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alien bees 1515 Responses
Last post: 2 years, 8 months ago | Thread started: Sep 13, 10, 10:02 a.m.
- lumedia
does anyone out there have some of these? I am thinking of buying a few because they are cheap and the reviews seem decent.
Is it true that you can only buy them direct online? I am uneasy about dropping that much money without actually holding the product first.
- Sep 13, 10, 10:02 a.m. – Permalink
- iCanHasQBN
what...... is...... it?
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 10:03 a.m. – Permalink
- dibec
not worth it. very inconsistent light temp and also firing. if you are concerned about dropping a lot of money, I would not recommend it. Of course your other options double/triple in price. I would go look on ebay and find a couple used ones with a pack. Good luck.
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 10:07 a.m. – Permalink
- bigtrick
i have white lightnings, which are pretty much the same thing, except with a metal body instead of plastic. got all of mine used via ebay/craigslist - the oldest one is from the 90's, newest one is a two or three years old. i've been using them for about 3 years now - no problems at all.
i've even dropped one in a stream - after a week or so of drying off, it works fine.
i highly recommend. they are the cheapest not-crappy strobe system.
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 10:07 a.m. – Permalink
- lumedia
thanks guys.
i have heard that the output is a bit inconsistant but i dont see that as a huge problem as long as its within reason I can always white balance and adjust the exposure in post.
You just have really high standards I would imagine Dibec. Dont get me wrong, I have been using all Profoto gear for the past few years (not mine) and have grown very spoiled. For my home kit I am ok with a little play as long as they are 1/3 the price.
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 10:23 a.m. – Permalink
- nb
I have the Alien Bees ringflash, and while the light is mediocre, the flash is built poorly. The plastic mounting bracket broke the first time I touched it! I called the company and they replaced the part, which I appreciated, but I would expect any company to do the same as the part was clearly faulty.
The second mounting bracket broke a few weeks after the warranty expired. Currently I have no good way to mount it to a light stand. I have used this flash less than a dozen times. Pretty weak.
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 10:34 a.m. – Permalink
- Ambushstudio
I shot 7 years straight with Profoto and got totally spoiled too, now where I'm working from I can't rent Pro's so I had to buy Bees, I must say they're a really good option, of course they're not pro's but they're really good, portable and reliable, also diffusion is way cheaper and excellent.
Any other question e-mail me, I would be happy to assist.
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 10:56 a.m. – Permalink
- vaxorcist
hmmm... if you're used to profoto, you might consider speedotron blackline.... I love my speedo stuff, bought from ebay and other photographers. Before profoto took over the world, speedotron was a top choice and can be found very be cheap these days. I use the pack and head systems, they are NOT as brain-dead easy as monolights, but you can figure them out... some people are baffled, most figure out the watt-seconds charts....and ND filters can be useful.
The speedo stuff is also cheap in the long run because if you buy it used, you can sell if for about the same price later... The speedotron beauty dish + grid is my favorite.
I have 3 packs and 6 heads, your mileage may vary... the speedotron battery pack 1500 is very nice alternative to a profoto 7B....
One joke though... Photo assistants in Chicago all learn speedotron because it's so heavy that photographers who use it all hire assistants....
I once had an alien bee, quite light, no problems unless I shot too quickly in between recycles, that's when I got the color inconsistency people talk about....
I did have some nice old heavy Balcar stuff, uses same mount as AlienBees/White Lighting, but it died a dramatic death recently.... bigtrick can tell the story....
and if you really need to impress a client, just rent profoto...
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 11:01 a.m. – Permalink
- lumedia
ha yes vax, I would never bust out the AB's when a proper client is on set. they probably wouldnt be impressed with the hot pink shell. These will stay in my garage.
Those Speedotrons look pretty sweet. I am going to poke around to see what i can fin used.
- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 11:13 a.m. – Permalink
- vaxorcist
http://www.stepheneastwood.com/t…
http://www.stepheneastwood.com/t…- Dog-earSep 13, 10, 11:33 a.m. – Permalink
- vaxorcist
AB Einsteins are potentially interesting.... they took a geeky approach to color temp and flash duration
http://www.modelmayhem.com/po.ph…
- Dog-earSep 14, 10, 6:40 a.m. – Permalink
- inhaler97
I've had Alien Bee's for almost five years. Only had one problem with them, and had them fix it. Its good for the price. They look cheap and the construction feels plasticky, but either pay more money for another product or get over it.
Also the reflectors the bee's come with get bent out of shape easily if you are going on location a lot. Just something to think about.
- Dog-earSep 15, 10, 6:01 p.m. – Permalink
