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Calumet vs Alien Bees
I am going to be getting some flash units in the new year, and I have narrowed it down to the topic above. I know that people have spoken about flash units before, but I am not sure if these two have been pitted against each other. What leans me towards Calumet is that the true watts are the same as the effective watts. This I have heard from some different sources. What I like about the Alien Bees... Price. Anyone have anything to add about these? Thanks, Nick Dec 25 07 10:04 am Link Personally...Alien Bees all the way....cheap...lightweight(don't let the 'plastic' fool you...it is the same 'plastic'/polymer that the space shuttle windows are made out of...durable....great for location shooting....great Vagabond power pack for location shooting when no a/c is available.....can't beat their customer service. Dec 25 07 10:12 am Link I've asked this before, but what was the inspiration for the name "Alien Bee"? "White Lightning" and "Vagabond" are certainly understandable, but "Alien Bee"? Dec 25 07 10:16 am Link Photography by Nick wrote: I narrowed it down to the same two manfacturers two years ago. In the end I went with the Calumet (Bowens) unit because Calumet's down the street and was just convenient. The advantage to Calumet for me is if I have one go down I can get a quick rental and not miss a beat. I've used the Alien Bees as well and I like their weight and portability over the Calumet's. In actual use, except for the weight, I didn't find another significant advantage for one or the other. For the money, either is a good buy. Dec 25 07 10:27 am Link rp_photo wrote: Dec 25 07 10:29 am Link Calumet. And forget the effective watt second stuff. That's all marketing nonsense. Dec 25 07 10:29 am Link Alien Bees all the way. Have them, love them. They are a great light, especially considering how inexpensive they are. I've not had a moment's problem with mine and they get lugged all over the place. You have to keep customer service in mind, too. Alien Bees has the best in the industry. Dec 25 07 10:30 am Link Photography by Nick wrote: Calumet! Better quality and more consistent lights! Dec 25 07 10:30 am Link Brandon Ching wrote: That explains the "bee organization", but does not break the fictional wall and get into how the bee name was thought up to begin with. Dec 25 07 12:05 pm Link "true watts are the same as the effective watts" to me is not a main reason for selecting what lights to get. Some manufacturers tend to exaggerate the numbers. I went with the White Lightning which are similar to the Alien Bees. I purchased their model 1600 because i wanted enough power for most circumstances, 7 stop power range, a reduced 1/4 power mode, and the optional tools that are available. I was concerned about modeling lamp intensity using the tracking mode working at f11 range withing my studio space for most of my work. I also considered their excellent reputation for technical support. The Bee's use a 100 watt modeling lamp which many have replaced with Home Depot purchase of halogen lamps for greater brightness at similar wattage. My White Lightnings are heavier then the Bees which is a pain for travel and location work but does offer more options and uses a 250 W modeling lamps. If i was to do it over again, I may have got lights with less power so my modeling lamps in tracking model would appear brighter at f11 range which i use a lot. The Bee's would be considered more because of being light weight for travel and location work. My concern of accurate color of the light source is minimal because i custom balance before each shoot and am getting excellent results which is the bottom line. Another very strong point to me is the use of the remote control option which is FANTASTIC. From camera position i can vary the lights and being a matches set, what i see is what i get. The remote also saves time and footwork in adjusting light that may be high on a boom stand as well as the other lights. This option to me is worth it's weight in gold and 2 different remotes are available for the WL and Bee's. I also purchased the portable Vagabond battery power supply which more then paid for itself the first job i used it on. For me to go from power pack lights to mono lights with variable control was a major step forward for me in obtaining easy, fast, and accurate light control. I am happy with my White Lightnings for the studio and will probably get a set of Bee's for travel. michael rosen Dec 25 07 12:10 pm Link rp_photo wrote: just a guess... bees are busy and hardworking? and they want to "invade earth" with their lights ...............so they're alien bees haha Dec 25 07 12:13 pm Link oh yah and i have the bees and love 'em i got the pink ones  Dec 25 07 12:15 pm Link AB's and White Lightning rule baby! Sorry,I'm looking at my brand new D300 and I got kinda turned on Dec 25 07 12:18 pm Link I've never used Alien Bee. I did own some Calumet Travelites and they needed quite a few repairs. I do tend to travel a bit and while I don't abuse my stuff I don't baby it either. I used to share a studio and the house system were all Calumet. They felt nice and all the accessories worked well, but I wasn't happy with the color consisteny between heads and packs and particularly with different power settings. I also notice my images weren't quite as sharp and contrasty as images shot with my own lights which a strobe repair tech explained to me had something to do with flash duration and the way pixels respond. I tend to tune out technical stuff so I don't exactly remember his explanation. My best advice would be get the most for what you can afford then take some time to familiarize yourself with the personalities and limitations of the system. Dec 25 07 12:23 pm Link Do either one of these units have a built in PocketWizard transceiver???? That could help make your decision easier. For me, I wouldn't think about buying any unit (mono or power pack) that does not have the wireless transceiver built in -- case in point, I was talking to a photog at a holiday party the other week who owns something like 7 or 8 monolights and none of them have the PW built in -- this means he has to go out and buy 7 PocketWizards - as the cheap transceivers he got off ebay just don't cut it. For me, I have a couple of Plus IIs and the new Multi-max and I can control everything flashwise from the camera - no sync cords, no dangling PW plugged into sync cords, etc. Dec 25 07 12:24 pm Link I use the Calumet Travelites. I chose them over the Bees, mostly because we used White Lightings at work, and were just having too many problems with consistency so wasn't sure how the Bees would be. And as someone else mentioned, Calumet is right down the street from me, so I was able to see and feel and play with them, and it's easy to run and get something if needed. Mike Dec 25 07 12:25 pm Link I want to get the Calumet Travelite 3 of them but was wondering is it okay to plug it to the house outlet or what you guys recommend insted of buying the power pack. ??? Oct 02 08 05:18 am Link I don't have personal experience with the Alien Bee's but many people swear by them. I have Travelite 750's with the auxilary power pack and they have worked great. I chose Calumet because of their service, 250 watt modeling lamp, build quality and extensive array of light modifiers. Oct 02 08 05:30 am Link You didn't say which Calumet lights. I have two AB800's and I recently bought one of the Calumet Genesis 200 1 light kits (200WS head, 10' stand and umbrella for $169). The Genesis light compares nicely to the AB's in build quality and has a much more solid feel. The biggest weakness of the Genesis lights is a slow recycle time (1-3 seconds). If you like to machine gun your shots, this isn't the light for you. Here are a couple of reviews: http://prophotolife.com/calumet-genesis-light-kit/ http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho … p?t=459939 Oct 02 08 09:01 am Link I have two Travelite 750 watt heads. Very good lights but are much more heavier than the AB. Recommend putting a sand bag or something with some weight to put on the stands to prevent the lights from falling over. AB, never used them, but most of what I've read on here are positive reviews. Oct 02 08 09:50 am Link JMW Images wrote: They're not profotos, so no pocket wizard installed. Although AB does have their receiver and trigger that sell for a third the price of a PW. So it's really not that much more. I now have spoken with and know a few who use them and have nothing but good things to say. Range isn't as far as PW's (but most don't need more than a few hundred feet anyways), no issues with interference, no mis-fires and 100% reliable. Oct 02 08 10:33 am Link okutake wrote: The Travelites also come with a reciever/trigger unit too. But it's an option. I forget the name of the company that make them for the unit. Oct 02 08 10:38 am Link JMW Images wrote: You do realise the cost of the P/W is built in to your lights already. They did not give them to you for free...You also throw away your P/W when you throw away the light. Oct 02 08 10:48 am Link I imagine having your transciever dangling from your lights is more of a pain than the added costs of getting lights with a receiver installed. It's not really that I mind my PW's dangling from my lights, It's more that sync cords go bad after awhile and having your receivers installed on your lights just takes one more link out of the chain where something can go wrong. This problem would of course be solved if anyone knew of a company that makes extremely high quality sync cords. I'd pay oodles of cash for those, or for even a place that sold the ends so I could make my own. Everyone I know who owns Alien Bees loves em'. There are better strobes, but not too many good options in that pricerange. I know that there have been some complaints about color temps being off when using them at full power. I was wondering if this is still an issue if I used 1600's at 1/2 power. Oct 02 08 10:59 am Link NYC Studios wrote: I bet the cost is less then a separate PW unit though. Oct 02 08 11:14 am Link Since you're not getting the lights until next year, why not wait until Paul C. Buff puts out the Einstein line of digital lights? That along with the CyberSyncs and Cyber Commander are supposed to be revolutionary. According to the Buff forum, the Cyber Commander and CyberSyncs when used with any Buff product made after 1989(?) will be able to meter your lights remotely... Oct 02 08 01:13 pm Link Calumet-Bowens is the way to go for two reasons IMO: a) Easy to find third party modifiers like rimelite, aurora, etc. b) Rentals and technical support in any country in the world from China to Russia to England to Canada to Argentina. If that its important to you. c) QuadX power packs with 2400 and 3000 ws that are as good as Profoto or Balcar packs. d) The bowens lost their pattent for the s-type bayonet so tons of Asian stuff for them. Oct 02 08 01:15 pm Link rp_photo wrote: Shouldn't they have been called "Lightening Bugs"? Oct 02 08 01:21 pm Link Photography by Nick wrote: I use Alien Bees and I recently purchased an additional light from them. If you go the AB direction, buy them knowing that they are not pro gear. I'm not saying they're bad, they're just not pro quality gear. Oct 02 08 01:23 pm Link try buying the Travelbee. Oct 02 08 02:12 pm Link photographerjt wrote: Travelites plug directly into AC current. Oct 02 08 02:18 pm Link FotoMark wrote: yes. the majority of monolights do. Oct 02 08 02:24 pm Link I have the Calumet Genesis 200 kit. I really can't compare because I have never used Alien Bee's. But I can say - My Genesis Kit Rocks. It was a great buy. Oct 02 08 04:01 pm Link Haven't tried Calumet, but I'm very happy with AlienBees! Oct 02 08 04:03 pm Link I have three 750 Travelites and one AB1600. Travelites pros: more power output. Feels solid. Travelites cons: Heavy. A little bit the expensive side. Takes weeks to have repaired under warranty. AB1600 pros: Lighter and smaller. Not too expensive. Customer service is great. AB1600 cons: not as much power but still can over power sun depending on distance to subject. Feels like cheap plastic. Oct 02 08 04:31 pm Link calumets. I used two 200s for my first two photos in my port. Love um, fan cooled, digital, spare fuses, photolight cell, lightweight, durable. It was windy that day when we did the shoot, I had my monos up high with my umbrella without a weight.... Bad idea, it fell down like a ton of bricks. My umbrella saves it, umbrellas bent but I fixed it, reflector got scratched so I called calumet and asked for a new one. Before all this happened, the reflector was sorta loose so I called um up and they sent me a whole new unit for free, it should be here today intact. There customer service is great, friendly and always give you the most they can. Insured for a year after purchase date but does not include lamp, of cords, and stand I think**. My two light kit was 300$ or so, worth every cent. Comes with all cords, reflectors, spare fuses, bulbs, umbrellas white and black, stands. The only thing is that people claim that the modeling light only lasts 6 hours on prop, but I already bought replacements at homedepot. Oct 02 08 08:09 pm Link I've used the Travelites, Speedos, Alienbees and WL. I own AB's and WL. The customer service is second to none. My photo school bought 5 Travelite kits of 2 lights and out of the 10 strobes, one was DOA. TL are well made, heavy, solid gear. TL heads are really heavy... I was scared when using a 750w TL with an umbrella a 13ft light stand and two sandbags on a breezy day. The lightstand was really flexing in the wind and I had to have an assistant stand and hold the lightstand as I was afraid it would fall and hurt someone. Bees much lighter and probably wouldn't hurt nearly so bad if it conked someone on the head. LOL I use PW's and love them as well as the Sekonic L358 with the PW module and I think Profoto is about the only strobes that have the PW built in but they are premium priced units and personally wouldn't buy them because of the premium price attached to the models that have the PW built in. The most cost effective way to go is to use the AB Wired Remote that will control 4-16+ strobe units, if you use phone cord splitters at a mere cost of $100. Really nice to be able to control 4 strobes from the remote instead of moving from head to head to adjust power, model lamp, etc. So just need two PW's and plug receiver to the Wired Remote and Tranny to your camera. WAY cheaper than any other reliable solution. I don't count the Ebay radio triggers, I have 3 sets all failed... I could have bought one more PW. I do have 5 PW's but if the wires on the Wired Remote is no problem, I'd rather use it than all PW's. AB's have lots of accessories at very reasonable prices, lightweight, the Vagabond works great and then new Vagabond II is supposed to be even better. Better light? C'mon... I doubt few if any could CORRECTLY tell the difference. Oh, I think AB flash tubes only cost $35 vs $160 to replace. True, it would be rare that either needs replacing unless you shoot a ton, but the cost of the tube of the TL is about 5x more. Okay, yeah I love my Bees and WL's because of price, service, accessories, support and RESALE VALUE. Bees hold their value far better than any other system. Oct 27 08 02:06 pm Link Matthew Allen MEDIA wrote: We're still waiting Matthew Oct 27 08 04:27 pm Link I have Calumet 3000 Watt asymmetrical studio flash system with 3 heads... paid little over $2,200.00 for it years back.... Great stuff.... but.... little bulky... oh, and did I mentioned those heavy-duty and too short cables that cannot be extended ? ... uff... I am now purchasing 4 Alien Bees 1600 units..... Plan on using them in tandem with Calumet power pack .... Calumet for main light, Alien Bees for all other ... Love the built-in slave in AB... also, light weight... very easy power adjustments ... and more ... Conclusion: Go AB. Feb 08 12 07:01 pm Link Another zombie thread. You can not kill them Feb 08 12 07:24 pm Link |
, I hear these things are going to be the Sh#t, possible having some kind of built-in light meter. They are pushing it until late 2008-early 2009.
