Knock knock. Who's there?

[Village Idiot]

Dynalites!

Just a PSA. These suckers rock. Other than not being weather resistant like certain speedlights or any speedlight + a gallon freezer bag, they travel nice and with the Paul C. Buff Mini Vagabond, they're almost as portable (with some obvious exceptions).

I did a mini shoot yesterday evening at a local abandonned golf course with a friend who I'm collaberating with to do a pin-up calendar for a local business. We brought one of the models along so we could do some planning and shoot a little bit. She's not super experienced as far as photography goes, but she's interested in it and is a MUA that did a pretty big fashion show charity event last summer, so I was showing her some tricks. I packed a lighting back with a portable stand, 800 w/s Dynalite pack, studio head, two cables, VBM, and two Pocket Wizards and we headed out. The bag was a little heavier, but everything fit in there and I didn't have to worry about charging anything but my camera batteries and the VBM. I did carry a Kacey beauty dish with me so we had some type of modifier besides and umbrella.

We managed to shoot for about an hour before the rain started coming down and with that, the lights got packed away. The VBM did beautifully and was still showing a full charge after two of use shooting for an hour. The recycle time on the Dynalite pack was relatively quick and we were able to go from overpowering the sun to having a nice balance for the evening light. The quality of light was great as well. The only downside is that the built in PW in the Dynalite pack doesn't work so hot on a battery. You have to give it about 15 seconds between shots or it will not work and even then sometimes you have to cycle the power on the pack to get it to reinitialize. It's an inconvenience and reminded me that I do need to buy a cable so I can plug one in directly. Otherwise, things went perfectly.

I'm going to work on some of the photos this evening and post them up so people have some idea of the range I was getting from the lights.

Now why did I post this nonsense? Because Dynalites! They're a system you don't ever hear a lot about but yet a good amount of pros use them. I've owned several different sets and other than being able to afford a $20,000 set of Profoto lights, I can't think of any other brand replacing them. From the Bees, to the speedlights, to the Speedotron, to the Dyna, they just fit my shooting style with the ability to give me the power I need while still remaining semi-portable. No offense to the Speedo fans, but I don't regret selling mine after lugging around a Pelican case full of lights that weighed in at over 100lbs.

 

[sscarmack]

No photos!??!?! BOOOOOOOO haha

 

[Derrel]

Nice write-up! There are several reasons Dyna-Lite gear is still in business after alllll these years.

Besides making compact, lightweight but PROFESSIONAL-grade power packs designed to take heavy duty use, Dyna-Lite also has really nice, compact flash heads. So small! And SOLIDLY-made. It's hard for the made in China set to understand what you're talking about I think. The Dyna quality is notches above the MIC stuff. Besides the small, portable, professional lighting market, they also have a pretty big following in the ceiling-mounted arena and stadium lighting segment.

 

[Village Idiot]

Nice write-up! There are several reasons Dyna-Lite gear is still in business after alllll these years.

Besides making compact, lightweight but PROFESSIONAL-grade power packs designed to take heavy duty use, Dyna-Lite also has really nice, compact flash heads. So small! And SOLIDLY-made. It's hard for the made in China set to understand what you're talking about I think. The Dyna quality is notches above the MIC stuff. Besides the small, portable, professional lighting market, they also have a pretty big following in the ceiling-mounted arena and stadium lighting segment.

Yeah. I had some dingbat knock over a flash head and other than denting the little aluminum reflector insert that' replaceable and removing a tiny piece of powder coating, it still works fine.

 

[Village Idiot]

Here's a preliminary edit. This was just with one light and a beauty dish.

 

[Village Idiot]

Some other shots with the Dynalites, just on a different day.

Studio head and Kacey beauty dish with lights on the side for rim:

Studio head with beauty dish:

Same as the first, one head with the Kacey and two for rim lighting:

Same as above, but the fire isn't anywhere near as visible on this one:

 

[tirediron]

Nice! I was seriously considering Dynalite at one point but someone [ Derrel ] turned me on to Speedotron, which I'm happy to say has worked VERY well for me.

 

[Village Idiot]

Nice! I was seriously considering Dynalite at one point but someone [ Derrel ] turned me on to Speedotron, which I'm happy to say has worked VERY well for me.

Speedotron makes some great heavy duty equipment, but unfortunately, it's the heavy part of heavy duty that stands out when you're shooting on location.

 

[tirediron]

Nice! I was seriously considering Dynalite at one point but someone [ Derrel ] turned me on to Speedotron, which I'm happy to say has worked VERY well for me.

Speedotron makes some great heavy duty equipment, but unfortunately, it's the heavy part of heavy duty that stands out when you're shooting on location.

Actually, the brownline gear isn't a lot heavier than Dynalite; I get four lights, power pack, grids, umbrellas, etc into a standard lighting case that I take everywhere with me.

 

[Derrel]

I got a Black Line 405B, three-outlet, 5-pound, 400 Watt-second pack shortly before they quit making that model. It has become my travel pack, used with two 202VF (variable focusing from flood to semi-spot) heads, which pack down pretty compactly if I take off the tightening handle and the mounting assemblies. The small diameter of the 202VF's really make storing the lights much easier than with the older, round 102/103/M-11 style light head bodies. The 405B power supply reminds me of Dyna-Lite in terms of size, click-stop adjustment, quality, and weight. Buuut, they quit making both the 405B and the 805B in favor of the new 1000 Watt-second model.

As for realllllly small, I also have a Brown Line D202, which is a TINY, 2-outlet pack that is smaller than anything else on the market. Paired with the MW3U umbrella-type heads, which are very small, about as small as the Dyna-Lite 2015's I'd say, that makes a very small kit, about 9 pounds I guess. Buuuuut...the Brown Line lack the sheer speed and the adjustability of the Dyna-Lite power packs. One of the secrets of Dyna-Lite is that small, "internal" built-in reflector concept, so the flash heads do not need an extra reflector added on, or permanently built on externally; THAT is what makes their flash heads so,so compact!

Speedo was always built for the studio...Dyna-Lite has always been built for on-the-go.

 

[Village Idiot]

Nice! I was seriously considering Dynalite at one point but someone [ Derrel ] turned me on to Speedotron, which I'm happy to say has worked VERY well for me.

Speedotron makes some great heavy duty equipment, but unfortunately, it's the heavy part of heavy duty that stands out when you're shooting on location.

Actually, the brownline gear isn't a lot heavier than Dynalite; I get four lights, power pack, grids, umbrellas, etc into a standard lighting case that I take everywhere with me.

Was talking about my black lines. I had a 400 w/s pack, 1200 w/s pack, and 5 202 vf heads.