Studio Lighting

mike_c1019

I am new to studio lighting and am considering purchasing one of the following light set ups that meet my budget. Does any one have any info on which one may be best, or any other suggestions before I buy?

Product Option 1:Calumet Genisis Monolight 200 comes with 45" umbrella and a 10' stand, sync cord, power cord, 150w modeling lamp. It has a Guide Number (which I do not understand yet) of 125 and a 1-3sec recycle time. $169.99 + tax and shipping.

Product Option 2:Adorama Flashpoint Monolight 320 comes with 40" umbrella and a 10' stand, sync cord, power cord. Guide Number is 118 and 1.2 sec recycle time. $159.95 + tax and shipping.

And info will help.

Thanks
Mike

Art Scott

Have you looked at Paul C Buff's White Lightning or Alien Bee's lines.....very good build quality (made in Nashville Tn).....excellent customer service........

ziggy53

mike_c1019 wrote:

I am new to studio lighting and am considering purchasing one of the following light set ups that meet my budget. Does any one have any info on which one may be best, or any other suggestions before I buy?

Product Option 1:Calumet Genisis Monolight 200 comes with 45" umbrella and a 10' stand, sync cord, power cord, 150w modeling lamp. It has a Guide Number (which I do not understand yet) of 125 and a 1-3sec recycle time. $169.99 + tax and shipping.

Product Option 2:Adorama Flashpoint Monolight 320 comes with 40" umbrella and a 10' stand, sync cord, power cord. Guide Number is 118 and 1.2 sec recycle time. $159.95 + tax and shipping.

And info will help.

Thanks
Mike

I have the FlashPoint II monolights and I like them a lot. Power consistancy pop-to-pop is very good and repeatability is also very good. (Measured with a Gossen Luna-Pro F meter and confirmed with camera.)

Do keep in mind that you are buying into a system. The only (somewhat) universally compatible components are the umbrellas and the light stand mount. Soft boxes, reflector dishes, barn doors, etc. are all pretty specific to the monolight. Just make sure the desired accessories are available for the system you purchase.

I don't have experience with the Calumet Genesis but my experience with Calumet has been pretty good as a whole.

Like Art says, the Alien Bee (AB) line has a great following and good reputation. White Lightning is from the same manufacturer but with a little higher quality and cost.

davidweaver

Ditto to Art. Look at the Bees. I bought a pair of B800s and I really like them. They have paid for themselves 4x over the last 3 months for me. You can get lots of third-party products that will work with AB/WL/Balcar speedrings so you have a lot of flexibility using non Alien Bee softboxes, etc.

Cheers,
David