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For those of you using alien bees
I was wondering what the most popular Alien bees flash unit was among fellow mm members here. If you use one or some which one do you like and why? What are you shooting primarily? If you think there is a better option that also doesn't cost a fortune, please share. Thanks! Edit: Thanks for all the feedback, i appreciate it. Pretty much made up my mind, posting here helped, ill probably come back and post about my choice when i save enough pennies and get my order delivered. Hopefully people will keep sharing their images here that were made with Alien bees, Einstein's, white lightenings etc for others down the road who are interested. Apr 08 15 04:04 pm Link Hello there ....i have 2 ab1600's and an ab400......i shoot portraits Apr 08 15 04:37 pm Link I've owned 3 AB800s and one AB1600 for over 12 years. I have used them mostly for portrait work. I use to shoot thousands of seniors every year for about 4 years but stopped a few years ago. I also traveled all over the SE US shooting classic portraits for very high end clients. Again. Thousands of them. I know use them mostly for corporate event work that consists of headshots, meet and greets, group shots, etc. They are used A LOT!! I got three days of headshots coming up. They have never given me any reason to switch to any other brand. If it ain't broke... Apr 08 15 06:11 pm Link Mark Reeder Photography wrote: I have B800's, Einsteins, and an ABR800 ring light. Apr 08 15 06:51 pm Link I have Einsteins. When I bought them, I was shooting 120 film, which requires a little more light than digital. No issues. Now I shoot 4x5, and I use larger modifiers than I used to. They work fine, but are no longer ideal. But I already own them, and they don't annoy be enough to replace them. If I were still shooting 120 or smaller, and wasn't using giant soft boxes, I'd say they were the best reasonably priced option. But for the same price you can get Buff's White Lightning (more output), or a basic Elinchrom(essentially the same output, worse controls, more solid speed ring.) I used to like the Alien Bees lights too. But since the introduction of the Einstein, it just offers so much more for the price difference, that upgrading is a no-brainer if you can afford it. Apr 08 15 07:04 pm Link I use a mix of AB1600's and AB800's. I've had them for years and they do just fine for me. I love the fact that they're fairly compact and lightweight. They are durable too, having tipped my share over. I've used other lights too; I've used White Lightnings when I needed a bit more power and they are great as well. They can overpower sunlight even with certain modifiers attached. Moonlights have come a long way over the years. They can be so much more convenient than pack systems. I used to have Dynalights available to me but haven't used them in years, it is just too cumbersome. If you need the power output though... I'm curious Jack, I've heard great things about the Einsteins too but what makes them so much better for you? And do you mix and match with White Lightenings or Alien Bees? Apr 08 15 07:28 pm Link I have four 800s. I often think I needed to buy 2 of the 400s and 2 of the 1600s. Oh, and if I was going to start all over, I'd get Einsteins. Apr 08 15 07:36 pm Link 800 here -- wish it was a 1600 Apr 08 15 08:03 pm Link ab800's had served me well over the last 9 years just sold them all but the ring light today (doctors orders, no more strobes). anyhow, loved them, only once in a decade did i wish i had a 1600, the 800s worked great. i'm keeping the ring light 'just in case' and because it does not catch the wind....other than that i have a continuous hot led 'hot light' (we have to see how that goes), and will just have to be outdoors in natural light. and landscapes of course... to quell your fears, you can never ever go wrong with ab800's. had 6 of them, sold 6 today for almost what i paid almost a decade ago. Apr 08 15 09:13 pm Link F-1 Photo wrote: I'm assuming I'm Jack. My apologies if there actually is a Jack here, and it wasn't an autocorrect slip-up Apr 08 15 09:13 pm Link I have and use the 400's, 800's, and the 1600's. All work in my port are from using them. Main work. Portraits and catalog. Apr 09 15 05:03 am Link Thanks all for sharing, I appreciate it. I've been thinking about the 1600 or the Einstein just haven't totally made up my mind yet. Although the 800 will probably do most of what i need right now Im only interested in getting one so trying to get the best most versatile option. I also have a hand full of speedlights but looking to move into monolights. Apr 09 15 05:13 am Link Just wanted to add that the 800s give me the enough power for what I do. Had an associate I hired one time who had some 400s. I found them a bit on the weak side for the kind of portraiture I do. Sure, you can always bump up the ISO but I wanted to keep all the images at ISO 100 for quality purposes. This is awhile back with non current cameras. I even used them with some film before the total switch to digital. With my newer 6D I am sure 200, 400 and even 800 would work fine. That camera amazes me. The 1600 I rarely use but It's nice to have if the power if needed. Again, it'a all about YOUR needs. Not mine or anyone else's out there. With my favorite Lastolite brollybox, at about 3.5 feet, at ISO 100, I had my main 800 set to about 1/4 power. Yes, I could use an AB400 for my main but I use it for other things as well with large boxes and such. I'd be pushing the 400 at full power. I'd rather have more and not need it then making the unit fire at full capacity for every shot. Maybe a reason I have never burned out a flash tube. Who knows. Apr 09 15 05:44 am Link Thanks Mike. Ya im still going back and forth to the 800 as an option, aside fromt the 1600 or einstein. Mostly for what i do it would be enough. Would be fun to try out all three for a while but i might as well just make a decision and start somewhere. Apr 09 15 05:50 am Link Mark Reeder Photography wrote: My advice: If you have the budget, buy Einstein. It's hard to find a light with as many features and such good specs at anywhere near the price. Apr 09 15 06:32 am Link  Beauty dish with a 30º grid, up and to the right side of the model's face. What Michael Fryd has said pretty much covers the subject, you really can't go wrong with Alien Bees or Einsteins. Where ever you start, if you need more power or additional features, trading up or selling your current model lights allows you to make those changes with a very small additional financial commitment. But the lights are only the beginning of your journey. Light modifiers are really where it's at when you are doing more sophisticated work in the studio or on location. And once again the Alien Bees/White LIghtning/Einstein/Zues line of lighting equipment is in the forefront of the market. Whether you need a beauty dish, all sizes of foldable softboxes, octaboxes, reflectors, grids, barn doors, large parabolic umbrellas (and shoot through's), simple or sophisticated radio slaves, or portable power solutions for location work, Paul C. Buff companies has your back (front and sides!). And all of this at a cost that makes it possible to explore a lot of different lighting solutions. Also, if you buy a modifier for your Alien Bees, and later switch to or add White Lightning or Einstein strobes, all of those modifiers will work without alteration on your new lights.  Single light with a large 86" Parabolic Umbrella to the left of the camera. I recently attended a very sophisticated lighting seminar for glamour work, and in three of the four lighting setups they were using strip boxes for the main lighting. Since I have two 10" X 36" and two 14" X 60" Paul C. Buff strip boxes (which I had originally picked up for lighting studio backdrops), the seminar gave me something to explore in more detail during my next studio session. Best of luck to you, it's a great adventure you are embarking on! John Sponsored Photographer for Paul C. Buff Companies (Alien Bees, White Lightning, Zeus, and Einstein) -- John Fisher 700 Euclid Avenue, Suite 110 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 534-9322 http://www.johnfisher.com Apr 09 15 07:44 am Link Thanks for sharing John. I do have a pretty good range of modifiers that I've been using with my speedlights. Funny that you mentioned striplights, thats's what i have been looking at to add next. I like the sizes you mentioned. Some of the other brands i've been looking at were not quite the right size or shape I was interested in. Although I already have a beauty dish I am interested in trying out the pcb version too. Kind of exciting to move into monolights after shooting natural light for so long and then small flashes over the last few years. Apr 09 15 08:04 am Link Thanks Michael! That's good to know about the options to trade up. Awesome. Apr 09 15 08:28 am Link I would recommend the B800. I find the B400 is a bit weak for certain modifiers, and the B1600 is a bit too powerful if you like to shoot wide open. B800 is a good middle of the road option. Frankly I prefer the white lightning X1600 with its 1/4 power option. Great versatility, not much more money, separate modelling/flash sliders, and metal casing. Apr 09 15 11:23 am Link I've got a pair of B400s and a B800. Given that my camera is a D90 (base ISO 200) and that I shoot in small spaces, these give me plenty of light. Apr 09 15 12:12 pm Link I did like that 1/4 power option on the white lightning. Thanks Peter. Apr 09 15 12:15 pm Link I gots me an AB1600, an ABR800 and two old paint can White Lightnings my friend got off Craigslist. For mobility I drag along a Vag II. I've never had any problems beyond the ABR800 cooking itself the first time I used it, but customer service quickly replaced it. Modifiers include a various white umbrellas, PCB's huge parabolic umbrella for the AB1600 and I sometimes use the white diffuser for it. For the ABR800 I bought the attachable softbox ring but rarely use it. Oh and 4 PCB remotes and a trigger. I almost always use my D80 so I mostly feel comfortable doing portraits of some type since its a crop sensor. If I need an extra light I usually use the sun for rim and a huge 4x8 silver insulation sheet for fill (it's like having two free lights). Apr 09 15 12:53 pm Link Another vote for Einstein e640's. I was going the same route as you (ambient => speedlights => strobes), had been considering B800's, and this past Christmas I went for the Einsteins. Three of them, in fact. Part of what sold me is the 9-stop power range. In some portrait lighting setups I can shoot at f:2.8 and simply dial that in with the flash meter built-in to the CyberCommander and get the crazy low power with no complaints from the Einstein. I was able to pop them into my Westcott Apollo softboxes that I have been using with my speedlights and they work fine there. Eventually I'll acquire some PCB softboxes. Apr 09 15 05:43 pm Link Do not forget to order shipping somewhere to US; the brokerage fees to canada are a bitch. The drive down and pick it up  Apr 09 15 05:57 pm Link cwwmbm wrote: While this doesn't reduce the brokerage fees, PCB will now ship Fedex to Canada. This works better than UPS for many folks, and is what I used. (I wasn't prepared to drive to the States!) Apr 09 15 06:03 pm Link Nice! Ya i don't think I'll be driving down. Was definitely planning on getting another beauty dish when I make my order.. Love the beauty dish. Apr 09 15 06:36 pm Link I use two AB 1600's, two 800's and a 400. I have triggers from pocket wizard which are more reliable than depending on the slave feature. I also have the Buff beauty dish and it works really well. I am usually shooting at F11 with the Beauty dish at 100 ISO with the AB 1600. It really give you a lot of light. I started with one 1600 and bought another to give me a lot more control mixing in daylight at low ISO. I have about 25,000 exposures with these lights and have only replaced one flash tube. It was over heated with a grid and sock on a Beauty disk shooting pretty rapidly for an hour. I did kind of push it to the limit. The replacement tube was less than $50 and it took 2 minutes to replace. Look at my port and almost everything in it was taken with the Bees, I could not be happier. Mike Apr 09 15 07:45 pm Link Einstein. Buy once, cry once. If only they'd make a sequel to it, call it the E=MC^2 or something lol. Something with a better screen and better menu interface and a bit more robust locking mount system. The way i see it if you're gonna buy a 1600 and a 400 for the range you might as well just get an einstein and a yongnuo flash. Many times I used my einstein and a flash together if I needed two lights. Apr 09 15 07:48 pm Link Ha! Yes Zack, it was you! Sorry about the autocorrect! And thank you for the info, it was useful. Apr 09 15 08:40 pm Link Mark Reeder Photography wrote: It all depends on what you are shooting... Apr 10 15 01:42 pm Link As about a month ago, I shoot with a single Einstein with Vagabond Mini and/or the new VLX battery. I always think Einstein is better in term of quality & durability compare to AB. Also, a single Einstein will cover all 3 ABs in term of flash power since Einstein will go all the way (9 stops) down. But few weeks ago, I looked into Flashpoint Streaklight /Godox 360AD (360ws) and also Flashpoint Rovelight 600 (600WS) which about $400 & $500 respectively (including the battery) and blown away by the price & feature. Both also feature TTL & HSS for those situation when you need to shoot all the way of 1/8000 at wide open aperture. The Flashpoint has it's own battery attached to the flash so no cable & battery pack needed - something like those Profoto B1. If you shoot outdoor as much as I do, you'll appreciate these features for sure. The bad thing is these flashes are only battery power user so if you shoot in studio all the time, these prob. not for you ...  I shoot this image with an Einstein inside white PCB 56" PLM about 8-9 ft away ... Apr 10 15 02:18 pm Link I also have two AB 400s and two 800s which I purchased about 5 years ago. They are fine for the work I do, (12 X 20 space) but if I were to do it again, I would get two more 800s or maybe 1600s instead of the 400s. Some inexpensive soft boxes left over from my previous hot lights get the job done. Apr 10 15 04:07 pm Link The most versatile light is probably the Einstein with respect to power on both the low end and high end. If you want to shoot a beauty dish with f2.8 or wider then you need something in the lower end of the scale like a B400, or Einstein. If you are overpowering the sun then you need an AB1600 or Einstein. If you are using large light modifiers and shooting at f16 you need an AB1600 or Einstein. In door studio work with medium sized light modifiers an AB800 is probably fine. So given the above use cases while the Einstein is more money, it has a wider power range so more flexable. My 2 cents anyways. No wrong answer, you need to decide what fits your shooting style. Cheers Ben Apr 10 15 04:56 pm Link Chuckles. I just gave away (as in free) a complete studio (AB1600's, ring Light, stands, etc). As a former electronics engineer I confess to getting curious and taking one apart a long time ago. IMHO the build quality (components and construction) is really great. Gotta say that I was impressed. I loved mt AB's. I've just come to a place in life when it is time to move on to other things - like the cookbook that I've always wanted to write. I can't really speak to their customer service because after years of use, I've never actually had one fail on me (but folks claim it is top-notch). Apr 10 15 05:17 pm Link My current stable of strobes consists of 2 B800's and an old White Lightning WL 5000 "coffee can" unit that makes a great hairlight or background light, along with various softboxes, strip boxes and a Buff white beauty dish. Those should be joined by another Bee and a Vagabond Mini in the near future, although I would love to add an Einstein or two to the mix at some point. Edit: I just added one of the old WL Ultrazap 800's to my collectiion, and could possibly snag another one shortly. I love how well even the older units hold up and perform. Apr 10 15 08:37 pm Link I started with an ABR800 and the 30" Moon Unit about 6 years ago. Added the larger Moon the following year. I bought a used ABR800 from a member here a few years ago. I also have White Lightnings (2 x1600 and one x800) with the pair of x1600s getting the most use. Apr 13 15 06:55 pm Link I retired from shooting weddings a few years ago. When I was shooting film, I neede AB 800's. If I were on a tight budget today, I would get AB 400's. (Digital ISO 200 and up made a huge difference over film at ISO 80) If budget was not a problem, I would get the Einsteins. I have a Wl 1600 and hate the modeling light on 1/4 power. The power goes to 1/4 and the modeling light dims and on mine you can not get it brighter so you can see. A 250 watt bulb on 1/4 power is only 32 watts - way to dim to see with especially out of soft box. Apr 13 15 08:04 pm Link i have two ab800s. my only complaint is the inability to turn the light power down enough. there are times where i want to shoot at f/2 or 2.8 and i can't because the power output is just too much for the proximity of the lights to the subject, pulling them back is either physically impossible or creates light that is too soft or flat. if i were to ever switch it would be for that reason alone. i dont do it enough to justify the switch, I'll just use speedlights if I want to shoot wide open. Apr 14 15 08:59 am Link i have 2 400s and 1 800. for some things i find 800 too strong. i can't recall a situation where 800 wasn't enough power. depends on whether you like to shoot at f4 or f16 and the types of modifiers you use and whether you are outdoors trying to overpower the sun. i would avoid JTLs. i've had some bad experiences with those lights. Apr 14 15 09:04 am Link Thanks for all the feedback, i appreciate it. Pretty much made up my mind, posting here helped, ill probably come back and post about my choice when i save enough pennies and get my order delivered. Apr 15 15 05:18 pm Link |
