what is everyone using for studio lighting?

[crackhouserooster]

I am a 25+ year commercial studio photographer. Most of my lighting gear is 3kws and 2.4kws Elinchrom packs and heads. Some of them are quite old and getting costly to repair. What are the alternatives for replacement? Elinchrom appears to only make small monolights and some battery-powered packs that top out at 1kws. The Profoto 2.4kws packs are $15k and not really an option. thoughts? Thanks in advance. Craig

 

[zombiesniper]

Do you only work in studio or do you need these to be used on location? Price point varies wildly based just on this requirement alone.
Also look into Godox/Flashpoint or other lower price bracket gear. The quality has come up quite a bit in recent years. Not Eli quality but also not Eli prices either.

 

[crackhouserooster]

Do you only work in studio or do you need these to be used on location? Price point varies wildly based just on this requirement alone.
Also look into Godox/Flashpoint or other lower price bracket gear. The quality has come up quite a bit in recent years. Not Eli quality but also not Eli prices either.

Thanks for the reply. Mostly in the studio but some location work. Does Good/Flashpoint make 24oo ws gear?

 

[smoke665]

Are you looking to replace with another pack and head model, or switch monolights?

 

[zombiesniper]

Thanks for the reply. Mostly in the studio but some location work. Does Good/Flashpoint make 24oo ws gear?

2400 ws?!? Hol E crap that's butt tonne of power! You really should light your subject in the same county. lol
I don't think they go that high.

 

[ronlane]

Thanks for the reply. Mostly in the studio but some location work. Does Good/Flashpoint make 24oo ws gear?

2400 ws?!? Hol E crap that's butt tonne of power! You really should light your subject in the same county. lol
I don't think they go that high.

I agree with @zombiesniper, the AD400 Pro is a great quality and would be very suitable for most studio work. (Well having 2-3 of them anyway) If that isn't enough, they have a an AD600 and I just saw a posting where there is an AD1200 studio only light coming out.

2.4K seems like WAY too much light. What power and camera settings would you use with that in studio?

 

[smoke665]

@ronlane & @zombiesniper I may be wrong put I think he's referring to the power pack, which feeds multiple heads.

 

[tirediron]

Speedotron, mostly Brownline. It's cheap like borscht on the used market, and lasts forever. Brownline tops out at 1600w/s per pack, but you can get a pack and M11 head for $250 - 300 off of fleabay, so if you need 3-4Kws, you're only looking at around $1K. Blackline packs go up to 2400w/s, and are probably 1.5 - 2x the price.

 

[JBPhotog]

Pack and head systems typically have more watt/seconds because of the multiple head outlets available. FWIW, I have shot many iterations of multiple 2400 w/s pops from my Speedotron Black line packs just to build up to one exposure, a very common practise with LF cameras and slow film, it's kind of fun sitting in the dark smelling the ozone.

However, many people have transitioned over to mono lights powered by batteries with optional AC configuration now that remote triggers can control the output of each head channel. When mono lights needed to be manually adjusted, they were a pain especially in boomed situations. Anyone starting over or looking to replace old gear would be advised to look at this seriously as it travels well and is perfectly functional in the studio. I have added Godox to my current lighting gear, so far they are functioning well and would continue to support the brand. BTW, they just announced a 1200 w/s pack and single head system for those who do need extra power.

 

[crackhouserooster]

this is an example of what i shoot in the studio. 400ws aren't going to cut it.

i have no problem with going to monolights but they seem to max out at 1kws. i have looked at the speedotron backline and they are a viable option.

 

[Derrel]

I have a lot of Speedotron, both Black
Line and Brown Line. I have 2 x2400, 1×800, 1 ×400 in Black. And 1 ×1600, 1x 600, 2x400 and 1x200 in Brown. The 1602 I bought new in 1986 and the 405B I bought new in 2007. I have a lot of heads, most all bought used in the 2001-2008 era. Reliable and rugged, but old technology, not that fast on flash duration, but reasonable head weights.

Following the basic collapse of the commercial print catalog industry the market was basically flooded with used Speedo gear, and even to this day there is quite a lot of it available on eBay. If you are coming from Elinchrom, Speedotron might be an okay alternative. If you need a lot of flash power come up black line is quite affordable for the pop you get.

The factory is still located in Chicago, and the one repair I had done was quite inexpensive for me : I bought a non-working 400 Brown Line pack off of eBay and I sent it to Chicago with a note to bring it back to working capability they put in new capacitors and charged me $75. It was $20 for shipping each way.

 

[crackhouserooster]

I have a lot of Speedotron, both Black
Line and Brown Line. I have 2 x2400, 1×800, 1 ×400 in Black. And 1 ×1600, 1x 600, 2x400 and 1x200 in Brown. The 1602 I bought new in 1986 and the 405B I bought new in 2007. I have a lot of heads, most all bought used in the 2001-2008 era. Reliable and rugged, but old technology, not that fast on flash duration, but reasonable head weights.

Following the basic collapse of the commercial print catalog industry the market was basically flooded with used Speedo gear, and even to this day there is quite a lot of it available on eBay. If you are coming from Elinchrom, Speedotron might be an okay alternative. If you need a lot of flash power come up black line is quite affordable for the pop you get.

great, thanks. are there speedrings and adapters available for most modifiers? i would love to be able to continue to use my elinchrom and broncolor parabolics.

 

[tirediron]

this is an example of what i shoot in the studio. 400ws aren't going to cut it.

Are you shooting at an especially low ISO, or doing something else unique? Honestly, I feel like I could light that satisfactorily with a handful of speedlights, or at most, a few 2-3w/s lights... Certainly wouldn't occur to me to consider 2-3Kw/s

 

[JBPhotog]

I have a lot of Speedotron, both Black
Line and Brown Line. I have 2 x2400, 1×800, 1 ×400 in Black. And 1 ×1600, 1x 600, 2x400 and 1x200 in Brown. The 1602 I bought new in 1986 and the 405B I bought new in 2007. I have a lot of heads, most all bought used in the 2001-2008 era. Reliable and rugged, but old technology, not that fast on flash duration, but reasonable head weights.

Following the basic collapse of the commercial print catalog industry the market was basically flooded with used Speedo gear, and even to this day there is quite a lot of it available on eBay. If you are coming from Elinchrom, Speedotron might be an okay alternative. If you need a lot of flash power come up black line is quite affordable for the pop you get.

great, thanks. are there speedrings and adapters available for most modifiers? i would love to be able to continue to use my elinchrom and broncolor parabolics.

It really depends on how handy with tools you are. Speedotron speedings are available for a large number of modifiers, others that aren't can easily be adapted with a basic Speedo ring. Your Broncolor parabolic adapter looks to be able to accept a Speedo ring after 4 holes were drilled in it to screw down on the backing plate.

I have adapted Bowens mount modifiers for my Godox flashes essentially MacGivering Speedo rings to mount them, Also did the reverse with my Speedo BD so my Godox can attach to it.

 

[JBPhotog]

this is an example of what i shoot in the studio. 400ws aren't going to cut it.

Are you shooting at an especially low ISO, or doing something else unique? Honestly, I feel like I could light that satisfactorily with a handful of speedlights, or at most, a few 2-3w/s lights... Certainly wouldn't occur to me to consider 2-3Kw/s

Shot as ISO125 so nothing too slow. However, large room sets when lit with large modifiers require lots of power, a speedlite wouldn't do it.