which portable studio lights

ShawWellPete

ShawWellPete

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My Lencarta Safari Li-On portable studio lights recently blew and are, unfortunately, unrepairable. I did not use them that often but would like to replace them, ideally with something else which uses Bowen fittings.

I'd like a two head system and ideally something portable and robust and with enough power to over power midday sun.

Any suggestions?

PeterBlandford0001.jpg
 
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mike weeks said:
Godox is the obvious choice, which model depends on what you are lighting and where

Overpowering the sun is often quoted but never fully understood, answer the more watts the better so a 600W is the answer, as you however increase power you increase weight

Mike
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Thanks Mike, there is a Godox group buy on a facebook group I am a member of and I was literally just looking at it. You are completely right, while more power is always nice, the smaller size of the Ad-200 is pretty tempting, particularly as they seem to sync pretty well with the Godox trigger at his speeds.
 
ShawWellPete said:
Thanks Mike, there is a Godox group buy on a facebook group I am a member of and I was literally just looking at it. You are completely right, while more power is always nice, the smaller size of the Ad-200 is pretty tempting, particularly as they seem to sync pretty well with the Godox trigger at his speeds.
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Where are you located, we have a couple of AD200 you could play with if you local :)
 
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ShawWellPete said:
Thanks Mike, there is a Godox group buy on a facebook group I am a member of and I was literally just looking at it. You are completely right, while more power is always nice, the smaller size of the Ad-200 is pretty tempting, particularly as they seem to sync pretty well with the Godox trigger at his speeds.
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I have been switching to Godox units over the last few years now and they have been totally reliable I have a pair of AD200 that you mentioned and these can be linked together if needed and I have a number of there hotshoe guns that can be utilised if necessary and also cross compatibility with other systems is a bonus :)(y)
 
Phiggys said:
I have been switching to Godox units over the last few years now and they have been totally reliable I have a pair of AD200 that you mentioned and these can be linked together if needed and I have a number of there hotshoe guns that can be utilised if necessary and also cross compatibility with other systems is a bonus :)(y)
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Thanks Phil, can two be grouped together in one bowen style adapter?
 
Check out eglobal for excellent price on both AD200 models
 
ShawWellPete said:
Thank you very much for the generous offer but the group buy closes on Sunday so there is not much time. Looking at the reviews they seem like a pretty solid choice.
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No problem, they are a little under powered in my book, depending on the job, if you doing huge amounts outside and nned more punch I would go down the AD400 - AD600 route.
 
Yes they make a adapter specifically to do just that
 
ShawWellPete said:
Thanks Mike, there is a Godox group buy on a facebook group I am a member of and I was literally just looking at it. You are completely right, while more power is always nice, the smaller size of the Ad-200 is pretty tempting, particularly as they seem to sync pretty well with the Godox trigger at his speeds.
Click to expand...
Be a bit careful about buying through a group. Most of the "special offers" are a seller who is trying to beat Godox's rules on minimum pricing by selling off-book - a bit dodgy with a distinct possibility that Godox won't honour the warranty.

When it comes to power then yes, more is better - 200 W/s can only contribute to ambient light when it's bright, but could be useful in dull conditions. 500 W/s isn't really a measurable reduction from 600 W/s, specially when you factor in other factors such as system efficiency. And whether you actually need to overpower the sun or not will depend partly on whether or not you're a pro who needs to produce the required results regardless of the conditions - in other words, if you can choose only to shoot in less bright conditions then you can manage with less.

Another massive factor is distance, i.e. the ISL. If you can get your lights really close then there are massive improvements to the effects of the flash. And yet another is the choice of modifier - in the vast majority of situations there's no point in diffusing the light by using softboxes or umbrellas, that's mainly for indoor use. Use standard reflectors or high intensity reflectors instead https://www.lencarta.com/all-products/light-shapers/lencarta-high-intensity-reflector-mod009 and once again there are massive gains in effective power.
 
Garry Edwards said:
Be a bit careful about buying through a group. Most of the "special offers" are a seller who is trying to beat Godox's rules on minimum pricing by selling off-book - a bit dodgy with a distinct possibility that Godox won't honour the warranty.

When it comes to power then yes, more is better - 200 W/s can only contribute to ambient light when it's bright, but could be useful in dull conditions. 500 W/s isn't really a measurable reduction from 600 W/s, specially when you factor in other factors such as system efficiency. And whether you actually need to overpower the sun or not will depend partly on whether or not you're a pro who needs to produce the required results regardless of the conditions - in other words, if you can choose only to shoot in less bright conditions then you can manage with less.

Another massive factor is distance, i.e. the ISL. If you can get your lights really close then there are massive improvements to the effects of the flash. And yet another is the choice of modifier - in the vast majority of situations there's no point in diffusing the light by using softboxes or umbrellas, that's mainly for indoor use. Use standard reflectors or high intensity reflectors instead https://www.lencarta.com/all-products/light-shapers/lencarta-high-intensity-reflector-mod009 and once again there are massive gains in effective power.
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Thanks Garry, that is good advice, particularly about the modifiers, I tend to use soft boxes or umbrellas even outdoors as you can see in the catch lights on the boxer. I’ve been doing some research and thinking that for greatest flexibility I’d go for 2x AD200 pro and 1x AD400 pro with an AD-B2 and the xpro-n trigger for Nikon and another one for Fuji.
 
ShawWellPete said:
Thanks Garry, that is good advice, particularly about the modifiers, I tend to use soft boxes or umbrellas even outdoors as you can see in the catch lights on the boxer. I’ve been doing some research and thinking that for greatest flexibility I’d go for 2x AD200 pro and 1x AD400 pro with an AD-B2 and the xpro-n trigger for Nikon and another one for Fuji.
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One thing to consider is that there is no extension head for the AD400PRO meaning all weight at the top of the stand, I tend to use the AD600 and AD600PRO with extension heads so that the main head can be clamped lower on the stand as ballast

Mike
 
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