Hi, I'm interested to know what people are using for a portable strobe system. I'm doing some portrait beauty type shots in locations without electricity.
I'm looking for something with a modelling light that will hold its charge over several hours. I don't need anything really over 300 watss seconds in terms of power.
Not really inexpensive but I rented the elinchrom quadra system and it was very nice & compact. The battery held a pretty good charge and the new li-ion battery is supposed to hold a better charge. It's definitely on my must buy list for on location shoots.
Your best affordable option might be the Paul C Buff AB 1600 and Vagabond mini. The bad thing is you can't do hypersync like speedlights so much of everything will be in focus on the background. One reason I still use my speedlights bunched together.
check out this lighting company in Hong Kong. I just bought the 600w set off of them for $820 including 2x 600W strobe units. 2x light stands 2x umbrellas 2x wireless triggers. i would check them out so far they are amazing. Good battery pack built it
David Griffith Studio wrote: how many flashes did you get reasonably at full power on 1 charge?
In one full charge, when two einstiens are plugged in, I have had well over 150 pops out of that. I have never had to use full power on those light yet. Neither have I had a need to shoot any more than that many shots so far - except once - see below. That little Vegabond mini is so tiny, super portable.
Once, I shot for 3 1/2-4 hours outdoors, two lights plugged in, and ran out of charge. But, I did/do carry a second, fully charged battery that slips right in for more shots!
So far, I have never had to reach for the second battery (except that one time) for any 2-2 1/2 hr shoots.
I love my Elinchrom quadra system, for me it's the best bang for your $$$. Not cheap but if you want a system that is well built, accurate and very portable you can't go wrong with the Quadra. They also have great modifiers too. You could spend less but you will get less and you can spend lots more for a diminishing return IMHO. Unless you're a full time shooter and need it to be built like a tank the Quadra is the Goldilocks it's just right!!!!
R_Marquez
Posts: 4,575
San Francisco, California, US
I personally like speedlites for portability and ETTL. But I bring out my flashpoint strobe when I need the power.
A couple of brackets to mount 3 speedlites simultaneously and 6 speedlites will get you pretty good power. If you go full manual, you can assemble a pretty good kit for about $600.
If you need a modeling light as an actual modeling light, you're not going to get it in the inexpensive range if you're looking to do outdoors in full sunlight. If you just need AF assist, then you can get 160 LED panels for less than $50 and 6 batteries can get you under 2 hours.
Flick
Posts: 1,568
London, England, United Kingdom
David Griffith Studio wrote: Hi, I'm interested to know what people are using for a portable strobe system. I'm doing some portrait beauty type shots in locations without electricity.
I'm looking for something with a modelling light that will hold its charge over several hours. I don't need anything really over 300 watss seconds in terms of power.
Inexpensive would be nice.
Suggestions?
I use the Bowens Travelpak system, but can't wait until they update the Pioneer system (Their original Quadra-style package)
AVD AlphaDuctions wrote: one thing nobody has addressed is your requirement for modeling lights. Forget it. modeling lights eat charge.
+1
Sorry, I did not mention it.
When I use the strobes with the VB Mini, I turn the modeling light off.
If I dont, as AVD says, will drain the battery pretty damn quick.
Your best choices should depend on your current equipment, light modifier needs, and budget. I like location strobe systems where I can reuse my current lights and modifiers with lighter stands and a rolling case. I bought 2 AB Mini Vagabonds, a Photek 54 Softlighter, lightweight stands, and a rolling Photoflex case for location work using my regular strobes. The cost was about $800 to reuse 3 strobes for use on location and I get about 800-1000 shots on those 2 batteries.
Portability, quick setup, and flexibility are key factors for me for lighting and just as critical as the right strobe. I use the Photek Sofghtlighter and Kasey Beauty Dish on location.
If you have no existing equipment investment and a large budget, Elinchrom Ranger and Profoto make complete light systems with battery for location use in the $2500-5000 range.
SKITA Studios
Posts: 1,318
Boston, Massachusetts, US
David Griffith Studio wrote: I'm doing some portrait beauty type shots in locations without electricity.
I'm looking for something with a modelling light that will hold its charge over several hours. I don't need anything really over 300 watss seconds in terms of power.
Where are the locations? Indoors/outdoors? Modifiers?
300WS isn't enough for outdoors...people complain the Quadra is barely enough if you use it barebulb...
And don't use the modeling light...if you do, it won't last long at all. Several hours of a 250W modeling bulb would require a hefty battery pack...if you really want to do this, you're better off using a Honda EU2000 generator...
photoimager
Posts: 4,111
Stoke-on-Trent, England, United Kingdom
Portable strobe light.
http://www.glow.co.uk/strobe-light.html If you want the cheapest, simplest strobe then a home made disc with equally spaced slots and a central spinning point. Match your spin speed to the movement frequency and you will be able to freeze the movemant.
Somehow I think this is not what you wanted or expected to hear. It is however what a scientist would be thinking.
Ezhini wrote: In one full charge, when two einstiens are plugged in, I have had well over 150 pops out of that. I have never had to use full power on those light yet. Neither have I had a need to shoot any more than that many shots so far - except once - see below. That little Vegabond mini is so tiny, super portable.
Once, I shot for 3 1/2-4 hours outdoors, two lights plugged in, and ran out of charge. But, I did/do carry a second, fully charged battery that slips right in for more shots!
So far, I have never had to reach for the second battery (except that one time) for any 2-2 1/2 hr shoots.
.... bingo ....
the not so secret/ is having 2 fully charged Mini's, on a shoot
this is my set up also
if you don't need the modeling lights
turn them off
when the models are changing clothes
turn off the Mini's
don't forget to bring the Mini's charger, just because
and you can charge up your phone from the Mini's .... nice
600 shots off 2 Mini's
...you rarely need to shoot 1 or 2 einsteins at full power....
over 5 hours
it's a beautiful thing
David Griffith Studio wrote: Hi, I'm interested to know what people are using for a portable strobe system. I'm doing some portrait beauty type shots in locations without electricity.
I'm looking for something with a modelling light that will hold its charge over several hours. I don't need anything really over 300 watss seconds in terms of power.
Inexpensive would be nice.
Suggestions?
Before we can really make informed recommendations, we really need to hear about what ISO do you want to use, what f-stop and what conditions are you shooting under.
Modeling lights really drain batteries, but also help your camera to focus under low light conditions. Perhaps you would be better off using and LED modeling light attached to a regular strobe. This would give you much better battery life and some understanding of where your light pattern was.
Otherwise, a 600 equivalent watt second light like an AB800 or its equivalent and a Vagabond Mini is the most cost effective choice out there. I like the White Lightening version, but the Einsteins are also excellent and offer a few more features.
Jhono Bashian wrote: I've been using the Lumedyne System 244 W/Booster, a 400ws unit and I can shoot all day with this rig for the past dozen years.
+1
the Lumedyne systems are great..... smaller than the AB...lots of acessories....my pack will clamp to the light stand on location..... batteries charge over lunch....reliable......
Innovative Imagery wrote: [
Otherwise, a 600 equivalent watt second light like an AB800 or its equivalent and a Vagabond Mini is the most cost effective choice out there. I like the White Lightening version, but the Einsteins are also excellent and offer a few more features.
The B800 is only 320 w/s.
I would agree with everyone who has recommended an Einstein unit and Vagabond Mini. They both are light-weight.
The Elinchrom is one of the best. You could go cheap and use studio strobes and a motorcycle battery but I would not. I prefer UL rated equipment and would sooner use sppedlights, plus that is about as portable as it comes.
since the point was ..... portable
keep in mind, i'm using beauty dishes, which i love, on location
on Bees and Einsteins
because, i don't have to break them down
and very important, they fit in my honda element
i don't even take them off the lightstand
for years i put dishes on Flashpoints (cheap and fantastic)
but the much smaller Bees, are easier to load/ unload....
fyi
if you hook up a motorcycle / car battery
the a/c converter must be
pure sine wave
I use an Einstein with a vagabond mini. Relatively inexpensive, reliable, consistent, and I've yet to run the charge out of the vagabond battery on location. Buff's website claims 400 to 500 full power charges with the Einstein connected. I've never had to crank it up to full charge that many times, as I typically never exceed about 3/4 charge in most of my work. It's relatively light, too.
I believe the modeling lights on the Ranger Quadra are LED and sip power... Of course they aren't cheap either... But I've heard that even using the modeling lights on location this set up lasts and lasts.
Generally I like to rely on natural light and a reflector when I shoot outdoors, but when I need fill flash, I've found an old Sunpack 611 handle-mount flash will do the job.
Watt-seconds are meaningless other than, perhaps, "ball park" estimates in comparing various artificial lighting equipments. Watt-seconds indicate the electrical storage capacity and do *not* provide illumination data because of inefficiencies in the electronics, cables, flash tubes, etc.
Use Guide Numbers (GN) to compare artificial lighting equipment.
The GN will vary depending on the light modifiers one uses with artificial lighting equipment.
Dynalite Uni400JRs, powered by a Vagabond Mini and synced with a Pocket Wizard makes for an amazing, very dependable, fast recycle (at low power) light source..
As stated above, the best ain't cheap. But it doesn't have to be expensive either.
As also stated above, Watt/Seconds is more a guide than a steadfast rating. The Dynalites are known for putting out more light than similarly rated strobes.
I like to use a very small amount of light. I carry diffusion that I clip over the reflectors to further decrease the light, to meet my needs.
I highly suggest you look at the Paul C. Buff website. They make popular mono lights, power packs and strobes that will likely give you years of dependable service. The price is very good and when you consider the customer service they provide it's an amazing price.
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