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Please help!
Hello, I am writing here because I need some advice from you guys. I would like to buy my husband a pair of lights to surprise him  . I found this description on a pair of lights but I have no clue if they are good for something or not. Please tell me weather I should get them or not: Description: This complete kit includes: 1. Two strobe lights. 2. Two 7 feet light stands. 3. Two 36" umbrellas. 4. Two A/C swivel adapters. 5. One 10' PC sync cord. 6. One Carrying Bag. The Master strobe has a guide number of 55 (Main light) and the Slave strobe has GN of 42 (Fill light). BOTH LIGHTS HAS SLAVE SENSOR BUILT IN ALREADY! So You may fire this set with any flash from your camera OR by the 10' PC Sync cord(included)connected to your camera. Or you may fire it with an infrared device. The umbrellas soften the light to give you a very pleasing wrapping effect. This practically eliminates all ugly shadow. The A/C swivel adapters provide power to the strobe right from your wall outlet. It connects the lights to the versatile 7 ft. light stands and the umbrellas. You may adjust the swivel for the shooting angle and the height you desire. The Master strobe can be used as a slave unit also. It has an PC sync adapter for connecting to the camera and has a test button. Both have a power on/off light and ready light. The recycle time is FAST less than one second. They both have a removable diffuser. You may mount color gels (optional) to give the picture a different mood. 1. Standard sync cord is 10'. Optional 30' sync cord is available. 2. This set comes with two big 36" umbrellas of your choice. If not specific, 2 white umbrellas are the default combination. Thanks a lot! Aug 11 05 12:46 am Link I wish I could help you but have no idea about it  I'm just a model....I's surprised nobody replied to your post though ( Doxa Aug 11 05 12:55 am Link Yeah me either I know that I have seen photographrs use those things during a shoot but thats about it!Good luck hon  Aug 11 05 12:57 am Link Wow, what a wife to do that!!! I know I spent more time than I wanted to researching my first strobe light purchases, and I went with Alien Bees... For the cost and performance, they were the best I found. Oh, and if buying on-line, just make sure the seller is reputable... Here's a couple links that might help... http://www.davidweikel.com/E20_Page/ali … bees.shtml http://www.alienbees.com/ Hope that helps!! Aug 11 05 01:03 am Link PDXImaging wrote: Yeah...gotta luve that man of mine...are these lights any good though? Aug 11 05 01:09 am Link 55 GN is nothing, waste of money probably, give him something better, also you can also check out some used equipment, you may be able to get him better stuff for your $$$ Aug 11 05 01:16 am Link XposurePhoto wrote: I am supposed to pay for this set 125$. He is also a starting photographer and I was thinking that he might not need the top of the line product...I mean...you know what I mean...I dont want to sound cheap but I was only thinking that this should be a good deal for a beginer...what do you say? Aug 11 05 01:22 am Link Nice gesture on your part but don't buy these lights. For one thing, 55 GN is way too low. Pro-lights don't use guide numbers, they use watt seconds. I'd buy him one Alien Bees and an umbrella. That'll let him get going and he can add from there. Paul Aug 11 05 01:24 am Link Paul Ferrara wrote: What about this description? Aug 11 05 01:29 am Link My main problem with the first set was that the lights didn't appear to be adjustable. (Although they are not particularly bright, and would probably usually be used at full power anyway...) I would classify Alienbees as prosumer gear. What you're describing is closer to what I would call consumer. For an absolute beginner, consumer is not bad, and it can always, as it says, be used as a back light or a hair light. And as your husband advances and wants to upgrade, which I hope he does quickly, the umbrellas and stands will still work just fine. I'd rather have 3 cheap lights than 1 expensive one. Edit: it's easy to spend other people's money. To get half the gear in AB (1 light, stand, umbrella), you'd have to more than double your budget. Is that something you're willing to do? (And pro lights do use guide numbers. Guide numbers are measures of light. Watt-seconds is a measure of electricity.) Aug 11 05 01:36 am Link I'm certainly no expert, but I have to agree with Paul & XposurePhoto. He'll "outgrow" the light set you have described very quickly. Paul's observation on guide numbers (GN) is very important. To put things in perspective, my camera-top flash unit (4-AA batteries, etc) has the same 55 GN rating as the more powerful of the two units in your message. You'd be purchasing two "studio light" units that have less power than two camera strobes. Check out the Alien Bees units. I own several, and am a very satisfied customer/user. Besides being solid products, their customer service people are great to deal with. One B400 unit will give him a great start, and will continue to be useful as he adds experience and more lights. It's a bit more than your original amount, but will be money well spent. ( http://www.alienbees.com/b400.html ) Good luck! ...joe Aug 11 05 01:36 am Link Ebay! Aug 11 05 03:54 am Link ExtremeMakeup wrote: For the cost, which is still spendy, they are the best I found... Aug 11 05 08:39 am Link First let me say that I admire your desire to please your husband. I have owned the type of lights that you are talking about. Guide # of 45 is far too low to be usefull for studio lighting. I would highly recomend buying one Alien Bee 400 and adding more as time goes on. The Alien Bee is not top of the line, those are $800.00 and up. The AB lights are a well made dependable product and a very good dollar value at $229.00.  Aug 11 05 02:37 pm Link |
