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Calumet lights : Bargain or Junk?
Everyone seems to rep Alien Bees as the affordable lights for photographers who aren't Stephen Eastwood (heh heh, I just mean successful and able to afford the pricey gear). I have been interested in AB's in the past but I am hesitant to buy gear BECAUSE it's cheap. I am a firm believer in that with electronics, it is very much a 'get what you pay for' market. ANYWAY! Someone pointed out a brand called Calumet and unless I am missing something, this kit ( http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CF0514K1/ ) seems cheaper even than AB's. Can anyone rep these lights or maybe just tear them to pieces? Mar 03 08 06:56 am Link try wescotts.com there nice and reasonable. Mar 03 08 06:59 am Link After Hours photos wrote: That's a farm supply store. Mar 03 08 07:09 am Link They are kind of hesitant to say "400ws", but say 400w..and then say it's perfect for tabletop shoots and portraits. Calumet travelites are decent lights, with mixed reviews. Calumet is a pretty decent company, with some well made products. These lights however...I wonder if they are comparable to the AB400. If they are, and not a clever " no, we meant 400 COMBINED WS with both lights" scheme ( as you find on ebay) it looks like a decent deal. Mar 03 08 07:13 am Link slave to the lens wrote: One of the lighting setups in use for my camera club's monthly model shoots are some Calumet lights. They seem to work pretty well... Mar 03 08 07:15 am Link I can't say anything about the Genesis kit, but the travelites I have 3 "750's" works fine for me, but for that kit, your looking at close to $2,000... Mar 03 08 07:19 am Link Calumet will be good units. They will be rebranded somethings. My experience with Calumet -- repair for a slightly damaged unit $180. 6 weeks repair time Flash tube $180 totally burnt up Zap 1000 White-lighting -- $90. repair time 1 week flash tube $39 Slightly used Flash tube burnt out -- Calumet my problem White lightning flash tube -- 500,000 flashes on it and just shy of 5 years old -- replaced free Mar 03 08 07:22 am Link Lorin Edmonds wrote: Cheap printer - Expensive ink syndrome. Mar 03 08 07:27 am Link I would not turn away ABs because they are priced well. I have had White Lighting and ABs For around 10yrs and love them. I have only have 2 repair (1 was very much my fault) and the service was great. I pimp very few products but I would say go with the ABs. Mar 03 08 07:33 am Link I don't know about Genesis, but I have been using Calumet lights for 30 years. Now using Elites and Travelights. Repairs are timely and not terribly expensive. Calumet lights are made by Bowens -- and that's a great name in strobes. Mar 03 08 07:35 am Link Generally Calumet lights are rebadged Bowens and very reputable. This kit might be a stab at gaining a larger market share in the low end studio light arena that's booming due in large part to the explosion of digital. If I had to guess based on prices, these lights are probably some generic variety of Asian origin, like JTL. Mar 03 08 09:57 am Link I played with the Genesis when I was in Calumet getting some other stuff. For the price they're pretty darn nice. Pretty solid construction, 6 stop range digitally adjustable in .1 increments, beep on recycle, auto-dump. And you get a pretty good 10 ft stand and 45" convertible umbrella in the package for the same price as just the light. Mar 03 08 10:26 am Link I followed the link to the Calumet website and discovered: The replacement 150w modeling lamp - $26 for Calumet - $4 for Alien Bees (from Home Depot) The replacement flash tube - $70 for Calumet - $35 for Alien Bees Recycle time - for Calumets in question 1~3 sec - for AB400 1/2 sec to full - for AB800 1 sec to full - for AB1600 2 sec to full Keith R Mar 03 08 10:43 am Link Chris van Doorn wrote: I've never seen the Genesis lights, but Calumet's packs and Travelite monolights are pretty robust and reliable. Calumet service has always been good for me as well, though that may be because I frequented their store--I don't know how well their mail-service is. Mar 03 08 04:59 pm Link The maker of White-Lighting and Alien Bees (Paul Buff) is such a great company when it comes to customer service I don't know why anybody would screw with anything else. Mar 03 08 05:04 pm Link I use the Travelites..3 - 750's and 2 - 375's These are Bowens lites just Some minor differences. I have had great luck with them and I have had them serviced a few times which I am in WV and turn around has usually been 2 to 3 weeks max I had one incident that took longer as they were out of a part. I think AB's are cool but I need more power. I also have some Photogenics, they are great for studio even though on occassion I haul them if I need bunches of WS. Changing flash tubes is a bit of an art...at least for me I use the heck out of them and have for quite a few years, lets say about 5 and I have replaced 2 tubes and 4 or 5 model lites. That's all I have to say about that Mar 04 08 07:20 pm Link elinchrom fitting for travelites?? do they sell those on the calumet site??.. i'd kill for one or 2 of those. Kevin Connery wrote: Mar 04 08 11:25 pm Link Kevin Connery wrote: That is interesting to read the travelites use Elinchrom's accs too!, you have won 300 points in the friend-o-meter Mar 04 08 11:38 pm Link Eduardo Frances wrote: The Genesis lights use an Elinchrom mount; I don't know if the Travelites do so. Mar 04 08 11:48 pm Link The Travelites use the Bowen acc. Mar 04 08 11:51 pm Link I've owned Calumet Travelites for years. They are fantastic lights, and far more "accurate" than any White lightning/Alien Bee stuff. Their ws ratings are accurate, not guestimates in ideal settings (white walls, floors, ceilings). They are re branded Bowens lights, and have a full line of accessories and modifiers. They are not toys, and if you need consistent results, they deliver. Some JTL stuff even works on them too. The latest line has a portable battery pack option too. I have used my OG travelite 750 for well over a decade, and have never had to replace the flash tube yet. The amount of pops well exceeds tens of thousands. It still reads like the day I got it. Mar 04 08 11:57 pm Link These Calumet Genesis kits have been getting some decent reviews on POTN. I am currently in the same boat as you, but wish the AB's had an audible "ready" and a 6 stop f range. I am still seriously looking at them though. The price and customer service is top notch. Mar 05 08 12:30 am Link love my travelites. never heard anything bad about AB and WL. Mar 05 08 02:41 am Link White lightning has audible alarms. I find the on/off setting on the modeling light works better for me than a audible alarm. Mar 05 08 07:07 am Link Chris van Doorn wrote: Well I can say that I have used Calumet lights for about 3 years now and they work great. And I also have an AB Ringflash and battery pack and that works good also. Mar 05 08 07:12 am Link Can't say that I've tried the Calumet lights or the AB's. I love my Elinchrom and White Lighting. Both are excellent products. If I want to dust my desk off I pop my WL-1600 and all the dust goes bye-bye. :-)~ Mar 05 08 07:29 am Link Legacys 7 wrote: Check out: http://www.white-lightning.com/ Mar 05 08 07:34 am Link MoJo40 wrote: I am familiar with the company going back 6 years ago. Their Alien Bee company customer service department is very friendly. If you are a student, you can get a nice discount on their products. I was thinking about buying the wireless flash signal to use for my Travelites. A.B. was on my list along with my Travelites on what I want to buy. I made the decision to purchase the Travelites. Mar 05 08 11:43 am Link Love my Calumet lights...2 300B Genesis, 2 400 Genesis...and 3 new LED 500W Strobes...I've shot with ProPhoto and I don't see much difference from my Calumet lights... Jan 29 14 09:35 pm Link Calumet is a very reputable long established company. I've had an open/NET account with them for something like 15 years. I haven't used their house lights (which as stated are just rebranded Bowens), but they're a step up from Paul Buff stuff. I purchased my Balcar lights through them in 1997 that I'm still using today (in combination with my Profoto). Jan 29 14 09:54 pm Link In my experience... Genesis ≤ Alienbees < Travelite = White Lightning. Overall similar enough throughout the board, but PCB products taking the lead due to customer service / repair. Also something to consider in the same pricing bracket is Adorama's Flashpoint II series. I've got their 900ws model and it's pretty damn robust. Personally, I'm in the process of trying to trade my Profoto kit for some AlienBees for various reasons... so personal use / preference plays a role. However, having used alien bees, white lighting, genesis, travelite, I am confident in my comparison within those brands. Jan 29 14 10:19 pm Link I have 2 Travelites/Bowens - a 375 and a 750 - Never had issue one on a negative side They are good enough for Calumet to populate their rental section with them - If they were junk, or unreliable - they would be more trouble than they were worth to use as rentals. (People like us flipping our wigs when something fails at that "once in a lifetime moment) Like fleet cars - these lights are not worth much unless they work - and keep working - so, my confidence is pretty high with them. Jan 29 14 10:22 pm Link Vintagevista wrote: I like that analogy. At my last job, we had 4 Ford E-350 vans for deliveries... two with half a million miles each (the others at 300K+) Reasonably priced, reliable, nothing fancy. Jan 29 14 10:30 pm Link I own the Alien Bees as well as the Calmumet Genesis and I find them to be very good lights. The only knock would be a slightly slower recycle time but that is to be expected. The color is pretty consistent and the digital readout is nice. I don't think that you will go wrong with either unless you are trying to stop action and then the Einsteins are the better choice. Jan 29 14 10:34 pm Link I have seven White Lightning lights, also made by Paul Buff. They are great and the customer service at Paul Buff totally blows everyone else away. They are great. Definitely go with the bees. Jan 29 14 10:38 pm Link I own the Alien Bees as well as the Calmumet Genesis and I find them to be very good lights. The only knock would be a slightly slower recycle time but that is to be expected. The color is pretty consistent and the digital readout is nice. I don't think that you will go wrong with either unless you are trying to stop action and then the Einsteins are the better choice. Jan 29 14 10:59 pm Link I use to own the Travelites 750 watts. Very solid and reliable. The only issue that I have is with Calumet's shitty customer service. Alien Bee lights. I know several people that own them and haven't said anything negative about them. Plus their customer service is their trademark. They look out for their customers. Jan 30 14 02:42 am Link I've used Travelites that were owned by other photographers. I have never owned any Calumet strobes, but everything I've used or owned from Calumet has been top-notch. Calumet has been around forever, and they have an excellent reputation. I remember their darkroom equipment catalogs (stainless steel sinks, tanks, thermostatic mixing valves, water chillers/heaters/recirculators, etc.) from when I was in high school in the 1960's. My most recent purchase from Calumet was frame-and-panel reflector sets. Excellent build quality and easier to set up and tear down than most. Jan 30 14 03:26 am Link Has no one noticed this thread started in 2008, almost six years ago. I am guessing the OP has made their decision by now! Jan 30 14 04:07 am Link Don't be so stubborn with the saying "You get what you pay for." Sometimes, you actually find a company that actually offers a great product for great price. No one can deny that Paul Buff, the maker of the Alien Bees and other fine lighting systems, does this. His prices are lower because he deals direct. No middleman. He's been around a long time. His White Lightning brand of lights are classics. Calumet is a fine store. I have shopped with them for over 20 years. But THEY do not make lights. They just rebrand them. Their Travel lights are made by Bowens. I would not be surprised if the Genesis line is as well. And if it is, they are probably pretty decent lights. Bowens is a fine brand itself. I've also never hear anything bad about the Genesis line. I just don't know anything about them myself. But, I have been using my ABs for over 10 years. My travel gear. My Speedotrons are way to heavy for travel.My only problem was my 1600 got stuck on full power. $80 fix and quick service at their factory in Nashville. (note: ALL lights will fail eventually for some reason. Even the very best) Besides that? Never a problem. And as a busy corporateevent photographer, I use them a few times a week sometimes. They actually impress me. I really didn't expect them to. Jan 30 14 05:59 am Link |
