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Compact monolight flashes

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fdonadio

fdonadio

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Hello, all!


I've been looking into getting some monolights that I can put in a fairly "small" bag and carry around easily. So, they have to be compact and light.

Are there any monolights as compact and light as Buff's Alien Bees at the same (or lower) price point? Sturdiness is also desired...

Cheers,
Flavio
 
Problem with most (true) monolights is the need for AC to power them. I use Quantum Qflash T2's, and they are very portable. I know they aren't monolights, but they put out lots of power.

As for true monolights, I really think it's a 'get what you pay for' scenario. I've heard mixed reviews of the AB's, with the biggest turn off being that the color of the light changes at different powers.

If availability of electricity isn't an issue, I'd get a quality set of lights, the best you could afford.
 
Kirks518 said:
Problem with most (true) monolights is the need for AC to power them. I use Quantum Qflash T2's, and they are very portable. I know they aren't monolights, but they put out lots of power.
Click to expand...

I looked into those. They are really compact and light. The X2 would be perfect for me, at 400Ws.

I've heard mixed reviews of the AB's, with the biggest turn off being that the color of the light changes at different powers.
Click to expand...

That's a real showstopper. Thanks for the tip!


Cheers ,
Flavio
 
frank said:
Battery powered or mains? How much light do you want/need?
Click to expand...

Battery preferred, but I could always use a battery+inverter combo, like Buff's Vagabond.

I don't need more than 600Ws.

Cheers,
Flavio
 
What do you guys think about getting some used Elinchroms or Lumedynes? Or should I get some cheaper but new units from, say, Novatron or ProFoto?

Cheers,
Flavio
 
I just received my 2nd Godox rebrnad 360. Adorama Flashpoint Streaklight 360. I have a non-TTL (origial) and now the 2nd version (TTL). It's pretty friken awesome. I hear the 600w/s is not much brighter.

Adorama has the non TTL on sale for $279. I paid 399 last year!
Dead Link Removed
 
hi flavio

i have /use 2 different types of lights/ suggestions that might fit your bill.
novatron is made in TX/USA and they sell plug in the wall mono blocks.
i have had the m300 lights ( 2 of them ) for probably 20 years and i can't say anything bad about them
they also have m600 lights ( 600ws ) and bigger from what i can remember, and sometimes people trade them
in and novatron refurbishes them and sells them at a discount. they are true mono blocks, self sufficient lights that aren't
connected to a bettery pack and can be trimmed/cut on the light itself, have a place for a slave attachment so you can trigger more than once light
and work with scrims, and barn doors and you can get speed rings for soft boxes ( i recommend sweet light soft boxes, they are the folks that took over
larsen enterprises, the folks that started in utah and invented the soft box , they run sales all the time ) ... the other suggestion i would make is a
battery pack lumedyne system. someone here on apug has a kit for sale, battery pack and heads. depending on the battery they are 800ws or 400 or 200
and if you have the handle you can split the light so it works from 2ws all the way to whatever the top output is. n2mf had a handful of these lights
with the handle built in to them a while back that he was selling in the classifides here, and i think someone else has been trying to sell a 2 head 244 system here as well.
i have a 244 system, with a separate handle ( it is a thyrister ) and 2 heads and have used it continuously since about 1988. lumidyne is still in business in FLA
and are a great company to work with. they've rebuilt 2 battery packs for me ( they are pro-rated for 10 years ), and i can't say enough good stuff about them.
their signigure series ( i think what n2mf was selling ) and 244 lights sell used on ebay all the time and are worth their weight in gold.
good luck
john
 
Have you checked out Lumedyne? I've had several colleagues use these smaller lighting systems to great effect on assignment or out in the field making work on location. Small, portable, and seemingly consistent, I've known several shooters who swear by them.

Best of luck-
 
mweintraub said:
I just received my 2nd Godox rebrnad 360. Adorama Flashpoint Streaklight 360. I have a non-TTL (origial) and now the 2nd version (TTL). It's pretty friken awesome. I hear the 600w/s is not much brighter.

Adorama has the non TTL on sale for $279. I paid 399 last year!
Dead Link Removed
Click to expand...

Another vote for these! They're extremely powerful, they recycle fast, and even the lightweight batteries for these last an extremely long time in use (several hundred pops before needing a recharge unless you're using them at full power).
 
TheFlyingCamera said:
Another vote for these! They're extremely powerful, they recycle fast, and even the lightweight batteries for these last an extremely long time in use (several hundred pops before needing a recharge unless you're using them at full power).
Click to expand...

I was actually disapointed on how light the battery pack. I was expecting to use them as a weight for the stand. HA
 
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I use PCB White Lightning Ultra 800. A few years old, but they've made me a lot of money. Very reliable, top notch customer support, and affordable to boot. Best bang for the buck in lighting gear. I couldn't get anywhere near the value from any other company.

I also have the Vagabond. Love it.
 
mweintraub said:
I was actually disapointed on how light the battery pack. I was expecting to use them as a wait for the stand. HA
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That's a very minor disappointment :smile: I'm very happy at how light the batteries are when I have to lug the things into the field more than 50 feet from the car.
 
TheFlyingCamera said:
That's a very minor disappointment :smile: I'm very happy at how light the batteries are when I have to lug the things into the field more than 50 feet from the car.
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No, I agree. But I was expecting to use them to help, but having them light makes it easy for someone to hold the flash and battery pack and walk around.
 
Thanks again for all the replies. I didn't make a decision, but I won't buy anything before January '07, so I have plenty of time to go after all the models you guys recommended.


Cheers,
Flavio
 
fdonadio said:
Thanks again for all the replies. I didn't make a decision, but I won't buy anything before January '07, so I have plenty of time to go after all the models you guys recommended.


Cheers,
Flavio
Click to expand...
Jan '07? I think you're 10 years over due. :wink:
 
If you want to go with a sort of "true studio style monolight" vs. on-camera-style strobes, I'd look into what accessory mounts are available.

From what I've seen, many of the lower priced monolights use the Bowens mount, so there's tons of modifiers and aftermarket reflectors.

The Fotodiox Pro softboxes (all over Amazon) have really surprised me with their quality, they've come a long way.
 
M Carter said:
If you want to go with a sort of "true studio style monolight" vs. on-camera-style strobes, I'd look into what accessory mounts are available.

From what I've seen, many of the lower priced monolights use the Bowens mount, so there's tons of modifiers and aftermarket reflectors.

The Fotodiox Pro softboxes (all over Amazon) have really surprised me with their quality, they've come a long way.
Click to expand...

I have a bowens adapter for the Streaklights:
http://flashhavoc.com/godox-s-type-speedlite-bracket-released/

You can get the bracket only or with a softbox. I got mine from eBay.
 
M Carter said:
If you want to go with a sort of "true studio style monolight" vs. on-camera-style strobes, I'd look into what accessory mounts are available.
Click to expand...

In fact, that's exactly what I wanted: studio monolights that could be taken outside easily. That's why I started my search for something similar to Alien Bees.

I didn't really pay attention to the accessory mount, but I was gravitating towards Bowens-style for no apparent reason.

I'll keep an eye on that too.

Thanks for the tip!


Cheers,
Flavio
 
I really like the Paul C Buff Einsteins. They have solved the problem with changing color temp, they are reasonably lightweight, and deliver up to 640 WS over a 9 stop range. Accessories are well made and very reasonably priced, and though I've never had reason to use it, their service is reputed to be excellent. Made in the USA too
 
Don't ignore after-sales parts and service. From what I've read, many of the cheap monolights have poor availability of service.

And even "good" brands can be an issue if older. I was considering some older Dynalite heads and found that a replacement flashtube would cost $155.

I'm a fan of PCB, but even they can have issues. Replacements for main capacitor on the Ultra series is not available. However, if that's the part that's bad, they offered a very attractive discount on a new flash.
 
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