places carry these and so some people gravitate towards them because if they need to supplement their equipment for a particular shoot the Profoto stuff is much more readily available. Elinchrom is worth looking at also.
Unless "your daddy's rich and your momma's good looking" forget about Profoto and similar expensive gear
Go with what photomarvin suggested. This leaves enough cash so that you don't have to be picky or reluctant when it comes to purchasing light formers, the much more important part of lighting gear.
Like cars its mostly a matter of how much you want to spend.
Look at the Alien Bee and White Lighting lines, both sold direct by Paul Buff, Inc. located in Nashville. Paul is an somewhat eccentric genius in his 70's who prior to getting into flash production built his own audio recording gear and engineered many of the early 60's Rock & Roll classics and much of Frank Zappa's work. He sold his recording studio to Zappa and moved East to Nashville.
White Lightings are the units you'll see lighting nearly every "photo with Santa" operation in every shopping mall in the US, selected because they are solid and reliable. Some I've seen are models 20 years old. Paul seeing a new potential market for studio lighting gear the instant feedback digital photography would create, took the WL line and retooled it with less expensive but equally durable plastic cases in day-glow colors with goofy marketing targeted at the hobbyist rather than the traditional professional market for studio lighting gear. Part of that business plan was supporting that market tier, which tends to need lots of hand-holding and advice, with stellar customer service. As a result word of mouth referrals Alien Bees now dominate and define value on the entry level of studio flash gear and in some areas like control the products are equal or superior to the high-end brands.
So my advice is work out your budget then go window shopping at the Alien Bee site. If you want a GMC truck instead of Chevy go next door and look at the White Lighting line. Then with that for comparison shop the other brands and compare what you can buy within your budget.
I have 3 AB800's & 1 AB1600 and couldn't be happier. Another benefit of Paul C Buff is that the modifiers are reasonably priced. I don't know many people who have $1200 to spend on a 3' softbox. PCB is only $140 for the same thing. That and the CyberCommander is what sold me on AlienBees.
I am real happy with my Alienbees (2 AB800 and a AB1600). They also really seem to hold their value. The light modifiers are reasonably priced as well. Unless someone else is footing the bill I think the "Bees" are teh way to go.
I will agree that the Alien bees will do wonderful for starting out and, but there is a reason other brands are popular among professionals. I did own several Alien bee Lights so I do have experience with them, but after several failures form use/abuse and defective parts, I decided to move on.
Yes Alien bees offers a good range of modifiers for someone starting out but the problem is the Alien Bees/Balcar mount is not common so there is little chance of just picking up an accessory at your local shop. If you need a snoot or a beauty dish you have to order them and they have to be shipped. This is not too bad, but when you have a last minute booking and you could use a few extra parts it is a pain.
My only other disappointment with them is the modeling lamp, with a max of 150W on the Alien bees; it is just not bright enough to be useful in anything but a pitch-black room.
If the lights meet your needs, buy them, but be sure to walk into your local dealer and look what they have to offer, there is a lot to be said for having local support from even a retailer. In many cases if your local shop has rentals, and one of your lights needs to be repaired, they will lend you one if you need it while yours is away.
With up and coming products coming out, does anyone see it as a bad idea to invest in the original Alien Bee lights? Are they being replaced or supplemented?
Bad idea? Not really. It's not like lights become obsolete or unusable in the scheme of things. But, it does looks like Buff will finally be adding digital control to future models, which IMO provides significant operational benefits.
As I recall, Buff has offered upgrade paths to those that bought into old technology in the past. Might be worth checking into.
AFAIK, supplemented. The older bees are at a lower price point. The abmax/einstein is more expensive than the B1600 ($470 vs. $350) for the same power output but different features.
