ALIEN BEEs or other portable Strobes.

[marcwang]

Hello hello,

Jia Pa Buey ?

Just wondering anyone has brought in Alien Bees before ? I was actually playing with the idea of portable studio strobes. Could anyone advise on the cost involve for a low budget system ? 2 strobes will suffice. I would like portable units for shooting portraits and cars.

 

[afiend]

If it is portable (i.e. operating with a battery pack), it is not cheap, for a decent set. Be prepared to pay in excess of $2k+++ for just 1 strobe and battery pack combo.

 

[Prismatic]

If it is portable (i.e. operating with a battery pack), it is not cheap, for a decent set. Be prepared to pay in excess of $2k+++ for just 1 strobe and battery pack combo.

Yes, and for standard battery packs, you will be very lucky if you can get an hour worth of power. I've seen people on location shoots with a small generator!

 

[mattlock]

check the alien bees website for the Vagabond portable strobe system they sell
I spent a long time researching before finally settling on that
the weapon of choice in the US is the Profoto Pro7bs, but those cost about $4000 US
I own a set of the Vagabond which is basically a car battery with an inverter or two
it's recommended to use a pure sine wave inverter for strobe lights but I haven't had any problem using my broncolor and elinchroms with the alien bees.
I'm not sure if the Vagabond ships overseas but if they do check also about the voltage
the Vagabond is about US$500 (for the one with two inverters) which is a great price
the only other choices you have will be the Broncolor mobilite, hensel porty, and pro 7bs, and the Ranger series of Elinchrom (waste of money though)
also look at the Dynalite XP1100, which is also a pure sine wave inverter with a battery I believe, and it's reasonable in price.
The Vagabond is supposed to be capable of over 200 shots at 1200W but I haven't needed to shoot more than 50 shots in an outdoor shoot. it's also pretty lightweight.

I believe in singapore you're limited to elinchroms and bowens
the elinchroms are actually reasonably priced in singapore, I recommend you save up to invest in a good set of strobes if you're serious about it

 

[zekai]

in singapore, the cheapest solution should be Hensel distributed by Ruby Imaging.

1 Hensel Porty 1200 can support 2 heads. 1 pack gives 1200W. 2 Head plug in max 600W each.

i can give you the contact if you need.

 

[marcwang]

Hello Zekai, would you suggest the approximate cost for your suggestions ?
1 head, 1 batt pack (thats all I need right ?). Thanks. I have seen some great pictures taken with the Porty

 

[zekai]

from memory its around $3.5K. for 1 head with pack included with 1 stand & umbrella.

 

[marcwang]

That price brings it out of the question for the next couple of years.