Looking at Bowens Esprit Gemini 500Ws Two-Head Lighting Kit or Speedlite 580 EX II

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Where to start. Looking to get into more fashion photography / portrait etc. Debating whether to splash the cash on a Bowens Esprit Gemini 500Ws Two-Head Lighting Kit then use some backdrops etc.

Or do I get a Speedlite 580 EXII and possibly a slave with another flash and backdrops.

I am torn with what to do as the Bowens Esprit Gemini 500Ws Two-Head Lighting Kit is quite a large heavy bag of gear and i still have no hot shoe flash.

Or do i just buy a 50d lol.

Current camera is 400d with 100mm macro / 55-200 tele / 18-55 kit. Remotes / filters / tripod etc
 
Not an easy decision, because no one tool does everything well.

Hotshoe flashes - great for light weight, portability etc but very low powered compared to studio flash and, more importantly, the range of light shaping tools available for them are both limited and fairly ineffective. Also an expensive option, unless you go the 'boot sale' route, where reliability can become an issue. Please see this article

Studio flashes - far, far better where mains power is available but of course far heavier if you need to transport them around. The Lencarta ElitePro range will do everything that the much more expensive Bowens can do, and take the same light shaping tools - and it's the light shaping tools that are important, especially for fashion shots.

And then there are the battery powered studio flashes, which are more expensive than mains powered and which have a few disadvantages, but which allow you to use the same light shaping tools and which are battery powered. Similar in a way to hotshoe flashes but with 10x the power and the ability to control the light properly
 
Pow, I've had a 580ii for a while now and have used it for a few weddings, it's a great flash, you'll love it.

however, I bought a Bowens esprit 500 with travel kit (big battery) 2nd hand last week and it is sooooooo much better than the speedlight.

As Garry says, 2 different bits of kit for different jobs.

imho if you really want to get into fashion togging the bowens would be much better, but it is a fairly big investment if you don't use it too much...
 
The Bowens is good for 25 years at least - light is light. There is a load of guff about flashes spoken by marketing men, to make you buy a new one. Some improvements make using the thing easier, or they pack a bit more punch, but essentially, thye still make light:clap:

Ihave older Bowens Prolites and a couple of their old "switchmodes" which were basically inverters that would allow a car battery to power the studio light out doors - MUCH cheaper than a generator route and added advantage of being able to use smaller batteries, just one per light - they make good ballast to stop the thing from falling over in wind!

If you want portable and light - go speedlight.
If you want control and power - go studio system. Allow a nother £200 for tools on top of the basic spill kills you get in the kit. A tool that is brilliant is the wok thing - I think they call it the Sunlight. The one I have has a double diffuser in themiddle, held in by springs (you can remove them) and has a diffuser screen that clips over the front which will take a honeycomb grid and comes with a set of 3 honeycombs. Brilliant tool for portraits with one light and a back light. The other tool which I can recommend is the wafer 100 - superb. You don't need a 140.
 
Interesting reading, thanks for the replies.

I think the main thing was - I knew i needed a hot shoe flash in my kit bag but also wanted the Bowens light kit as this would be more usefull at getting the indoor results i need.

After reading your information and more off the net. Interesting article Garry (y) cleared a few things up for me. Looks like i`ll prob go for a studio light kit. I suppose that i was just trying to keep options open by getting 1 or 2 hot shoe flash. But i may aswell get the lighting to do the job i need. And tbh once 2 580EX II have been bought with some accessories i`d be into the same money as the studio kit.

The Lencarta kit looks like you get a lot for your money, but i think i`d have to stick with Bowens. I wouldnt want to feel like i saved £200 at the time only to need a better kit in the future. Im not keen on paying over the odds for branded gear. But i do believe there is a better quality product to be had from bowens. Correct me if i`m wrong.


Thanks for the input :)
 
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