Bowens Esprit 500

[baron]

I attended a workshop at the weekend for off camera lighting and was blown away how you can manipulate light and not be afraid to try different things and opened up a whole new world for me, so looking to invest in some lights so did a quick search on local second hand sites and found a pair of bowens esprit 500 with stands, soft box and umbrella for less than half the price of the latest bowens 500 model available in calumet, so my question is there much changed between the old esprit and the latest models?

 

[simonbarker]

Those are actually the old old model, the one after these is the BW-3610 (I think they're called Esprit 2 or Gemini 2, not sure) and then the 500 classic (BW-4950).

Taking into consideration I've never personally used those heads they appear pretty similar to the 3610 which are almost exactly the same as the 500 classics (besides the trendy black casing) and I think they even all use the same flash tube (it's about £60 retail so cheaper and more convenient than most other brands) but I'd be willing to bet you've got less power adjustment on these heads than the 500 classic.

The stands, reflectors, bags etc are all the same as the current stuff, the softbox is a cheaper redwing model which usually means it won't have an internal diffuser and it's probably 60 x 60 or 60 x 80. So they're very old but should be quite usable, the price has actually gone up on second hand Bowens kit, you were able to get GM500's for around £130 but they're now up to £150 so I'd guess a current price of around £350 being about right for such a kit.

 

[mike weeks]

I own 5 or 6 of those, been hammered, stored in cold, damp and hot conditions - original ones I bought about 20 years ago and still going strong, those are a slightly newer version than mine so if you want a good steady workhorse they were built to take the knocks and keep on going. Latest versions have digital control of power with a digital read out. You could buy a new pair of lights from a number of different suppliers for £350-£400 which will have a warranty.

Mike

 

[simonbarker]

You could buy a new pair of lights from a number of different suppliers for £350-£400 which will have a warranty.

True enough but that wouldn't be a kit with 500w heads would it? It may be the case that the op would be better served by lower power heads but their power is part of the reason they have that value.

I mentioned that price to give the op an idea of what its value roughly is, if they're available for significantly less I'd consider that a bargain. The stands are pretty solid too although the bag and (probably) the umbrellas are trash.

 

[baron]

Thanks for the input guys, I take it there really old then, just the seller says he's had them two years but could tell me how old they are before he's had them, he's looking £380 for the set, It's really confusing finding info on these as there's been so many variants of the 500 heads to know what these are and when they where made.

If the flash tubes are the same then does that mean the light is just as good as the new ones just less the fancy digital stuff?

I was looking at cheaper new options like godox systems with the ft16 transmitter and receivers so it can be controlled remotely etc, but I'd rather spend the money and buy more powerful ones now than having to upgrade down the line, and reading reviews the bowens seem to be very reliable and spares are easily available etc. and then stumbled across these for sale locally

 

[Garry Edwards]

The old Bowens lights, which were made in England, are very solidly built and reliable
Back then, when everyone was shooting on film, 500Ws lights were both common and needed, but with today's digital cameras that amount of power isn't needed by the vast majority of people and can force the use of very small apertures, especially as the range of power adjustment is likely to much more limited than on modern lights.

And bear in mind too that, ignoring the junk makes, modern flashes have far better colour temperature consistency and flash energy consistency, and also produce far more light than the Ws figure indicates. In other words, those 500Ws lights are probably similar in power output to most modern 300Ws flashes.

 

[baron]

So is the more sensible buy go for the newer technology as there more aimed for digital and don't be put off with the lower power rating?

I've noticed you recommend lencarta @Garry Edwards the workshop I was at used the atom 180's and even on 1/4 power achieved really impressive results

 

[Garry Edwards]

So is the more sensible buy go for the newer technology as there more aimed for digital and don't be put off with the lower power rating?

I've noticed you recommend lencarta @Garry Edwards the workshop I was at used the atom 180's and even on 1/4 power achieved really impressive results

Yes, I do recommend Lencarta, but be aware that I also have a commercial interest.
The Bowens lights of this age should last for a long time, I'm just pointing out that new technology in lighting has useful benefits.

 

[baron]

Yes, I do recommend Lencarta, but be aware that I also have a commercial interest.
The Bowens lights of this age should last for a long time, I'm just pointing out that new technology in lighting has useful benefits.

I'm drawn to the bowens for there proven reliability and build quality.

Would you say the lencarta 300ws be just as powerful than the older 500ws bowens or should I even consider the twin 600ws kit for an extra £200 which I don't mind spending as £200 now is easier than £600 in the future or is that overkill?

And if you have more power can it just be turned down or does it not work like that?

 

[simonbarker]

Thanks for the input guys, I take it there really old then, just the seller says he's had them two years but could tell me how old they are before he's had them, he's looking £380 for the set, It's really confusing finding info on these as there's been so many variants of the 500 heads to know what these are and when they where made.

That price is on the high side, it's not unfair but with patience you can hunt down the newer Bowens kits for the same kind of money or as has been suggested you consider new sets if you don't absolutely require 500w heads. I think those heads are Esprit 2, after that you get the Esprit Gemini's then Gemini classic. So I'd guess they're about 15 years old.

If the flash tubes are the same then does that mean the light is just as good as the new ones just less the fancy digital stuff?

I think they're the same model but I'm not certain, the advantage is more so that you can easily obtain replacement tubes at reasonable prices but unless you're doing this commercially at high volume the flash tubes will probably outlast the user.

I was looking at cheaper new options like godox systems with the ft16 transmitter and receivers so it can be controlled remotely etc, but I'd rather spend the money and buy more powerful ones now than having to upgrade down the line, and reading reviews the bowens seem to be very reliable and spares are easily available etc. and then stumbled across these for sale locally

Too much power is a hindrance, in a home environment I can't see you ever needing more than 300w. It's convenient being able to remotely control the power of heads but you'll only ever really feel that when you've got lights strung up in places that are hard to reach so it's not the end of the world to go without and you don't generally need to adjust power constantly.

In your shoes I'd look for a second hand kit that included more accessories as part of the price as that'll both help you learn/work and save a lot of money but that could take a while and while I'm a huge fan of second hand kit you have to buy it with the assumption there will be problems even if they're minor. If time isn't on your side just get the new Lencarta kit, overlooking sheer power you're probably gaining more with it than an outdated Bowens kit.

 

[HoppyUK]

So is the more sensible buy go for the newer technology as there more aimed for digital and don't be put off with the lower power rating?

Yes.

I've noticed you recommend lencarta @Garry Edwards the workshop I was at used the atom 180's and even on 1/4 power achieved really impressive results

Garry works for Lencarta, but he's not the only person that recommends them. There are plenty of good makes and models available, but Lencarta are as good as any in their class and exceptional value.

The Atom 180 puts out an honest 180Ws of light, so if they're at 1/4 power you're only operating at around 45Ws and that's about right for most regular kinds of home portraiture. It's good to have a bit in hand though - my studio heads are 200Ws and I'm rarely left wanting more.

Watt-seconds (Ws) is the energy stored in the capacitors, which is not the same as light output, but it's the best comparative measure we've got. Bear in mind that in a studio situation (no significant ambient light) you can use ISO to adjust the effective exposure. For example, if you're at f/8 ISO100, then ISO200 gives you f/11 and ISO400 is f/16. In this way, it's easy to double or quadruple the effective power with very little impact on image quality, if any.

Edit: crossed post with above. If you're looking at Lencarta, then the Smartflash-2 is the outstanding buy IMHO and the light output is generous for 200Ws. Save some cash there, and spend it on some quality modifiers (they're what makes the real difference to lighting) such as the Lencarta Profold softboxes with their easy push-up mechanism. Budget softboxes usually work well enough, but are a total PITA to put up and take down again for storage.

 

[Phil V]

I'm drawn to the bowens for there proven reliability and build quality.

Would you say the lencarta 300ws be just as powerful than the older 500ws bowens or should I even consider the twin 600ws kit for an extra £200 which I don't mind spending as £200 now is easier than £600 in the future or is that overkill?

And if you have more power can it just be turned down or does it not work like that?

What are you shooting?

Chances are you don't need anything like that much power. 200Ws is perfectly fine for people in a small space.

In the old days 1000Ws was typical in a studio, shooting medium or large format and needing tiny apertures, but shooting FF or APSC at medium and large apertures, 300Ws is plenty.

 

[baron]

That price is on the high side, it's not unfair but with patience you can hunt down the newer Bowens kits for the same kind of money or as has been suggested you consider new sets if you don't absolutely require 500w heads. I think those heads are Esprit 2, after that you get the Esprit Gemini's then Gemini classic. So I'd guess they're about 15 years old.



I think they're the same model but I'm not certain, the advantage is more so that you can easily obtain replacement tubes at reasonable prices but unless you're doing this commercially at high volume the flash tubes will probably outlast the user.



Too much power is a hindrance, in a home environment I can't see you ever needing more than 300w. It's convenient being able to remotely control the power of heads but you'll only ever really feel that when you've got lights strung up in places that are hard to reach so it's not the end of the world to go without and you don't generally need to adjust power constantly.

In your shoes I'd look for a second hand kit that included more accessories as part of the price as that'll both help you learn/work and save a lot of money but that could take a while and while I'm a huge fan of second hand kit you have to buy it with the assumption there will be problems even if they're minor. If time isn't on your side just get the new Lencarta kit, overlooking sheer power you're probably gaining more with it than an outdated Bowens kit.

That's definitely a lot older than I hoped for, so I see your point there not the best value considering there age and how many models they have been replaced by.

Yes.



Garry works for Lencarta, but he's not the only person that recommends them. There are plenty of good makes and models available, but Lencarta are as good as any in their class and exceptional value.

The Atom 180 puts out an honest 180Ws of light, so if they're at 1/4 power you're only operating at around 45Ws and that's about right for most regular kinds of home portraiture. It's good to have a bit in hand though - my studio heads are 200Ws and I'm rarely left wanting more.

Watt-seconds (Ws) is the energy stored in the capacitors, which is not the same as light output, but it's the best comparative measure we've got. Bear in mind that in a studio situation (no significant ambient light) you can use ISO to adjust the effective exposure. For example, if you're at f/8 ISO100, then ISO200 gives you f/11 and ISO400 is f/16. In this way, it's easy to double or quadruple the effective power with very little impact on image quality, if any.

Edit: crossed post with above. If you're looking at Lencarta, then the Smartflash-2 is the outstanding buy IMHO and the light output is generous for 200Ws. Save some cash there, and spend it on some quality modifiers (they're what makes the real difference to lighting) such as the Lencarta Profold softboxes with their easy push-up mechanism. Budget softboxes usually work well enough, but are a total PITA to put up and take down again for storage.

That's really interesting to know its not always best to just buy more powerrrrr I've no idea in real terms what rating I need but was blown away by the atom's so proves your point with not needing excessive power, I'm just fearful of the future proof upgrading and rather buy the kit that I can grow into

What are you shooting?

Chances are you don't need anything like that much power. 200Ws is perfectly fine for people in a small space.

In the old days 1000Ws was typical in a studio, shooting medium or large format and needing tiny apertures, but shooting FF or APSC at medium and large apertures, 300Ws is plenty.

Currently I shoot nightclubs and small gigs a few nights a week and really got a love for shooting people, so want to develop this further and I have a large empty room in work so was going to convert it into a studio to play around in, I picked up a lastolite Hilite 6x7 with trains and extra bottle tops and a pair of small 150w lights last night to start things off, so looking for two larger lights soft boxes etc to get experimenting and keep me out of mischief haha

 

[Garry Edwards]

Other people have explained the lack of need for high power very well, but let me add in a bit of very basic maths so that it makes the situation even clearer...

Back in the days of film, we typically shot at either 50 ISO or 100 ISO. Yes, we could change to a faster film if needed, but at the expense of image quality - as Richard points out, the problem has gone away with digital because most DSLR cameras are now OK at up to 800 ISO, so we can manage with just 1/8th of the power that we used to need.

And camera sizes have changed too, we used to use much longer lenses than we do now so we need to think about effective aperture. With my full frame DSLR, I typically shoot with a focal length of around 100mm, at at f/11 that gives me an effective aperture of 9mm.
20 years ago I shot with my RZ67 with a 180mm lens, to get the same effective aperture I would need to set f/20.
But it wasn't all done on a RZ67, a lot of it would be on large format (5"x4") shooting at f/45 - which needed 16x as much lighting power as with my DSLR at f/11

 

[baron]

Is there other brands worth looking at other than lencarta or bowens?

 

[HoppyUK]

Is there other brands worth looking at other than lencarta or bowens?

Elinchrom.

 

[baron]

After reading all the comments I take it 300ws is more than enough , but part of me feels for the sake of a £180 more is it not better value buying the 600ws lencarta kit over the 300ws and just turn them down and future proofing?

 

[Nionyn]

I bought the equivalent set to this (two heads and stands, 60x60cm softbox, small umbrella and rolling case etc) in 2008, second hand, for £600. Mine are the (slightly) newer GM500 units.
My set was in virtually as new condition and the price I paid was very reasonable at the time. I'd say that £380 for this set now is a little overpriced.
If you could knock the price down (£300, maybe?) and test them to ensure that they're in full working order they still wouldn't be too bad a buy, though.

My GM500s are still working faultlessly. As previously mentioned, they really are built to last under pretty heavy use.
A few years after buying them I also bought a second hand Esprit 1500 (can be set to 500, 1000 or 1500WS in addition to the infinitely variable five stops of adjustment). That's still going strong too.

I do take the points made above about more modern units of notionally lower power being as powerful, more consistent etc. But I am still perfectly happy with my lights and have no intention of replacing them for the foreseeable future.
I don't use them much at home, though I do occasionally do so for portraits or whatever and they're great for that, no problem. For smaller stuff at home, however, I have a barrelful of Vivitar hotshoe flashes which see plenty of use.
I often use the Bowens for groups of anything up to thirty or so, and for this I don't find them too powerful at all, often running them at full power. I also often use them in 30x120cm stripboxes, gridded and gelled, and in this situation again find them only just powerful enough. This is with a crop-sensor D300s, at my preferred 200 ISO.

 

[baron]

I bought the equivalent set to this (two heads and stands, 60x60cm softbox, small umbrella and rolling case etc) in 2008, second hand, for £600. Mine are the (slightly) newer GM500 units.
My set was in virtually as new condition and the price I paid was very reasonable at the time. I'd say that £380 for this set now is a little overpriced.
If you could knock the price down (£300, maybe?) and test them to ensure that they're in full working order they still wouldn't be too bad a buy, though.

My GM500s are still working faultlessly. As previously mentioned, they really are built to last under pretty heavy use.
A few years after buying them I also bought a second hand Esprit 1500 (can be set to 500, 1000 or 1500WS in addition to the infinitely variable five stops of adjustment). That's still going strong too.

I do take the points made above about more modern units of notionally lower power being as powerful, more consistent etc. But I am still perfectly happy with my lights and have no intention of replacing them for the foreseeable future.
I don't use them much at home, though I do occasionally do so for portraits or whatever and they're great for that, no problem. For smaller stuff at home, however, I have a barrelful of Vivitar hotshoe flashes which see plenty of use.
I often use the Bowens for groups of anything up to thirty or so, and for this I don't find them too powerful at all, often running them at full power. I also often use them in 30x120cm stripboxes, gridded and gelled, and in this situation again find them only just powerful enough. This is with a crop-sensor D300s, at my preferred 200 ISO.

Just strengthens everyone views I've read about them that they are reliable workhorses, might be worth a trip to see them and negotiate £300 considering just how old they are, failing that a new lower powered set might be the better option

 

[Nionyn]

Just strengthens everyone views I've read about them that they are reliable workhorses, might be worth a trip to see them and negotiate £300 considering just how old they are, failing that a new lower powered set might be the better option

That sounds like a reasonable plan, as long as the seller is not far from you and is open to negotiation over the price. Even if they're in really good nick I don't think I'd pay more than £300 for them, to be honest.

Don't forget that if you get into this at all you're almost certainly going to be spending more money on modifiers. I rarely use those that came with my kit (though I do use both from time to time, such as for headshots at home, and am glad that I have them), but bought stripboxes, a large octa and large gridded softbox, beauty dish, larger umbrellas, reflector dishes etc. Oh, and another stand, boom stands, triggers, reflector holder...
An advantage with owning Bowens or other lights that use the Bowens S-mount is that compatible modifiers are plentiful and can be bought relatively cheaply. I have found this to be a major plus point!

 

[HoppyUK]

After reading all the comments I take it 300ws is more than enough , but part of me feels for the sake of a £180 more is it not better value buying the 600ws lencarta kit over the 300ws and just turn them down and future proofing?

A 200Ws head will give you around f/16 with an 80-100cm softbox at 1.0m, ISO100; 400Ws f/22 or so. That's plenty for normal portraits. The problem with high power is you won't be able to turn them down low enough if you want to shoot at f/2.8. Check the power range, and remember that when manufacturers say a range of six stops, they actually mean a difference of five stops.

Did you get what I said about upping the ISO to increase effective power?

Why not buy just one head now? You can do a heck of a lot with that and it's very good for learning the basics. See how you get on, and add something more powerful if you need it.

 

[Toxic]

I use Bowens (GM500's, 500 Classics) and they are solid, reliable and will last years which was the plus point for me over other brands plus the availability of a multitude of modifiers on Amazon, ebay etc.

I guess it comes down to personal choice but the thing that works for me is that I trust my Bowens to work everytime I use them and they do.

 

[Phil V]

What I'd normally say at this point, is what Richard said, starting with one light us the easiest learning method, but you've already dived into buying a hilite etc and I don't think that'll work. So...

No matter how many lights you use, just remember there's only 1 keylight. All lighting should be based on getting that one light right then enhancing your image from there.

Think of your flash heads like a camera body, often considered the most important thing by newbies, but you'll benefit by spending more of your budget on modifiers.

Easy to use soft-boxes will make your life much less frustrating. A good boom arm is a boon if you get into beauty lighting. Grids for your softboxes (Honeycombs if Garry is advising), a beauty dish, extra stands for reflectors and flags (with reflector arms), gels and grips and other paraphernalia.

That's without props, posing stools and other assorted crap.

As long as you avoid the eBay cheapies, you'll be fine, Bowens, Elinchrom, Lencarta, Broncolor, Profoto; flash heads go from bargain basement to eye wateringly expensive.

Whilst Bowens have a great reputation for reliability, I'm quite surprised by the depreciation seen in the prices above. It's close to buying the Lencarta lights then throwing them away after 5 years.

 

[baron]

A 200Ws head will give you around f/16 with an 80-100cm softbox at 1.0m, ISO100; 400Ws f/22 or so. That's plenty for normal portraits. The problem with high power is you won't be able to turn them down low enough if you want to shoot at f/2.8. Check the power range, and remember that when manufacturers say a range of six stops, they actually mean a difference of five stops.

Did you get what I said about upping the ISO to increase effective power?

Why not buy just one head now? You can do a heck of a lot with that and it's very good for learning the basics. See how you get on, and add something more powerful if you need it.

I understand, it would be easier to turn the ISO up than not being able to turn the lights down, so the 300ws kits would be ample and leaving the extra left over money to be used more wisely on modifiers etc.

I use Bowens (GM500's, 500 Classics) and they are solid, reliable and will last years which was the plus point for me over other brands plus the availability of a multitude of modifiers on Amazon, ebay etc.

I guess it comes down to personal choice but the thing that works for me is that I trust my Bowens to work everytime I use them and they do.

That's what led me towards the bowens is there proven reliability, it's just more is it better buying new or second hand, but seems the consensus to be if I can get them cheap enough they will still have many years left in them.

What I'd normally say at this point, is what Richard said, starting with one light us the easiest learning method, but you've already dived into buying a hilite etc and I don't think that'll work. So...

No matter how many lights you use, just remember there's only 1 keylight. All lighting should be based on getting that one light right then enhancing your image from there.

Think of your flash heads like a camera body, often considered the most important thing by newbies, but you'll benefit by spending more of your budget on modifiers.

Easy to use soft-boxes will make your life much less frustrating. A good boom arm is a boon if you get into beauty lighting. Grids for your softboxes (Honeycombs if Garry is advising), a beauty dish, extra stands for reflectors and flags (with reflector arms), gels and grips and other paraphernalia.

That's without props, posing stools and other assorted crap.

As long as you avoid the eBay cheapies, you'll be fine, Bowens, Elinchrom, Lencarta, Broncolor, Profoto; flash heads go from bargain basement to eye wateringly expensive.

Whilst Bowens have a great reputation for reliability, I'm quite surprised by the depreciation seen in the prices above. It's close to buying the Lencarta lights then throwing them away after 5 years.

It can get out of hand very quickly with all the accessories, I'll see what deal I can strike over the s/h bowens and don't get to hung up on the power output and if it's to expensive maybe look into miles of the lencarta lower ws and keep the money for modifiers

 

[baron]

Quick question @Garry Edwards does the lencarta elite pro 2 come with a carry bag and are the modifiers a proprietary lencarta fitment or third party compatiblity?

Also with the wavesync does that allow you to control the flashes from the transmitter mounted on the camera hot shoe?

 

[simonbarker]

It can get out of hand very quickly with all the accessories, I'll see what deal I can strike over the s/h bowens and don't get to hung up on the power output and if it's to expensive maybe look into miles of the lencarta lower ws and keep the money for modifiers

Maybe so but the accessories are more important than the light (unless you're doing something critical), don't get too hung up on build quality because as long as you're avoiding the cheapest rubbish most equipment will out last anyone low volume (or breaks immediately, one or the other).

 

[simonbarker]

Quick question @Garry Edwards does the lencarta elite pro 2 come with a carry bag and the modifiers is it a proprietary lencarta fitment or third party compatiblity?

Lencarta heads use the same fitting as Bowens (s-fit), it's one of their strengths.

The Lencarta kits don't include bags, if you really need a bag it's worth thinking about what would be right for your needs. Don't make the mistake of trying to cram it all into one bag as that ends up turning into a monster that's hard to store and access.

Especially don't get the Bowens bag shown in that listing, it's meant for the smaller 200/400 heads so you'll have trouble squeezing much more beyond a couple stands and a brolly in there and the zips are utter crap that bend and snap off with only moderate usage. The Bowens trolley bags are a different beast entirely, pretty sturdy and much easier to transport (they case with the inbuilt wheels is awful to wheel around though).

 

[Garry Edwards]

We don

Quick question @Garry Edwards does the lencarta elite pro 2 come with a carry bag and are the modifiers a proprietary lencarta fitment or third party compatiblity?

Also with the wavesync does that allow you to control the flashes from the transmitter mounted on the camera hot shoe?

We don't include bags in the kits, many people don't want them. There are various different kits with different options, but if you want a softbox you may want to choose one of the Profold ones, they're better than the kit ones as well as much more convenient. For a home studio, either this octa one or this rectangular one - nothing bigger for most spaces. Just add the softbox to the cart and send a message saying that it replaces the kit softbox, you'll then get the right goods and an immediate refund for the value of the kit softbox.

Lencarta uses the standard S-fit accessory mount, also used by Bowens and most other manufacturers, so there's an enormous range of modifiers available.

Yes, the Wavesync allows full remote control, as well as triggering, from the camera hotshoe.

 

[baron]

It's good to know the lencarta kit is adaptable and can change out accessories at time of purchase and even consider 3rd party knowing they fit, plenty to think about what way to proceed as both have there advantages, and really depends if I get the bowens one at a good price, as said previously it's really just the lights and stands im paying for the rest hasn't much value and would do with being replaced so when I compare that brings it to a similar value to the lencarta, hmmmmm.....

I'm working all weekend so won't get a chance to go out see the bowens so gives me some time to mull it all over, I don't think either option I go for is wrong just waying up what works out best value for money

Thanks for all the comments and tips guys

 

[Andreass]

I can recommend Interfit brend. I have 4 of them 400 and 600 watts all digital. Bought for £300 of eBay. Very reliable. Just spend little bit more time on search.

 

[simonbarker]

I can recommend Interfit brend. I have 4 of them 400 and 600 watts all digital. Bought for £300 of eBay. Very reliable. Just spend little bit more time on search.

Interfit is great for the price but reliability... not so much.

 

[Andreass]

Probably if you do many shots per day, I can't comment, I have them almost three years and no issues. To be honest I am using them only few times per month.

 

[baron]

I can recommend Interfit brend. I have 4 of them 400 and 600 watts all digital. Bought for £300 of eBay. Very reliable. Just spend little bit more time on search.

I was given 2x interfit lights with the Hilite backdrop and must say they do what they need to and for the money seem grand.

 

[baron]

I've my mind pretty much made up to go get the bowens twin 500rx kit, but have a question that I can't find an answer for online:

Can a pocket wizard transmitter built into the sekonic l-478dr test flash the pulsar wireless card fitted to the 500r for test flash as they both use 433mhz frequency? I can find Info that a pulsar can't trigger a pocket wizard but nothing the other way round

 

[simonbarker]

No idea, normally when mixing radio triggers people simply daisy chain the transmitters so they fire any receivers.

Alternatively if you can find them they used to make PocketWizard cards you could fit inside Bowens heads instead of their Pulsar cards.

 

[baron]

Was looking at there pocket wizard cards that fit into the bowens but then the pulsar trigger included in the kit wont work, unless it was put into the other head or plug one into the back maybe?

 

[simonbarker]

Was looking at there pocket wizard cards that fit into the bowens but then the pulsar trigger included in the kit wont work, unless it was put into the other head or plug one into the back maybe?

You can only fit one card into the back of a compatible Bowens head so you need to choose which system you want to support with that method.

If the pc socket also works while a card is installed then you could simply add a PocketWizard receiver to one head via the pc socket and then you'd be able to fire the heads via either PocketWizard or Bowens Pulsar triggers.

I'd recommend just sticking to one system though, less clutter, less batteries, less distractions.