high output strobe pack/head kits

[Scott Davis]

I'm looking into getting something more powerful, that I can use for working with larger formats and slower emulsions (11x14 and larger, wet-plate and/or daguerrotype). Does anyone here have any experience with the Hensel Tria power packs? I see they have one s ranging up to 6000 w/s, and they cost less than 4800 w/s Profotos. Any other alternatives I should look at?

[Capocheny]

Hi Scott,

Take a look at the Balcar line... you can find them at very reasonable prices on the bay these days.

Caveat: Unless you buy brand new... used units can have capacitor issues and it's usually pretty expensive to have repaired.

Cheers

[Frank Petronio]

You might want to buy a system compatible with the most popular rentals in your area, ie. in NYC and LA it would be ProFoto, Speedos, Dynas, etc. but German houses might have Hensel, Broncolor, and Elinichrom.... Once you get into these $5000 power packs you'll want a support system, repairs, service.... Having the only Hensel in your town might not be fun no matter how nice a pack it is.

[Ted Harris]

I use Hensel monolights and they are superb, solid instruments. Frank is right about making sure you have support, Hensel has recently reestablished their presence in the US and says they are here for the long haul ... you may want to contact them before moving forward as there are other options.

[Michael Graves]

Over the years, I've used both Norman and Speedotron. Last year I sold all my Norman and settled on Speedo. I had two reasons for that decision.

It seems that the same rated output in a Speedo head gives about a half a stop to a full stop more real output. Secondly, finding toys to add to the system is a lot easier. OTOH, the Norman flash tubes are a bit cheaper to replace.

That being said, I found both systems to be reliable and easy to use. A used unit of either brand is very likely to provide good service for a long time to come. With the Norman, stick to the 900 series gear, such as the P2000 power pack and associated heads. The 450 series is prone to blown capacitors. In Speedo, stick to the black line.

If I'm not mistaken, one of the other forum members is offering a Norman outfit. You might want to look into that.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Also a Norman user here--maybe not the best choice if you need maximum output, since the heads are not the most efficient, but I like the quality of the light, and there's lots of Norman stuff out there for cheap, so it's easy to expand the system if you need more power. The largest standard single head is a dual-tube head that can take 4000 W-s, either from a 4000 W-s pack or two 2000 W-s packs, but the FS-10 puts out the most light (if you want the look of a fresnel spot).

I believe Norman and Speedo use the same connectors BUT THEY ARE WIRED DIFFERENTLY, so some people who like Norman packs use re-wired Speedo heads for a little more light output. Places like Flash Clinic in New York can do these sorts of conversions.

[Frank Petronio]

For the kind of money you're talking about I would take a looks at HMIs, which aren't cheap but they may actually work better for your alt processes.

Personally I don't see the value in owning any of those $5000 fancy European strobes since they aren't really that portable for air travel, and so once you're "grounded" then you might as well just buy a lot of cheaper Speedo (or Norman or whatever) stuff and use their Quad heads to gang up power packs. Whether a pack weighs 30 lbs or 60 lbs doesn't matter once you're in that territory and "light is light" -- the brand of strobe doesn't change the light itself (it depends on the design of the flash tube and light modifiers, which you can modify or change.)

[Scott Davis]

I was looking at strobes for alt process stuff because I wanted to shorten up the exposure times; that won't happen with HMIs. My other alternative is to build a big-ass fluorescent box with a whole bunch of 150 watt CF bulbs, which might be able to shorten the times down to 1 second or so. I'm not planning on travelling with the wet plate stuff anyway, so the strobes would live in the studio. In my research, I looked at the Speedos, but I noticed that the 4800 ws unit really only puts out 50% more than the 2400 ws unit, and so I wanted to look at other units like the Hensels to see if they were actually more efficient at their higher output levels - something that is very hard to determine since nobody seems to publish their output statistics in the same fashion.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Another issue is how much UV they put out for wetplate, and you may have to rent and test to find that out, since it's not a spec that's usually published.

[Scott Davis]

Anyone know what kind of flash units Jerry Spagnoli uses to shoot his dags in the studio? Whatever they are, they're obviously acceptable for the purpose. I've tried to find contact information for him on the web but it's not immediately accessible, or I'd just ask him myself.

[Brook Martin]

I have been using a 2403 blackline speedo for wetplate still lifes and portraits with good results. I think 2 2400 series power packs would beat a single 4800 pack. IIRC, the speedo bulbs come with and without the UV coating. I think the coating blocks the UV, you would obviously want the non coated bulbs.

[GaryT]

+1 for the Speedotrons. I've spent 30 years working with the same packs and heads and they've been a great all around workhorse. When I went digital I'd been led to beieve that they wern't consistent enough for that purpose, but 4 years later, I've no intention of changing. While not nearly as slick as some others, they've proven to be dependable. I have 5 2400 w/s packs, 1 4800 w/s and a dozen or so heads. Other than changing modeling lights from time to time and the infrequent flash tube, they've never seen the inside of a repair facility.