It really depends on what you want to do. For me, I've split my lighting needs into a couple of simple categories.
When I want to go small and fast, a couple of SB-600s on umbrellas and I am good. If I need softer light, I place 2 SB-600s onto a custom bracket and place them inside either a 28" or 50" Apollo softbox and are easily controlled from the commander mode of an on camera SB-800 so that I do not even need to go close to the softbox to change power settings.
Of course, if I want to have greater distances, I have 3 Pocket Wizard IIs available to me and when the Nikon versions of the FlexTT5 come out, I will order 4 of them.
When shooting outside, one needs power, plain and simple. To that end, last light I ordered a Photogenic 2500DR 1000 W/s strobe head and to make it portable, I added a Vagabond II battery pack to my list of tools. Now, first thought is that people will say that the battery pack will limit your number of shots, and that is true. The Vagabond is good for about 250 full power 1000 W/s flashes before needing to be recharged. So, after a little research, found out that the inverter from the Vagabond can connect to an external battery... and I just happen to have a brand new 20 pound car battery waiting for me on the side that should be good for an additional 500-600 full power flashes. Now, one of course normally doesn't go around using it at full power, so at even half power, I have (in theory) enough to take between 1000-1200 flashes using my current setup, which is more than enough for my needs.
I also purchased a 12-volt charger with the Vagabond unit... so I can do some charging while driving from location to the location, if needed.
Because I have tried to meticulously plan out and research my needs and the equipment that meets those needs, I find that my setup is extremely versatile and can be used inside, outside, dark and very bright locations (1000 W/s is strong enough to overpower bright sunlight even through my softboxes under most circumstances).
So why Photogenic instead of Alien Bees?
The reason I went to Photogenic instead of Alien Bees are:
- True 1000 W/s vs true 640 W/s
- Much more consistent WB from low to high power settings
- Fan cooled vs no fan cooling
- extruded metal case vs plastic case
- 6-stop adjustability vs 5-stop
- 7 lbs vs 4 lbs
- 2 year warranty vs 1 year
- Pocket Wizard support vs Cybersync support
- Professional level quality vs more of a consumer level.
It always surprises me that people do not know that Photogenic has been around for over 100 years, and in that time, have put out some incredible pro-level quality equipment that is incredibly reliable, durable and stable. I saw a 40 year old unit that was working today that was used in a kmart style of in-out fast shoot and pay me place that took 200-300 shots per day and then was used by a wedding photographer on the weekends for years... usage that would have MELTED any plastic covered unit decades ago... and was still going strong with nothing more than 5 modeling bulb changes and 2-3 flash bulb changes in it's entire carreer!
What really got me is that with other higher powered head units, you could not power them down enough to use in a mixed environment of studio heads and speedlights. Well the Photogenic unit that I ordered can go down to 32 W/s which is way below the maximum of a 75-80 W/s output of your average SB-600 which means I *can* mix and match both the studio head and speedlights in a useful manner.
I did that same test on a set of Profoto Compact 600 W/s heads and it was a waste of time. At the Profoto's lowest power levels, I was hitting F/11 at 20 feet subject to light distances. If I wanted to mix and match strobes and speedlights, the Profotos would have to be so far away, that they would be 2 rooms down... lol. There was no way I could use a triple diffused Profoto softbox and a speedlight in the same setup... something that I can do with the Photogenics.
Anyways, all that to say, this is how I think, how I work and if anything, I hope it gives people a different slant on how to think/plan/decide what is best for them.
