Amedeus wrote:
Profoto 7b ?

Great suggestion, can I borrow yours till I find $5K for a kit?

Amedeus wrote:
Profoto 7b ?

a great product but in a very different price range from the acutes.

Henri3 wrote:
If anyone's built a 1500-2000 watt inverter kit, I's be curious....as I've considered getting an Acute 2400, if my 1200 isn't enuf power.

I can't imagine why 1200 wouldn't be enough power for most applications. The 7b is 1200 itself and certainly capable of lighting things up. 2400 is great but may be overkill unless you really need that much light.

Nick Zantop wrote:

I can't imagine why 1200 wouldn't be enough power for most applications. The 7b is 1200 itself and certainly capable of lighting things up. 2400 is great but may be overkill unless you really need that much light.

Quite so.....I have a couple of Acute 1200 packs if that were the case and I needed 2,3 heads.
Mobile power is still the issue with those however.

Henri3 wrote:
I've looked into dedicated batt powerpacks,Profoto, Hensel,and now the Speedotron Explorer... and still wonder if taking my acute 1200 into the field isn't an option when I'n doing a long shoot, in midday sun (which I typically avoid )
  Other than purchasing, renting a gas generator....what's worked for others?
  The Dynalite 1100 power supply is a possibility..(if it actually works with an Acute...but other than building a heavy duty inverter/batt kit, on a cart....is there an option I've overlooked.  The Vagabond doesn't seem suitable for an Acute.

  If anyone's built a 1500-2000 watt inverter kit, I's be curious....as I've considered getting an Acute 2400, if my 1200 isn't enuf power.

  Other option is getting the Vagabond & a couple of AB 1600's, beauty dish, folding softbox, for a dedicated location kit.

would look at a hensel kit over a alien bee setup for power on location.  Also look at a tiptronix converter they are cheaper than the dynalite and runn 1200 packs, also another great alternative is a small honda generator, 1000 and 2000 are both great and they can be chained to make a more powerful unit.  Weight is not that high and power is unlimited if you can keep getting gas.  Downside is the gas in the car can smell, but if its in a trunk thats not a huge problem.

Hensel also makes a batter pack kit like the porty with outlets for 1500 that is used with the 1200ws mini kit, but it works with anything you plug in.  Think its called an MPG 1500  check there site

Henri3 wrote:
Thanx for the replies.....I rarely shoot in mid summer daylight....BUT....if I need to...gonna need some juice in such cases. (though reflectors work pretty damn well for this.
   I've been looking at the Acute 6b batt pack....600ws, only one outlet, and pretty compact. Would be great for eveything but shooting in direct sunlight.
    Just been doing some tests with my Profoto 600 compact monolights...
and I get f16 at 6 ft  f11 at 10 ft with most my modifiers....beauty dish,octabank,3X4 softbox.

    Decisions, decisions... I really need a location lightkit...of some kind. But exactly what, still confuses me. Several pros who shoot lots of outside fashion have recommend 1200ws as a minimum... to have some working headroom.

I have a 600b which integrates well into the rest of my Acute system.  I can understand your caution about power, but I just did an editorial portrait assignment and it performed great even into a softbox.  Power is indeed a real issue, but love it for travel because of the weight.  Part of the weight is due to the relatively small battery.  I am getting a second battery to carry for extended shoots.

Prior to getting the 600b I used the Hensel Porty 1200 w.s. system.  I have to say I was never fond of the Porty heads, so much so that I had an adaptor cable custom made that allows me to use my Acute heads w/ the Porty pack.  The sacrifice is that there is no modeling light (maybe not an issue for you in daylight) and I ended up having the sync terminal on the pack converted to RCA style like Profoto.  I never found the Hensel Porty to be as reliable as any of my Profoto equipment however.  Even with the modifications, you could probably pick up a Porty pack for less than the 600b.  Just a thought.

Dan Howell wrote:

I have a 600b which integrates well into the rest of my Acute system.  I can understand your caution about power, but I just did an editorial portrait assignment and it performed great even into a softbox.  Power is indeed a real issue, but love it for travel because of the weight.  Part of the weight is due to the relatively small battery.  I am getting a second battery to carry for extended shoots.

Prior to getting the 600b I used the Hensel Porty 1200 w.s. system.  I have to say I was never fond of the Porty heads, so much so that I had an adaptor cable custom made that allows me to use my Acute heads w/ the Porty pack.  The sacrifice is that there is no modeling light (maybe not an issue for you in daylight) and I ended up having the sync terminal on the pack converted to RCA style like Profoto.  I never found the Hensel Porty to be as reliable as any of my Profoto equipment however.  Even with the modifications, you could probably pick up a Porty pack for less than the 600b.  Just a thought.

Thanx , I just ordered the 600b , (last day to get a free head). I've researched this too much and had to decide. Have owned Hensel monolights and they served me really well....but the light weight of the 600b ...and its 6oows will serve just fine for now, as I rarely shoot in direct sunlight.... and I like the simplicity of the Acute line.
  Figure when/if I need more firepower I can just rent a 7b kit.... or a gas generator and use my acute 1200's.

StephenAnthony wrote:

would look at a hensel kit over a alien bee setup for power on location.  Also look at a tiptronix converter they are cheaper than the dynalite and runn 1200 packs, also another great alternative is a small honda generator, 1000 and 2000 are both great and they can be chained to make a more powerful unit.  Weight is not that high and power is unlimited if you can keep getting gas.  Downside is the gas in the car can smell, but if its in a trunk thats not a huge problem.

Hensel also makes a batter pack kit like the porty with outlets for 1500 that is used with the 1200ws mini kit, but it works with anything you plug in.  Think its called an MPG 1500  check there site

http://www.adorama.com/HLMPG1500K.html? … &item_no=1
Hensel 1500 ........
Pretty cool gadget, same price as the Dynalight 1100 ....about the same capacity it appears.
  Still looking for the Tiptronix info...but I've spent quite enough for a while.....I'll most likely just rent if I need more firepower than the Acute 600b for a project.....only wish Profoto light modifiers weren't go Godawful pricy.......almost $600 for a beauty dish & grid...
.time for some DIY modifier conversions....or ebay research

Henri3 wrote:

Great suggestion, can I borrow yours till I find $5K for a kit?

Ebay, $1500 ... lucky me

I also use my Bowen/Calumet 3000Ws and 1500Ws (Traveler) on location through a sinewave inverter and 12V/20Ah battery set.

YMMV

Rudi A.

StevenNoreyko wrote:
I use a Honda eu2000i gas generator with my Acute2 1200 and 2400 packs. Although I don't usually push full power on the 2400 pack off the generator. I own the Honda and can rent additional units if I need them from a local Grip rental house.

One trick while working off generator or battery with the Acutes is to switch over to SLOW recycle on the pack. This changes the amp draw from 9amps to 3amps on recycle (i believe those are the right numbers). Sure.. it slows down your recycle time a bit, but will give you more pops from a battery source or allow you to run 2 packs instead of one from a generator.

For those cases when I need a battery solution I rent a Dynalite XP1100 and use the Acute2 1200 pack.

-steve

Thanx,
Just what I needed to know.  The Dynalite rents for $25 for a weekend, locally. And the Honda is about double that, I believe.

StevenNoreyko wrote:
I use a Honda eu2000i gas generator with my Acute2 1200 and 2400 packs. Although I don't usually push full power on the 2400 pack off the generator. I own the Honda and can rent additional units if I need them from a local Grip rental house.

One trick while working off generator or battery with the Acutes is to switch over to SLOW recycle on the pack. This changes the amp draw from 9amps to 3amps on recycle (i believe those are the right numbers). Sure.. it slows down your recycle time a bit, but will give you more pops from a battery source or allow you to run 2 packs instead of one from a generator.

For those cases when I need a battery solution I rent a Dynalite XP1100 and use the Acute2 1200 pack.

-steve

I have a Honda eu2000i and two Honda eu6500is generators.  For what the OP is doing, I agree he doesn't need more than an eu2000i.  You can technically run TWO 1200w/s packs (on slow recycle) on this genset.  On larger shoots where I need multiple packs and many heads; I've actually run FOUR 2400 w/s packs on the eu6500is; I then run my capture system on the eu2000i.

Some people are dead set against running their strobes on generators because they feel that the generator will harm the pack.  That is true with some generators, but the Honda EU generators output cleaner, more stable power than you get from the street.

KMR

KMR wrote:
BTW, a Honda EU2000i only costs $999.00.  A EU6500is runs about $4k.

KMR

Well that's good to know...I believe they're what, about 65lbs?

Henri3 wrote:

Well that's good to know...I believe they're what, about 65lbs?

the eu2000i is about 40 lbs.  the eu6500is is about 250 lbs.