5D MKIII VS .... Dynalite!

Village Idiot · Mar 7, 2012

I have the opporunity to purchase a Dynalite kits with 2 800w/s packs and 3 heads, all I have to do is cancel the 5D MKIII preorder.

I'm really thinking about doing it right now as I can purchase the lights, sell my Speedos, and then save some cash up for the MKIII. At that point, the 5D3 will have been out for a little while and I'll be able to see hands on rather than being a first run test mule. There's negative with doing this over keeping my Speedos. I go from 5 lights to 3 for the time being. I do however go from a 1200 w/s pack and a 400 w/s pack to two 800 w/s packs. I'll not have the option for all out power; it's about 2/3 of a stop less light available to me from one pack. I will be purchasing at least one more head that will work with my beauty dish and maybe a 1600w/s-2000w/s pack in the future sometime. There's always good deals on ebay. The biggest bonus is that my lighting kit will no longer weigh over 100lbs loaded up into the giant Pelican 1654 and I'll be more apt to just go shoot rather than just working for other people.

Musings on the subject?

analog.universe · Mar 7, 2012

That does sound like a more practical option. Most of the time I don't really like the idea of preording gear anyway... If you preorder, you're likely paying the highest price that the thing will ever be, and you still don't know how it _really_ performs in the field.

And, chances are you'll end up with both the lights and the body eventually anyway, right? May as well get the lights while you can get a deal...

Village Idiot · Mar 7, 2012

Maybe I'll auction off my 400w/s Speedo pack since it's apparently a coveted rarity.

penfolderoldo · Mar 7, 2012

Yep, i'd cancel the pre-order and go with the lights. Sounds like this will be more beneficial for the kind of stuff you shoot right now, and as you've said, it's not a case of 'either / or', just means delaying the 5DIII for a bit, which will give the bods at Canon a chance to iron out any technical quirks, and hopefully for the price to drop a bit!

Village Idiot · Mar 7, 2012

Pulled the trigger. Speedo gear is going up on ebay this weekend.

Derrel · Mar 7, 2012

Dynalite stuff is so compact and portable!!! I had a 1000 Watt-second pack and just one head for a while, and I was in awe of how TINY the flash head was! I mean, it was like 1/3 the size of a Speedo 102 fan-cooled head...and yes, only three flash heads is not as nice as five.

As for the 5D-III; like the ORIGINAL 5D, which hit the street at $3499, then went to $3199, and then was "rebated", and finally dropped to $2,000 with an EPSON printer and some rigamarole involved in selling off the printer--I expect the same thing; full-bore $3499 price for six months, then a rebate of $200. Rebates and price cuts are vastly different to dealers; rebates do not pinch the dealers' profit margins, but price cuts do. After a full year, I expect the 5D-III will hit $2999.

Another musing is this

ne does not always need to "sell-off" equipment to finance new equipment. Sure, it takes longer to save the money needed for new acquisitions, but by not selling-off gear to finance new gear, one can avoid the dreaded "double buying", and also, one will have a larger pool of equipment to rely upon.

Helen B · Mar 7, 2012

You should get $400 for the 405. It's weird right now, the price of used small Speedos. I got an 805 for $280 when the 405s are going for quite a bit more.

I have Dynalites for location work, nothing larger than 800 Ws (sic) power packs and a couple of the UNI400JRs. The old D-series is fine. You can get heads that take up to four tubes, supplied by four packs.