well ive been using alienbees for basically in-house use. when i took them outdoors today, i felt like i needed to upgrade these heads. 1st the tilting (up n down) lock isnt strong enough and looses lock easily. small wind loosened the lock and the head was moving freely. all plastic body is easily damagable. i heard the light put-out isnt always constant. and most inportantly, last summer, while working outside in the sun, the on-off switch kind of changed form and stopped clicking to on-position. seems like i need a pro head. whats the next step up??

The plastic bodies are actually pretty tough, and I have never had an issue with the locking mechanism even with a heavy soft box. Is this just one head or all of them? Maybe send them in for service.

Yeah, my suggestion would be to send them to Paul Buff, Inc. for some lovin'.

The logical upgrade would be White Lightnings.

If you're going to do outside shooting you may want the white units to reflect the sun/heat.

j.curtis wrote:
If you're going to do outside shooting you may want the white units to reflect the sun/heat.



white units? you mean light bouncers/reflectors?

pentool wrote:
j.curtis wrote:
If you're going to do outside shooting you may want the white units to reflect the sun/heat.



white units? you mean light bouncers/reflectors?

No, he means the ones with the white exteriors (as opposed to the black, or pink, or yellow, or lime green ... but especially black).

Peace,

Todd

pentool wrote:
well ive been using alienbees for basically in-house use. when i took them outdoors today, i felt like i needed to upgrade these heads. 1st the tilting (up n down) lock isnt strong enough and looses lock easily. small wind loosened the lock and the head was moving freely. all plastic body is easily damagable. i heard the light put-out isnt always constant. and most inportantly, last summer, while working outside in the sun, the on-off switch kind of changed form and stopped clicking to on-position. seems like i need a pro head. whats the next step up??

And so why have you never called them about it? I know people who have been using Alienbees lights hard for years and never had such problems.

The white units will reflect the sun instead of absorbing it. The chances of the units getting too hot would be reduced.

I can't imagine the color of the case having any kind of effect on the function of the strobe, even on a hot day. They are fan cooled.

As for the polycarbonate plastic cases being easily damagable, they are also easily, and cheaply replacable.

I believe if the OP were to contact PCB, they would resolve his issues quickly, but he seems more interested in upgrading his lights.

Chas

Pentool your logical step up would be the PCB WLX units. CLICKY

You can buy up one of the older units they may still have in stock at a discount.

I won't discuss "plastic" vs aluminum as it's an age old argument that never really gets resolved. If you want "tougher" more pro lights (aluminum cases and other minor upgrades vs the AB) then the White lightening is your logical step "up".

If there is something really wrong with your AB perhaps you may want to send them in for service, seems logical enough.

I have Balcar 750 monoblocs which are very similar to the WL units. With BCP backing their products the way they do I would have no trouble buying them if I felt the AB weren't quite what I wanted.

Rene

i have no serious problems at the moment but its so obvious that they're cheaply made - obviously designed for the starters. but i can see in the future when im doing serious work for like a magazine, theyre not something i can depend on for sure. i just want to know my options now. btw i did send in my ab800 for that not-clicking-to-on problem and they sent me a new one right away.

cwebster wrote:
I can't imagine the color of the case having any kind of effect on the function of the strobe, even on a hot day. They are fan cooled.

Obviously not a Canon shooter..

If you are a pro and use your lights on a regular basis on location, then yes. You will need something more durable. If this is just for the occasional location shoot, then I would just send them back to AB's for repair and shoot with them until you kill them.

As far as inconsistent output, have you noticed it? It would seem silly to upgrade because you “heard” they are not consistent. I used AB’s for years and never really noticed any issues.

If you do decide to upgrade consider one of the Dynalite kits. They are rugged and compact as can be.

I fit:
1- 2000Wi Pack (PW ready)
2- 2040 heads
2- 10’ stands
2- 42” umbrellas
All in a small and very well constructed bag.

My ABs and been knocked over in the studio and blown over on location. So far, no damage other than a slightly dent reflector and broken bulbs. The polycarbonate cases are pretty tough. I would upgrade only when it makes economic sense to do so.

I have never used my ABs outside, but inside I have never had an issue with consistency per se.. I had my 2 year old AB800 blow up the day my new AB800 showed up...

I have been getting more and more paid jobs so I bought a Profoto setup but my bees aren't going anywhere.

I have 4 ABs (2-1600s and 2-800s) I have used them daily inside and out for 5 years and haven't had a problem. I use them for everything from product shots, portraiture to lighting smaller arenas for basketball, volleyball and wrestling. They have paid for themselves 10x over and keep on flashing. I bought them with the full intent of upgrading to a more "pro" line rather quickly. Five years later .... still got 'em. Still using 'em. Don't see any reason to replace them.

I think they can take a hit. Last Friday, I had a AB1600 take a 9 foot dive onto concrete with a beauty dish attached. The dish took most of the impact but the force of the hit was crazy. It drove the head into the back of the dish which dented the back of the BD as well. I thought for sure it was broke. I hit the test button, and 'snap'... perfectly fine. I don't get it... not even a broken tube.

As for not being able to depend on them for serious work. After reading you don't shoot raw in another post, I don't think the AB is the weakest link at this time.

Below is the damaged BD and the lucky AB1600...

Kevin

Way to go Buff....

AB's are not nearly as fragile as people make them out to be. Polycarbonate shells are fairly sturdy, and in general, the AB's are a simple design which actually helps them survive impacts. Less crap inside means less stuff to get all jacked up when it takes a hit. This is why some of those packs, like the Speedos, or Normans, were tanks. Just capacitors and output plugs. You could throw some of those packs off cliffs and they'd be fine.

Of course, if they even crapped out, the ensuing explosion was pretty scary.

Anyhow, White Lightnings would be the direct step up from the AB stuff if you like your current modifier setup, and if those modifiers are the Buff brand. You would have no compatibility issues whatsoever.

If you like your modifiers, but want to move to something like an Elinchrom, Profoto, etc, then I'm not even sure they make speedrings to adapt Buff modifiers to them. I'd say unless you're a machinist, know a machinist, or really love a certain modifiers and are willing to seek out a machinist, sell it all then prepare a budget based on those monies to buy your new setup.

BTW, I like White Lightnings. They are much bigger and heavier than the AB's but the same tech more or less. The quarter capacitor switch is a great idea, and the units are aircraft grade aluminum. Old school for sure, but it has a nice feel to it. Those things could probably take a few bullets.

Max