Now that i\'ve switched to elinchrom from AB, I thought I would add some additional comments (assuming it\'s ok to discuss this rationally without fanbois feeling the need to beat their chests and pile on....)
The Einstein grips were much stronger than the alienbees grips. The way in which they lock is better too and less prone to error. I think I like the Elinchrom mount a little better. Because it locks into place it\'s a more positive acknowledgement about whether you\'ve got the softbox properly mounted. However, I find that the elinchrom adapters are very soft aluminum and are prone to bending/twisting out of alignment. Considering the price, I\'m very disappointed in this. I actually found the fotodiox adapters to be more sturdy though I had to dremel them to get them to fit. The fotodiox adapter is thicker and more stiff. The elinchrom adapter is 1/3 the price of the softbox ($100).
Additionally, the BXRI 500 goes down to 31 ws which is too high IMO. There are times when I want to shoot at 2.8 or 4.0 and I cannot do it with the elinchrom without moving the softbox back 12 feet.
I do like the fact that the radio slave is built in. It\'s makes for a quick location setup not to have to worry about slave receivers and batteries and the transmitter battery has lasted me a couple dozen shoots so far without needing changing. And I do like the elinchrom skyport transmitter. It\'s very simple and easy to use without having to look at an LED screen.
My take on BXRI vs Einstein:
Mount: Slight Edge to Elinchrom, footnote - Elinchrom OEM adapters are flimsy
Modifiers: Slight edge to Elinchrom in terms of light quality though elinchrom is $$$
Replacement Parts: Buff
Service: Buff
Wireless Ease of use: Elinchrom
Wireless Functionality: Buff
Power Range: Big edge to Buff - goes much lower and has more power too
Overall winner: Buff/Einstein
Sep 11, 2012 at 08:36 AM
Previous versions of jzucker's message #10952213 « Review: Elinchrom BXRI vs AB/Einstein »
