Adding lights to my studio setup

[ZealusMedia]

I've been going for quite awhile on my two AlienBees B800 and one SB-800, but I think I need a bit more now as my ideas get more complex. I was looking to throw $400 - 500 on new B800 and some additional equipment (another stand, strip box, etc). Last night, purely by accident, stumbled on Neewer® 200W 5600K Bowens Mount Monolight. Each is between 50 and 100 dollars, depending on power output (200 to 300). All in all it seems like a good deal and being on extremely tight budget (photography is my hobby, although I do occasionally get paid or published it's still a hobby). In other words, instead of a single flashhead I immediately can afford to add 3 or 4 more lights to my setup.

My concerns are: neither B&H nor Adorama carry Neewer brand and from the pictures it does look cheap. Another big problem for me is that I already own a couple of AlienBees softboxes and would generally prefer my lights to be interchangeable as far as modifiers are concerned. But since I was going to buy a new strip box anyway, might as well go Bowens mount.

Questions:

- has anyone worked with these lights? I rarely abuse my equipment and the most I do is a couple of studio shoots in a week, if that.

- how's their light output? Any issues?

- how's units durability? Can I rely on them lasting more than a year or two?

Any other thoughts or suggestions are welcome. If you think you can recommend another brand or solution that is both affordable and can match AlienBees' performane - I would gladly accept your advise.

Thanks!

 

[Brooke Meyer]

I'd buy another B800 for $228 here KEH . Bought a pair from there years ago, looked like new.

3 lights is a lot, plus you have your flash. Keep it simple, keep it reliable and keep it the same

 

[ZealusMedia]

Thanks for suggestion, but at $50 difference I'd go for a new B800, not used.

The whole point of the exercise is that I don't want to keep it simple, I am not doing family portraits or model port headshots (well, not anymore).

 

[Sailor Blue]

Thanks for suggestion, but at $50 difference I'd go for a new B800, not used.

The whole point of the exercise is that I don't want to keep it simple, I am not doing family portraits or model port headshots (well, not anymore).

What is the intended use of the additional light?

Hair/accent/background? If so then the B400 is probably all you need. Of course there is nothing wrong with getting another B800 so that if any fails you have an immediate backup available.

My thought is that if you can afford it stick with the PCB lights and equipment. You can buy less expensive strobes and modifiers but they generally won't have the same quality and they rarely have anything near PCB's customer service and repair policies.

 

[ZealusMedia]

In re: lights' purpose, I guess all of the above. I think I had mentioned before that this is more of a hobby and trying things and figuring things out is probably the best part of it (another being seeing a lot of naked chicks with my wife's approval).

My calculations are as follows: I want a spot light and fill light - that's two. Hair or accent from the top - that's three. If I want to highlight the background or add accent to both sides of a model - that's 4, 5 and 6 (if I want it all) right there. Thus the rationale for getting 3 more lights for the price of one - it would simply be more options immediately available to me. Besides, after reading and looking at light diagrams for Playboy shoots (I keep them in high regard as far as production of each shoot is concerned) I just want to see how can one arrive at using that many lights.

In re: B400 - the price difference between B400 and B800 is $55, it's a negligent for twice the power output. What I was initially looking at was buying 3 mono heads at less than $100 each, so I would effectively get my 6 light set up at the price of a single B800.

 

[Brooke Meyer]

In my bag, I keep 3 Yongnou 560 III flashes ( about $70 ea) plus a Yongnou 550 TX controller (about $45) in my bag for headshots and accent lights with my Bees & Einstein. Maybe 70 WS each at full power and you can do a lot. I use them a lot for outdoor portraits, sometimes ganged two together. They do a nice job for Santa

This link Playing By Ear was in a studio with a monolight & 5' PLM for fill, a monolight with a 10 degree grid and a flash flagged with black foam for a wash on the wall. Nothing was close to full power.

They are work horse flashes, portable and throw away cheap. The 560 TX lets you adjust power and zoom form camera. So maybe $250 for 3 with remote control.

 

[PenPix]

I can't speak directly about the Neewer, but I can relate my experience with a cheap monolight.

I purchased a ProMaster P180 monolight which was an emergency purchase to use as a hair light. There were three things that stood out:

1 - it cannot support a large soft box or umbrella… it will slip.

2 - potentiometer makes it difficult to set power accurately. The "clicks" on the dial have no logical relation to power level.

3 - power is not as expected. If it truly is 180 w/s, it's not using it very efficiently. I expected more power than the old Vivitar flash I was previously using…. it is about the same.

The good thing: it plugs in.

The reason I got the P180 is because I couldn't get a Elinchrom RX One in time a day-long shoot, and I did not want to fiddle with batteries with the flash I normally used. The light sits high on a light stand so having light weight is important for stability

As for reliability, I only used it for a year, but I think it could have kept going for many years with due care. Where these cheap lights burn out is when you pop several strong flashes rapidly. The parts used do not stand up to heavy use and will melt!

Since it's so cheap, you could buy one and see if it stands up to your shooting. Personally, I would not depend on it in a paid situation.

 

[Sailor Blue]

In re: lights' purpose, I guess all of the above. I think I had mentioned before that this is more of a hobby and trying things and figuring things out is probably the best part of it (another being seeing a lot of naked chicks with my wife's approval).

My calculations are as follows: I want a spot light and fill light - that's two. Hair or accent from the top - that's three. If I want to highlight the background or add accent to both sides of a model - that's 4, 5 and 6 (if I want it all) right there.

You normally wouldn't use both a hair light and two accent lights so that is only 5 but yes it is possible to use 6.

Thus the rationale for getting 3 more lights for the price of one - it would simply be more options immediately available to me. Besides, after reading and looking at light diagrams for Playboy shoots (I keep them in high regard as far as production of each shoot is concerned) I just want to see how can one arrive at using that many lights.

Playboy is the rare exception on how many lights they use, and if I remember correctly they rarely use many lights except for the centerfold image. Frankly it is hard enough to use two lights well let alone five or six.

I understand wanting more lights but my advice is still to buy a B400 or another B800 and learn how to use it well before spending any more money. That will give you four lights to work with, main, fill, hair/accent, and background. That is a lot to manage.

In re: B400 - the price difference between B400 and B800 is $55, it's a negligent for twice the power output. What I was initially looking at was buying 3 mono heads at less than $100 each, so I would effectively get my 6 light set up at the price of a single B800.

The old saying that you get what you pay for really applies with studio strobes. I bought my first set of strobes based on price - they quickly wound up in the trash. That is why I recommend sticking with good quality like the B800.

After buying junk the first time I learned and bought good quality and have never looked back. I now have four 5-stop 300Ws lights, a Nissin Di866 Pro hot-shoe flash, two 3-stop 100WS lights (I have used them twice in 5 years), and two 80Ws "background" lights I have never used (they were part of the light kits I bought).

Know what I use most of the time - yep, one or two of my 300Ws strobes. I break out a third light if I really need a hair light (usually the Di866), or a background light. When I shoot seamless white is about the only time I use more than three lights.