Studio Lighting Equipment Help :)

[JerryPH]

Another little slap in AB's direction... the Elinchrom D-lit 4 kit prices just fell from $775 to $730 *and* shipping to anywhere in the continental USA is now free (from Adorama.com).

Alien Bees will have a LOT to do to catch up to even match this setup now.

 

[Don Kondra]

Curious, the Adorama set Doesn't have cooling fans, the Vistek do?

Ah, from B&H - fan cooled as of spring 2008...

Couldn't find a flash tube life rating anywhere for the D-4, the AB's are 250,000

Cheers, Don

 

[Stephi]

Thank you everyone, I have been looking into these suggestions and there are some really great pieces of kit you have recommended. I'm going to have to think long and hard I think to try and make a decision! so thank you

 

[JerryPH]

Curious, the Adorama set Doesn't have cooling fans, the Vistek do?

Ah, from B&H - fan cooled as of spring 2008...

Couldn't find a flash tube life rating anywhere for the D-4, the AB's are 250,000

Yup, all models go fan cooled. As far as flash tube life, I am sure its the same. These are approximates and will change according to use. At continual 1/1 power, I am sure it is a lot lower than at 1/2 or 1/4 power.

The tubes are also cheap and easy to replace. Heck, I have a set of strobes here from my dad and when he used them in the 1970s... still going strong!

 

[Don Kondra]

Yup, all models go fan cooled.

Just to be clear, the Adorama D4 kit is old stock and Do Not have cooling fans.

As far as flash tube life, I am sure its the same.

It should be noted that the ebay strobe kits I've looked at rate their bulb life at 10,000 flashes.

To be more specific about Alien Bees, they rate their bulb life at 100,000 to 250,000 depending on usage.

Cheers, Don

 

[JerryPH]

Just to be clear, the Adorama D4 kit is old stock and Do Not have cooling fans.

To bring up a thread from the past... I am looking again at monolights after using Profoto 600 W/s heads (which were complete overkill for studio work at F/11-F/16 camera settings and at power levels between 1/16-1/4).

Concerning the fan cooling, thats not what the rep at Adorama told me. I called Friday and they said that the last of the Dlites without fans went out in late 2007 and that all units since then are fan cooled. A quick call to a local place that sells Elinchrom (Simons Cameras in Montreal) confirmed this exact same info, that they haven't see fanless Dlite models since 2007. The sales guy at Simons said that the bulbs are rated for 250,000 flashes. The guy at Adorama had no clue about bulb life. Of course, before I plunked down any money, I would want confirmation about the fan issue (likely in writing).

At 250,000 flashes, and if I took 500 shots a WEEK with them, continually, the bulbs would be good for over 9.5 years. I can pick up the bulbs locally for $108 tax in, which is not bad at all. That aside, why would anyone choose the Elinchrom over the AB?

- no color casting issues to speak of
- lower cost
- better adjustability (1/10th of a stop from 25W/s up to 400W/s, great for mixing with battery powered speedlight setups!)
- better quality (not a tremendous amount, but it is there)

Since I don't shoot 500 shots a week continuously with studio lights, I figure that I'm good for about 20-25 years before needing bulb replacements... lol

I'm close to placing the order, but will do some final confirmation before placing the order sometime within the next 2 weeks (if research results prove positive)... I am just swamped with work (not a bad thing) and need to find time during business hours to do the research.

 

[Don Kondra]

Hi Jerry,

If you go for the D Lite kit, I would like to know what you think of the quality of the softboxes.... as you may remember, I converted two Cowboy Studio 2' x 4' softboxes to fit the Alien Bees.

Cost wise, 2 x B1600 (640 w/s) heads only plus brolly's delivered to Saskatoon = ~$1075.

I have not noticed any color casting issues.

Vistek has the D Lite 400 w/s kit on for $999 again. Includes stands and softboxes.

Happy shopping

Cheers, Don

PS... all dollars are Canadian.