Studio flash Pt2 preowned? wattage? wisdom?

[emo supremo]

I did a search on studio light and studio flash in the "topic" advanced search and apart from Saunder's post on Bowens capatability got a surprisingly four hits.
Strange isn't it that we shoot large, use smaller aperatures. etc etc. to avoid grain but not much discussion on studio lighting?

I'm curious to know other people's experience on buying preowned studio flash.

I did. It was impossible to repair (the camera store in NYC said to send it to a museum, YES, i'm quoting him). They cost more to buy new than many of your cameras AND they seldom are purchased alone (2 or more right?).

Is it like a car: designed to burn itself out? Disposable? Repairable? How repairable?

The Dlite-2 seems affordable, but for LF maybe the increased output of the Dlite 4 (800 wats/s) is better? (i hear they run hot=> will tubes burn out?)

Horror stories, anyone?

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

I recently found a few great deals on used Blackline Speedotron equipment--the high powered stuff seems to be selling cheaply because the Digital crowd all want lower powered monolights. I made a four purchases (two on Craigslist, one on eBay, and one on APUG), and ended up with a great system--three boxes (800, 2400, 4800w/s), six heads, a Fresnel, and a handful of reflectors and stands for less than $1,200. It works beautifully and I am very happy. TONS of power, although I keep hoping for another 4800 w/s box...

Horror stories? Hmm, I had a Norman blow up once, that was pretty terrifying. I know a few people who have been thrown across the room for making stupid mistakes while using strobes (like unplugging a head before turning off the power).

Although I have only used it for a few weeks, I think that for regular head & shoulders portrait or tabletop work 2400w/s would have more than sufficed. Still, I am enjoying the power of the 4800w/s pack; it is really fun to make portraits at f64.

[Jfnphotography]

Research before you buy. I picked up a Speedotron 805 pack off e-bay for $350.00 I then found a good deal on 4 Speedotron 102 heads and reflectors. The nice thing about Speedotron is a lot of there equipment is compatible. I can use my 102 heads on all of their black line packs, so if the 805 goes or I needs more power I can always change packs out. I also have a rental place close, and for $60.00 I can rent a 2400w pack that accepts my 102 heads or I can rent more 102 heads for $20.00 a day.

[rdenney]

I bought a Speedotron Brown Line D1600 kit a few years ago for $600 (it would be cheaper now) at a local cameras store. Included was a 1600 ws power unit, two large heads, two small heads, two sizes of reflectors for each, barn doors for each, diffusers for each, and all associated cabling. The only thing I added (other than the light stands, reflectors, umbrellas, etc., that I already had) was a device to reduce the trigger voltage for use on electronic cameras. That device was branded by Speedotron and I bought it from B&H. Everything for this line of equipment is still available new.

Rick "who has used it successfully, with only two lights, for large group portraits" Denney

[VictoriaPerelet]

They cost more to buy new than many of your cameras AND they seldom are purchased alone (2 or more right?).



Generally initial costs of lights/packs/reflectors/modifiers etc are 3-4x more than cameras & lenses.


Is it like a car: designed to burn itself out? Disposable? Repairable? How repairable?

The Dlite-2 seems affordable...

Some flashes are very like some cars - handle breaks and throw whole thing away. Shop wisely:)

[Struan Gray]

I bought a secondhand D-lite 4 kit, and haven't had any problems. If you're hard on your gear there are older more robust monolights available for similar prices, but I wanted the wide f-stop range of the D-lites. They work fine for single portraits and three-in-a-line groups, but a large group standing two or three deep is beyond them for LF - you can't get enough DOF. They work well as a pseudo 800 w/s single light.

The D-lite 2 is probably a tad underpowered for LF, unless you like the hard point-source look and are going to use them with just bare reflectors.

The Alien Bees 'Parabolic Light Modifier' umbrella is a neat budget way to spread light over a large area without losing power to diffusion. The next version should have Elinchrom-compatible shafts. They seem a good way to light larger areas with smaller flashes, although not as soft and wraparound as a similar-sized softbox.

[emo supremo]

This forum is filled with terrific folks. What a great resource. Thank you for your 'war stories.'

[Michael Graves]

Jason and I have had similar experiences. My first studio outfit was a Norman 800 with four heads. It worked well for me for about four years and I added a 500 watt unit to back it up. Then the 800W power pack died. So I purchased a used one to replace it. I don't recall if it was the second time I used it or the third...but in any case, I was set up in a funeral home shooting headshots of employess. There was a thunderous boom and the fragrant smell of frying insulation. All my subjects were ducking for cover and wondering if they weren't going to be needing their own services shortly. I shopped around and replaced the Norman stuff with an 800W Black Line and a 2400W Black Line with 4 heads. So far (knock on wood) it has served me well, save for the occasional hernia operation required by hauling it around.