Strobe lighting power question

[table1349]

Paul Buff Inc. it the maker of both White Lighting and Alien Bees. They are manufactured in the same factory and are sold from the same building. They are marketed for different kinds markets. If giving a full description of you product is gimmicky marketing, I will take it every time. http://www.alienbees.com/specs.html & http://www.white-lightning.com/specs.html

You won't get that much information from most of the other companies. Paul also has no problem explaining exactly how all and with what equipment all of his specs came from for both products. As for output consistency I haven't heard a complaint about that being a problem. A good place to learn more about both Alien Bees and White Lightning. http://www.paulcbuff.com/forums/

 

[fmw]

In addition to what has been mentioned, it's important to point out that the more powerful the strobe, the less likely that you'll be shooting at full power, which means the lights will recycle faster. You never want to be shooting at full power if you can help it. Buying bigger wattage lights so you can shoot in the mid range will prolong the life of the bulb and give you quick recycle times when you are shooting repeatedly.

These are the most important reasons to have powerful units. I have some studio strobes that are running on the original flash tubes after 10 years of almost daily use. Since replacement tubes are $150 each, it is a meaningful advantage. I have never used any of them at more than 1/2 power ever. Usually, they are at 1/8 power or even less. At 1/8 power, recycling is virtually instantaneous.

I should also mention that exposure times with studio strobes are a lot longer than with portable flash units. That's one of the ways we get more power - we add it to the "seconds" part of the watt seconds equation. A typical portable flash unit might have a 1/1000 sec. flash duration at full power while a large studio unit might have a duration of only 1/125 second and that might not freeze motion. When you dial down the studio strobes, the flash duration shortens quickly and significantly along with the output power. At 1/8 power, my units have flash durations in the 1/5000 sec. area and that will freeze virtually anything.

 

[Hertz van Rental]

If you are going to hook them up to a digital camera then you need to check the synch voltage. A lot of 'studio' lights have a compatible voltage (5V or less), particularly the newer ones. But there are still some that have the old higher voltages. A particularly important consideration if you are buying second hand.

The other thing to consider is the range of accessories available.
Personally I have always preferred Bowens stuff.
They are built for professionals and it shows (not just in the price).