MannyDesalamanca wrote:
My Vagabond I runs my 24" Imac for 6 hours......... ;-)

Wow, really? I've always wanted to try that with my Macbook...but I'm scared that something might go wrong if I plug in the charger.

Daniel Garay wrote:

Wow, really? I've always wanted to try that with my Macbook...but I'm scared that something might go wrong if I plug in the charger.

It's a power unit that If it works  2 AB x1600 watt units about 500 or 200 shots with the 250 watt modeling lamp shots...................... It will run pretty much any home electrical device........

The more the watts the less time it will run it......

Leo Howard wrote:
I love portable power, it makes life so much easier

This quote says it all....... Plain And Simple ............

DAVPARK Photography wrote:
I have been looking into getting a Vagabond II, and from all I have read here, and on  web reviews, everything seems very positive., The cost is reasonable, it appears less than I could try to build one myself. My question is - I do not have Alien Bee, White Lighting or Zeus lights. I know that Alien Bee will not warranty it to work with any other strobes, but what is everyone experience with using on non Alien Bees? I have Photogenic 300 watt and Interfit 150 watt strobes.

It works with at least one Hensel 500W Integra Pro. I suspect that one can easily chain two or three of these.

Daniel Garay wrote:

Wow, really? I've always wanted to try that with my Macbook...but I'm scared that something might go wrong if I plug in the charger.

Review I read said he could run 4 strobes, power his cell phone, and charged a Mac Book....sounded too good to be true, that is why I am asking...

PYPI wrote:
http://blog.patyuen.com/lessons/powerpack/

Building your own portable power pack will generally save you money. A 300 watt inverter runs $130.00, $40 for a 12 Amp hour SLA battery, $40 for a charger, plus $40 for misc hardware and a case. You’re looking at about $250.00 for a custom system. With shipping and time, it’s not much of a savings over the Vegabond II system but you do have much more flexibility than what the Vegabond II offers. Some of the advantages include virtually limitless power if you are willing to carry additional batteries. The charger is also useful for charging up your car’s battery.

Great info thank you!  But if the vagabond saves me time, and three trips to home depot, batteries plus and radio shack..

mary duprie wrote:
yes, i use my profoto or novatrons......

i also take a 20" lcd screen....

i have 3 vegabonds.....

Do you have three so you have longer use , i.e. 500 shots for each one, or do you need all three to power different lighting, and accessories (LCD) for same shoot?

PYPI wrote:
http://blog.patyuen.com/lessons/powerpack/

Building your own portable power pack will generally save you money. A 300 watt inverter runs $130.00, $40 for a 12 Amp hour SLA battery, $40 for a charger, plus $40 for misc hardware and a case. You’re looking at about $250.00 for a custom system. With shipping and time, it’s not much of a savings over the Vegabond II system but you do have much more flexibility than what the Vegabond II offers. Some of the advantages include virtually limitless power if you are willing to carry additional batteries. The charger is also useful for charging up your car’s battery.

referring to the bold, you can disconnect the inverter from the VII and run it from any car battery.

DAVPARK Photography wrote:
I have been looking into getting a Vagabond II, and from all I have read here, and on  web reviews, everything seems very positive., The cost is reasonable, it appears less than I could try to build one myself. My question is - I do not have Alien Bee, White Lighting or Zeus lights. I know that Alien Bee will not warranty it to work with any other strobes, but what is everyone experience with using on non Alien Bees? I have Photogenic 300 watt and Interfit 150 watt strobes.

An important consideration with inverters is how they handle an overload situation.  When shooting with strobes, there is a tremendous spike in power requirements, right after they flash, and ALL of them are recharging at once.   Most photographers are interested in recycle speed.  The faster a light recycles, the more power it needs during recycling (1000 watts per light during recycle is not unusual)

Unlike most inverters that shut off when presented with an overload, the Vagabond II will simply reduce  voltage.  Alien Bees and White Lightning strobes expect this reduction, and recharge more slowly to reduce their power draw.

This cooperation between inverter and lights allows the Vagabond to support more lights than it's peak power rating would suggest.

Many other brands of light malfunction when presented with lower voltage.  If your lights fall into this category, you need to get an inverter (and battery) that can handle the peak load of all your lights recharging at once.


If you choose to build your own, you need to keep this in mind.  If your lights tolerate reduce voltage, it's difficult to find a DIY power inverter that works this way (Vagabonds used to use Samlex, but Samlex changed their design).  If your don't go the reduced voltage route, you need enough peak capacity for all lights to recharge at once.