time for new strobe(s)

dangin · August 14, 2008

so i was on a wedding shoot this past weekend and managed to pop one of my 300ws strobes. not sure what happened but the smell of burnt electrical wiring was wafting through the air by the strobe. it kept firing but i didn't want to take any chances and took it out of service. suffice it to say, i've got one downed (out of warranty) strobe.

i know there are plenty of other brands out there; some less expensive and some way out there. for what i do, i can't justify a set of speedotrons or elinchrom lights. i know many wedding photographers that rely on their alien bees and travelite strobes and have been very happy with them overall. of course if i had the money, i'd probably pluck down on a bunch of quantum q t5d-r flashes and call it a day.

here's what i'm considering:

option 1 | replace 2 strobes w/ 2 new alien bee ab800 (300ws)
or
option 2 | replace 1 main strobe w/ 1 new calumet travelite 750 (750ws)

thoughts one way or another?

ziggy53 · August 14, 2008

I have, and use, Flashpoint II 1820 monolights. I would compare them favorably to the Travelites that I used to use at work.

They seem pretty durable and had most of the features I was looking for in a monolight.

They use an odd mounting flange but it hasn't posed a problem. There are enough accessories available to suit my needs.

300ws monolights (model 620a) are $200.

http://www.adorama.com/FP620A.html

dangin · August 15, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

I have, and use, Flashpoint II 1820 monolights. I would compare them favorably to the Travelites that I used to use at work.

They seem pretty durable and had most of the features I was looking for in a monolight.

They use an odd mounting flange but it hasn't posed a problem. There are enough accessories available to suit my needs.

300ws monolights (model 620a) are $200.

http://www.adorama.com/FP620A.html

what's the warranty on them? do you know what kind of softbox rings they take?

ziggy53 · August 15, 2008

Dan,

I bought mine a couple of years ago and I don't find the papers for them.

I seem to recall 1 year warranty on the monolights but I don't recall the warranty on the flash tubes and I doubt that any warranty covers the modeling lights.

I have only used a FlashPoint softbox and I have a couple of "universal" soft boxes that I bought from an E-Bay supplier.

I gather that you can get PhotoFlex adapters that will mate several different manufacturers' products.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/charts/photoflexStrobe.html

It would appear that the FlashPoint and White Lightning Ultra flashes may be similar:

http://www.adorama.com/PF9002BR.html

I also gather, from research on the Net, that you can get replacement speedrings for the FlashPoint lights that possibly fit other manufacturers, but I don't know this for a fact.

You may need to call Adorama to verify the warranty and compatibility specifications:

1-888-216-7400

dangin · August 15, 2008

hmmm... that is interesting. i wonder if adorama bought out the white lighting ultra spec from paul buff?

i might have to give them a shot. thx, ziggy.

time for new strobe(s)

new strobe options 3 votes

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