Anyone have any advice on purchasing a set of Mono lights?

What Brand?
What specs?
Where to buy?

These would be for shooting models and maybe some products....

Thanks,
Chris

Would help to know what your budget is.

my experience has been with profoto self contained heads (i think thats what the question relates to?) anyways self contained vs stobes hooked up to a power pack, i'd say they both have some advantages. the obvious advantage to using the self contained ones is they arent limited to the length of the cord in relation to a power pack, but it means you have to have alot more extension cord. i like that the self contained heads can be adjusted to such a wide range with a simple dial whereas it can get a bit more complicated on a pack. my biggest issue with the self contained heads is that rather than using a sync cord or a pocket wizard reciever and transmitter is that you have to slave additional heads. that can be ok i suppose but its given me trouble on occasion. especially if other photographers are around. i also dislike the way the profoto self contained heads are held onto light stands the ones ive used have had some quirky parts that even as tight as they would go would not stay in place. if im using studio space i choose a pack over the self contained any day it would be another story for shooting on location. i think all in all it works out either way it just comes down to personal prefferences

im saving for these right now ,  photogenic akc320b   its  about $1000  for a set of two .   that includes , umbrellas and stands.     for $400 more they have power packs to go completely portable.   i never used them but have been told by people i trust its a good set , with enough power for most applications.

Another question besides the budget constraints.

What type camera will you be shooting with.    If digital what is your minimum iso?

I'm shooting on a D200 and would like to spend less than two grand.....

I would look at anything that Paul C. Buff makes
They are built to last I have 6 White Lightning Ultras that I have had for over 10 years
and they just keep going and going longer then the energizer bunny.

Also shoot with D-200 and Kodak 14n/x and DCS 760  also Fuji S5 pro on order

With 2K I would stick with the mid range lighting. WL or Photogenic. 3 lights, stands and modifiers should just about hit your budget. Photoflex soft boxes, speed rings and Bogen stands are going to eat a fair chunk.

Good luck...

I use JTL monolights, with battery packs for location work. They also have built-in slave sensors, that can be triggered by another flash or infrared transmitter, cut the use of sync cords. You can stop down the power as well in 1/3 stop increments.

For 2K, you can easily get a couple of lights, stands, umbrellas, softbox, etc.

Nother vote for JTL and the battery pack.

I absolutely love my Elinchrom monoblocks.  A couple of my friends even sold their old systems and bought into Elinchrom.

You might want to consider why specifically mono strobes. As opposed to pack strobes, hotshoe flash, a plethora of continuous sources....

Not enough info here to even deal with that, much less the makes and models of monos.

Lighting gear differs greatly, and has a tendency to affect your working method more than any other sort of gear, even your camera. By that measure, there is really no such thing as "good" or "bad" lighting (well... there's bad, but not really "good"), only lighting that is good or bad for a particular photographer's method and intended results. It's worth looking further in to.

I bought Calumet/Bowens Travelite 750’s a few at a time until I had 4 heads and stands and now modifiers. I also picked up a Travelite 250 for hair. I bought this brand because they were current enough to get parts and they were still under warranty.
Total spent: $1800

I keep them in the studio and also bought two Photogenic Photomaster PM08 powerpacks with heads and stands for my location kits.
Total spent: $850

Hensel Interga Pro 500, Have three of them they get dragged around the world (110-220Vac), love them...

Personally I bought a used set of Photogenic strobes and they have given me no problems, good steady even lighting, great recycle time, and durable as hell.  They spend a lot of time bouncing around in the back of my car and have held up well.

I also use a set of White Lightning X800's and they have had a lot of dependability issues, the flash tube can short out really easily.  I have had to send 6 back for repair, luckily they are still under warranty.

I've used a number of moderately priced monolights and have found the Norman ML400s to be the best bang for the buck.  They are made by Photogenic which is also a good moderately priced light.  A few bucks more will get you Elinchroms which are outstanding.

My experience with economy lights, such as Alien Bees and Briteks is that their build quality and functionality just ain't there.  For a few bucks more you can do much better with Normans or Photogenics or Elinchroms.

I love my Elinchrom 500 w/s monolights.  Now they make 400 w/s units.  Here is a link to B&H page for the 2 light kit:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control … Navigation