Alienbees B800 vs B1600 vs WL x1600

[Don Kondra]

For Art...

The AB1600's are fan cooled

Cheers, Don

[ziggy53]

I'll throw in a plug for the Flashpoint II monolights. Fan cooled and metal skinned they are durable and quick to recycle. The Flashpoint II Model 1820A have enough power to work in sunlight and enough power control that I don't have much trouble in small rooms either.

User, and field, replaceable flash tubes and modeling light. Plenty of power options from 300 WS (effective) through 2400 WS (effective). (Different models.) The 1820s have infinite power control from full to 1/8th (with moderate color shift.)

I use a pair of these monolights along with a bevy of battery powered flashes, both shoe flashes and handle bracket flashes, to produce my lighting needs.

All of the following are using the Flashpoint 1820A monolights as primary:











The Flashpoint use standard umbrellas, but they have a proprietary speed ring. While they have enough modifiers to meet my needs, you might want to research speed ring adapters in order to use other manufacturer modifiers.

The lights:

http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/de...nt%20monolight

Modifiers:

http://www.adorama.com/FP2BD.html
http://www.adorama.com/SZGS7.html
http://www.adorama.com/FP2SN.html
http://www.adorama.com/FP2SB2436.html

Photoflex Adapter ring (I gather others are available):

http://www.adorama.com/PF9107FP.html

[Art Scott]

Originally Posted by Don Kondra

For Art...

The AB1600's are fan cooled

Cheers, Don

Yes.....I finally found that on the products feature page.....Thanx Don......I did not think that Paul would send out a system like the AB without but could not find it whilst looking prior to posting..............

EDIT: AFTER THOUGHT...........While perusinmg my Rosco filter swatch book I noticed ND filters and also heavier spun white diffusion filters.........this could help in extreme cases of too much light.......

[rwells]

Originally Posted by Art Scott

Yes.....I finally found that on the products feature page.....Thanx Don......I did not think that Paul would send out a system like the AB without but could not find it whilst looking prior to posting..............

That's why I'm holding on to my White Lightning Ultra's = No Fan

If your shooting in nasty, dusty dirty places (rodeo's - bull riding, etc), you don't want a fan pulling all that into your strobes.

[mrcoons]

Ziggy, do they make a powerpack for the Flashpoint lights? I looked around on Adorama's site but did not see any mention made of one.

[Art Scott]

Randy.....you could always use a piece of women's hose to filter the dirt and dust from getting into your flash unit

Spray with a dust collector like Pledge of Dust Off or something similar that is oil free and you keep the indsides of the strobe much cleaner than with out.....but occaisonal cleaning of the insides doesn't hurt either.........

[ziggy53]

Originally Posted by mrcoons

Ziggy, do they make a powerpack for the Flashpoint lights? I looked around on Adorama's site but did not see any mention made of one.

No, but the Alien Bee Vagabond II system should work.

I will also be testing my units on a "true/pure" sinewave inverter and deep discharge battery. (Don't try to use a cheap inverter with "modified" sine wave as that will almost certainly cause damage to the flash.) If I have success and don't destroy my units I'll make a recommendation. It will be a while before I'm satisfied and report back, so the Vagabond units are the best bet for a commercially available remote power source for now.

[HelenOster]

Originally Posted by ziggy53

No, but the Alien Bee Vagabond II system should work.

I will also be testing my units on a "true/pure" sinewave inverter and deep discharge battery. (Don't try to use a cheap inverter with "modified" sine wave as that will almost certainly cause damage to the flash.) If I have success and don't destroy my units I'll make a recommendation. It will be a while before I'm satisfied and report back, so the Vagabond units are the best bet for a commercially available remote power source for now.

I don't want to be 'the voice of doom', but this is from the site that makes the Vagabond power pack:


"The Vagabond II is designed specifically for powering Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ products and we cannot make any claim for suitability with products from other manufacturers, nor can we accept any liability for any damage that might be caused to such equipment. We will, however, warranty the Vagabond II itself as well as any Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ equipment it powers".


So… it MAY work but I wouldn’t suggest it......

[ziggy53]

Originally Posted by HelenOster

I don't want to be 'the voice of doom', but this is from the site that makes the Vagabond power pack:


"The Vagabond II is designed specifically for powering Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ products and we cannot make any claim for suitability with products from other manufacturers, nor can we accept any liability for any damage that might be caused to such equipment. We will, however, warranty the Vagabond II itself as well as any Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ equipment it powers".


So… it MAY work but I wouldn’t suggest it......

You are right to recommend caution and I'm sure that any warranty that covers the flash units would not cover using a third-party mobile power pack.