Looking for some strobes...

[Bobbo]

Hey, all. I was laid off a month ago, and since then, I've gotten a couple of small-time portrait gigs around town to help offset the unemployment insurance payments and to give me something to do.

I've had some good luck so far with jury-rigging up some hot lights, but I would rather have strobes (hey, I'm getting paid, so I might as well do a decent job). I have about $200 to put in to a 2 or 3 strobe kit with optical slaves and adjustable power. I don't need anything super-fancy or uber-powerful, as it's mostly traditional head & shoulders portraits for now.

I've found some good deals on the older White Lightning 10,000's and 5,000's (the old "coffee can" models), and I'm wondering if such things would be a good choice.

I've also found some other things, like this Photogenic 2-light and pack kit. For this kit, could I add other heads to it if I need more lights (prices on just heads seem very reasonable)? Would this be a good idea?

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks, all.
--Bob

 

[hxpham]

Alien Bees are a good deal for budget lighting. Anything cheaper that isn't used is usually not worth it.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Bob,

I've been a longtime user of Photogenic strobes. The system for sale on KEH is a very old system, probably 30 years old. Photogenic doesn't make any powerpack systems anymore and hasn't for quite some time. They make Monolights now. There are two monolight systems made by Photogenic. Powerlights are the higher-end system, and Studiomax are the lower-end system. I have four Powerlight 1250C strobes. They're 500ws and cost about $500 each. That's fairly inexpensive compared to higher-end systems like Elinchrom and Speedotron. They're well made, and the Powerlight line is made in USA (not sure on the Studiomax line). I like them, and accessories like softboxes and different reflectors are widely available and made by several companies.

Alienbees are American made and are said to be very good too, but I don't think anyone makes accessories except the manufacturer of the lights, Paul C. Buff.

I would not buy very old strobes. Someone gave me a set of Speedotron heads and a powerpack of the same vintage as the system you're looking at on KEH. Speedotron told me that they aren't safe and when old are liable to short and electrocute the user because old systems like that didnt have the safety systems to prevent that that modern ones do.

 

[gavinlg]

Alien bees are extremely good, and US made. I use elinchrom d-lite 4it's which are much improved over the old d-lites and include fans, and a radio transmitter in the kit. They also have radio receivers built in which is great, and slightly better color accuracy than the alien bees.

Like Chris, I wouldnt recommend getting very old strobes.

 

[Vics]

Could you rent for now? I used to do that, but not for a while. Also, for simple things like head shotw, you might try the "strobist' approach: http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

 

[Bobbo]

Thanks for the responses. I wasn't sure about an older strobe, but I should probably stay away.

I'm not sold on the whole "strobist" thing, mostly because the reliance on batteries and my personal need for fast recycle times (I do some portrait work for my local Arc chapter. I'd be willing to try it again, however, if that's the best route for me.

However, if I were to go the small flash route, would I be better off with the $15 Wein "peanut" optical slaves, or should I buy a set of the 4-channel radio remotes from China (Please don't suggest Pocket Wizards... I know they're good, but I don't have the money by any stretch of the imagination).

Thanks for the renting suggestion, but there's no good way for me to do so. I live in the boondocks where we measure drives to the mall in hours, not miles. The closest place with decent rentals is NYC, which would be a good thing... except it's a 12-hour drive round trip😀.

 

[FrankS]

I used a single Prolinca (economy version of Elincrome, I believe) for many years with an umbrella. Worked well for me. I have a canvas backdrop with backdrop stands. Recently I found 3 Hensel mono light units in a pawn shop to ad to my kit and expand my lighting possibilities..

 

[dave lackey]

Hey, Bobbo...

Sitting here waiting on a trip to the ER...so might as well pass on a link for a 3-light setup for $399:

http://www.adorama.com/FP3203.html?...te&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=rflAID021866

 

[bwcolor]

I have the Adorama strobes, but with a different label. I also have a complete four head Novatron setup with a ton of stuff to lug around. The Adorama are a good place to start, unless Alien Bees are that cheap. Remember, strobes alone don't make a great setup. You need the proper light modifiers. They can be had on the cheap when starting out.