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Photogenic StudioMax III or alien bee ab800
HI I'm thinking of buying monolight stobe and I am thinking of getting the Photogenic StudioMax III or alien bee ab800 I'm from aus. heres details Photogenic StudioMax III from B&H $319 StudioMax III Constant Color 320 Watt/Second Monolight NOT fan cooled http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control … 233&is=REG alien bee ab800 $394 usD including post to aus 320 true Ws, 800 effective Ws, 14,000 Ls ⢠5 f-stop power range (full to 1/32nd power) ⢠2.9 pounds total weight FAN COOLED http://www.alienbees.com/b800.html What ya's think is better deal and better strobe Jan 10 08 12:52 am Link The alienbee! Why? Because if you say anything else, including but not limited too a Broncolor pack and head and battery for free, the alinbeebots will go off the deep end and you will never hear the end of it from them, so it must be by default the better deal. Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com Jan 10 08 01:08 am Link For my money it was the "Bees", I've had no problems with them and the company is quite good when it comes to customer service. But like everthing in life, it's only an opinion. Which is like an A@#$*&! everyone's got one. Jan 10 08 01:16 am Link NYPHOTOGRAPHICS wrote: Buwhahahaha *keels over* Jan 10 08 01:23 am Link Mark A Herbert Photogra wrote: And they usually stink? Jan 10 08 01:27 am Link photo.net has a couple of user reviews about the studiomax III. Jan 10 08 01:31 am Link the postage for alien bees is double photogenics. ivé heard alot of good things about alien bee's but ivé read some stuff from alien bee buyers that wished they got photogenics. are the 2 strobes pretty much the same? if AB's postage was better i'd go for them but for international buyers postage is way too much. Jan 10 08 01:39 am Link jasbleh2 wrote: I hear much good about the alienbees as long as you know the limitations of the lights you are buying, same goes for the studiomax about limitations, I have heard little about the lights themselves, usually I hear good things about photogenics higher range. Jan 10 08 02:06 am Link I have, and use, both. The photogenics are more consistent and have more modifiers than the AB's and are less bulky. However, the recycle time on the AB's is substantially faster. Jan 10 08 02:09 am Link I think the alienbee flash duration is also quite fast. Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com Jan 10 08 02:23 am Link i have 3 ab800's, and im saving up to get more. theyre great lights- in quality of build, light, durability, and ease of use. i cant recommend them enough Jan 10 08 02:27 am Link Anyone know of any isues with the photogenic?? Photogenic StudioMax III Constant Color AC/DC 320 Watt/Second Monolight (120V ... MFR #906939 ⢠B&H #PHSM2320ACDC Open Market Our Price: Sub Total: Quantity: Remove: $299.50 $ 299.50 SP-Systems Power Pack with Charger for SP Systems AC/DC Units and Other Strobes ... $123.95 Calculate Shipping/Tax Australia Sub Total: $ 423.45 Shipping Duration: UPS Worldwide Saver Tax: $0.00 Total: $506.95 VS Ab 800 $307 vagabond2 $480 shipping to australia $230 total $1017 ?????? Jan 10 08 02:39 am Link Nope, haven't heard many problems with either brand; or any strobe brands for that matter. Just purchase what makes sense. AB's have good rep on the net; personally I use Photoflex because they are located in So Cal; that and my camera store only carries that brand Jan 10 08 02:44 am Link At a time when money was tight, I went with the AB800. Why? Because of their customer service. I was told by other photographers that have called for support that they ask few questions - and work with you to fix your problems. I also bought the moon kit and LOVE using my AB800 with the moonkit attached. I don't remember the last time I used it without the kit. Now that I've thought about it, I'll probably go ahead and use it without the kit this weekend. Anyway, when I buy a product I also look at the support. Even if the product is top notch - you may still need to call support once in a while. I haven't needed to call them, but it is like life insurance - you don't really want to use it! Chris jasbleh2 wrote: Jan 10 08 02:49 am Link the vagabond 2 is a better battery and power source, additionally you can run your computers and chargers from it if needed. Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com Jan 10 08 02:51 am Link And your price for the vagabond seems high are sure that is correct? not shipping just the price for the unit? Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com Jan 10 08 02:54 am Link thats the price including there international surcharge sorry forget to write that Jan 10 08 03:08 am Link still high 300 plus 10% is 330, but either way I am curious, why don't they make a yellow with black stripe alienbee? or given its alien why not a green and black stripe at least? Stephen Eastwood http://www.StephenEastwood.com Jan 10 08 03:26 am Link I have 3 of the StudioMax III B strobes. The batteries suck. They never lasted that long, and in a short amount of time, stopped charging up fully. I wound up buying a couple of Tronix Explorers for remote power to replace them. The Tronix work well with the Powerlight 1250's (analog control version) too. The StudioMax III's are fairly rugged, even though they don't feel all that solid (mine have fallen over a few times without breaking anything other than the cap that you take on and off of the business end of the strobe). The flashtube is not enclosed/encased, so you need to be careful about dropping it, since it could break the tube. The modeling lamp is only 100 Watts, which at times is sort of dim, especially if you are using a large softbox with all of the diffusers employed. There is no cooling fan, so it's quiet, and doesn't get super hot. Beyond that, mine have worked very well for me, and provide consistent output. I had a good experience with Photogenic customer service. A sync input connector became damaged while under warranty. From the day I sent it out, it was back to me in roughly two weeks. Greg Jan 10 08 03:45 am Link Don't forget, that if you order lights from the US, the voltages will be different. You will need a (largish) converter to change from the US 110v 60 hz to our 240v 50hz. Remember to factor this into your pricing! Jan 10 08 03:48 am Link I have 4 studio maxes 2 320b's and 2 160's. Great lights, I like them very much. Recycle time maybe a bit slow on full power, I think (2-3 seconds)? Using the batteries, it's 7 seconds for a full charge. But it's a very light system to use on location color temperatures are ALWAYS consistent with them. Jan 10 08 03:54 am Link LittleRaven Photography wrote: Yea i know i'll have to get step down transformers for them but they're not expensive. thanks for the reply Jan 10 08 04:06 am Link I'm mainly looking for something pretty very cheap with lots of accessories available. I know someone local to me that has an ab800 with vagabond so i'll go check his out. then i might be able to decide...... maybe thanks all for ur help Jan 10 08 04:11 am Link Does anyone know of any other strobes around the same prices as above that are made in 240V dc ac Jan 10 08 04:13 am Link jasbleh2 wrote: I primarily use Photogenic 2500s & 1250s in my studio work now, and I have used both the Studio Max III 320 and the AB800. The Photogenic StudioMax is very system mobile - meaning I can use any of my Photogenic accessories on any Photogenic monolight whether its a Studiomax, 2500 or 1250. (Example: I can take a StudioMax III on location and use the Photogenic 24-inch beauty dish) Jan 10 08 11:24 am Link jasbleh2 wrote: Check Elinchrome or Multibliz Jan 10 08 11:26 am Link Mal at Hidden Creek wrote: Either unit is a good light - but if you are looking for a long-haul career in photography begin building a long-term system today - one that will last through multiple upgrades without accessories having to be replaced with each upgrade. Ok thanks. Well Elinchrom has a Australian website so maybe they have australian service centre which could make it alot cheaper for me in the long run. I'm looking at the Elinchrom D-Lite4 Monolight - 400 Watt/Seconds (110-220V AC) Price: $ 384.00 Jan 11 08 12:07 am Link Jan 11 08 02:30 am Link |