1st strobe

[MikeWill]

Just make sure you have money available for a decent light meter. That's more important than the lights.

Mike

[Jason407]

I dissagree about the 1600 being overkill. I agree with the point that you may not be able to lower the power level enough to shoot with a wide open aperature...BUT if you get a 400 and you need MORe light, you are out of luck!

And guess what???? ND gels are pretty cheap...get a 1600 and if you need to get less light out of it, throw a couple of ND's in front of it and like magic, you have less light! But you still have the power available WHEN you need it....and trust me...one day you will need it and it will have been worth the few extra bucks.

Just my 2 cents...but then again, I just a guy with a camera.

[ChipBulgin]

Originally Posted by Carpe Imago

Great post, and great feedback thus far. I'd litke to leapfrog off this and get the reactions of the group.
Same situation, but expand the budget to $1,000. The long-term intent is to shoot children, portraits, and in home private glamour....and the occasional in studio pinup as budget allows. Would you look towards the value and diversity that $1,000 buys in Alien Bees, or do you forego the broad selection and commit to the long-term quality of Hensel? I was all set to pop for Alien Bees, and then I spent two days with Rolando. "Guys spend $5,000 on cameras which are outdated in two years and then skimp on lights that will last for 10 years." The man makes a good point...
So how about it? You've got $1,000 to spend (plus or minus another $250 if it really makes sense)...what would you do?

With lighting, you REALLY get what you pay for. There are so many other factors besides rated power output that can be important: output consistency, color consistency, recycle time, duty cycle, weight, ruggedness, range of accessories, etc. There's a reason, beyond the obvious numbers used by the marketing wonks, that some heads cost $250 each and other seemingly similar heads cost $500 each.

Lights are one of the things you 'invest' in. (Glass is another). Good lights can last you decades, allowing you to add to the kit over time as your means allows.

If you're buying lights for the first time, you should first ask yourself whether you're interested in monolights or a pack and heads. They each have their strong points, but in the price range you're talking you're most likely looking at a couple of monolights. If I were going to purchase mono lights in that price range, I'd look at either Elinchrom Style BXs or Hensel Integra Pros, with my first choice being the Elinchroms. They are lighter, recycle faster, have a much shorter flash duration, have a longer warranty, and have about the widest selection of modifiers and accessories of any lighting system period.

You can get either brand in a kit with two lights, stands, umbrellas, case, etc. for ~$1200. Both systems have great color and output consistency from max power down to min power.

-Chip

[Jagdoc]

I just bought a Hensel package from B & H and am happy with them so far. Actually, I am starting to use just one light and see how that works before using two at a time.

Not a very large room, and they seem to have plenty of power even on the base setting. I decided to go with Hensel's because of the built in wireless which works well for me. If you already have PW, you probably could do without.
I think Eldor was having some issues with the way wireless was described to him and the way it actually works.
Vic

[eldor]

Originally Posted by Jagdoc

I think Eldor was having some issues with the way wireless was described to him and the way it actually works.
Vic

That's right, but it'll all end up being just fine. What was described to me was not how the system currently works, but how it will work in the near future when Hensel brings out their updated models.

The way it works currently is that the remote has 4 channels. Each light can be set to one of the four channels. If you have four lights and each is set to a different channel, you have full remote control of the power of each light as well as the modeling light (off, on, proportional). But the remote control (the Hensel one) cannot then be used for actually firing the lights. (Because you can only fire one channel at a time.) So you'd need to either use a sync cord to one of the lights, and then optical slave mode on the others, or a Pocket Wizard to one of the lights (and again optical slave mode to the others) or you'd have to have a PW receiver on EACH light and fire them that way.

In the near future it'll work differently: The remote will still have 4 channels, but one will be a common firing channel for all of the lights. Meaning if you had four lights, two of them would have to be on the same channel (because you really only have 3 channels to use as adjustment channels) and the others could be on different channels. The hair light for example, could be on its own channel so you could independently adjust the power output of it. And then the common channel would be used for firing all the lights. To me this sounds like a great arrangement and I'm looking forward to actually using it in the future.

In the meantime the lights are superb! The color and power output is consistent across the range and the accessories are terrific. I particularly like the Hensel Beauty Dish and I'm slowly learning how to best use it.

Anyway, that's the story on the remote system.

Eldor

[Carpe Imago]

Originally Posted by eldor

To me this sounds like a great arrangement and I'm looking forward to actually using it in the future.
In the meantime the lights are superb! The color and power output is consistent across the range and the accessories are terrific. I particularly like the Hensel Beauty Dish and I'm slowly learning how to best use it.
Anyway, that's the story on the remote system.
Eldor

I remember when you first discovered this Eldor, and a strong sense of disappointment that arose. I'm glad to hear that you're feeling good about the situation now.

Did they give you a sense as to when the new system would debut? I've waited this long that I might as well wait a bit longer and get what I really want.

[David Knight]

Hello,

I have B400 and B800 lights, and I'm amazed at how often I need the 400s. But my studio is small and I do like to open up the aperature a lot. The comment about the ND filter is a good one. Also, you can always "upgrade" your bees. For $25 (I think) plus the difference in cost of the lights, they'll upgrade them for you.

Good luck! I don't think you'll be disappointed with them!
-David

[David Knight]

Might be talking to myself here, but just in case...

Originally Posted by David Knight

The comment about the ND filter is a good one.

There is one case where the ND filter won't help, and that's if you're using your studio lighting to supplement natural lighting. Then you'll be metering for the natural light and adding a little studio light to help. If all you can add is a lot of studio light, then you can't do it. Yes, you could back the studio light further away, but as has been mentioned, that will change the quality of light.

Hope that helps. Everything comes with its own trade-off, it seems.
-David

[Carpe Imago]

After much consideration, and thanks to all who provided feedback both here and in other venues, I am moving forward on my purchase in the coming week or so. Looks like, barring significant persuasion to the contrary, I'll be purchasing a Hensel Integra Pro 500 Plus Factory 2 Light Kit from Samy's (for your review at: www.samys.com/product.php?ItemNo=HENS7048815).
This will represent my first formal "studio equipment" purchase, and while I will also be purchasing some other items (seamless, stands, black paint ), I want to make sure that I'm not missing any MAJOR additional items. Obviously I'll need bulbs and will also be picking up my very own Pocket Wizard (Plus 4 Channel Radio Slave Kit - Transmitter w/ Sync Cord and Receiver), but I'm trying to figure out what other obvious items I'm missing.
Eldor, oh master of all that is Hensel, any insights that you can share or glaring omissions on my part?

[eldor]

Wow, that's quite a "first formal studio equipment purchase"!

What do you mean you'll need bulbs? The heads should include modeling lights, clear protector, umbrella reflector and sync cord.
This is a fine kit and one you'll be able to grow into for years.

There should be one regular reflector (not talking about the umbrella reflector) included in that kit, with one grid. You might consider a set of 4 grids (10, 20, 30,40) from Speedotron - works perfectly and less expensive than the Hensel set. The grid that comes with the kit is either a 20 or 30 (can't remember as one came with my kit and the other came with the Beauty Dish.

The Beauty dish is one of the main accessories I drooled over and now that I've got it, I've only had one shoot with it (lack of a model), so I've got a lot to learn. But I love it!

Depending on your budget and what you want to shoot, you might consider a larger umbrella (I like the 60" convertible Photoflex ones) or a softbox if you afford it. Also the barn doors with filter holder... that's always very handy.

This shot is from my first session with the Hensel stuff... I used the Beauty Dish as main, a soft-gold reflector as fill and I had one Integra Pro Plus on the background with the background light reflector with a blue gel on the Thunder Gray paper backdrop. And my third light (I got one extra for a total of three) was right behind the model with a 20 degree grid pointed at her head. Yes it could be a LOT better, but I'm pretty happy with this stuff and think my results can only get better with practice/experience.



Good luck with your purchase!

Eldor