mmurph
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Upload & Sell: On
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 p.1 #12 · Flash Color Temp Variations | |
Yeah, those localized color shifts can drive you nuts!
I picked up 3 Topas A2's (1600 w/s) used at $1,800 each. I love those packs! Digital display for each channel, dial up or down by .1 stop, 6 stop range, fully asymetrical, with two channels (heads) each.
Two were older, backup packs that a photog had in his studio. One was a Helix demo that had a 2 year warranty. They have counters so that you can see how many pops they have on them, when they were manufactured, what firmware is installed, etc.
I also have some other packs, both current and older (Nano A4 2400 w/s, 2 Pulso 4 3200 w/s, Opus A4 3200 w/s.) It is still great equipment, I use those for specialzed lights, backgrounds, etc.
The Broncolor Pulso heads are fairly expensive, but great heads. They run around $550-$600 used. I got a demo Unilite head, which I like a lot, from Helix for about $600. Smaller and lighter than the Pulso. So the same general ballpark as the Profoto Acute's when used, but they are $950 new.
I also have some Bron Pico and Mobilite heads which are small, cute, and great for location, hair lights, etc. But they require a $200 adapter to use regular reflectors.
The older Primo heads can be decent if they are low use/clean tubes. There is one eBay seller I can warn you about if you go that route, the stuff he is selling came out of rental, so not "pristine." 
I would not push Bron, as they are more niche than Profoto, but it is great equipment. They sometimes have great 20%-30% off sales, or else you really need to find good used stuff at 40%-50% off new.
With *any* of the high priced systems, the trick is to figure out which Profoto/Bron/Elinchrom, etc. way overpriced accessories you need, like reflectors, and where you can substitute Mola or Chimera or even Speedotron (grids, etc.)
For example, a set of 3 Broncolor grids for their standard P70 reflector are $318 at B&H!!! Same for Profoto, their regular grids are $85 to $107 each. But I think the Speedotron fit the Profoto perfectly - a used set of 3 Speedotron runs like $25 
Good luck, have fun - and post here as you work through what you are going to do, we can save you some $$$ !
Best,
Michael
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