Bowens or Elinchrom yes I know that old chestnut again

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Permalink Reply by Paul Hughes on November 15, 2009 at 5:53pm

I have a triple head bowens 500 gemini set up and I cant fault it at all, friends of mine have a variety of studio lights including both bowens and elinchrom and it was on thier instruction I bought the bowens. They seem to favour bowens over all others.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Phillips-McLaren on November 17, 2009 at 5:12pm

Hi Nigel

I use the Bowens Gemini's as you know, 4 x 500's and a 750. I really like the Gemini's (on the twice a year that I actually use them) I like the fact that I can use them out side with my portable battery pack which means I can use them in the middle of a desert if I wanted. So an amazing studio and portable kit all in one. I have in the past used Elinchrom but I must say that I'm not really a fan. I like the Bowens, Broncolor and at a push maybe the Profoto. The Bowens battery pack is a lot smaller and lighter than most battery packs, You need a fork lift truck to carry the Profoto battery pack which is a joke.

Hope this helps.

Ian

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Permalink Reply by Nigel Bird on November 17, 2009 at 6:21pm

Thanks for the replies

I am leaning toward the Bowens for their travel pack capability I am tempted by the Elinchrom bulit in skyports and the ability to adjust the lights power from the camera position. But I think the travel pack would be very useful. Does any one know how many full power flashes you get out of the travel pack for a 250r vs 500r.

Sorry but one other thing how does the light output of a 250ws or 500ws studio light compare to a 580ex I can not find a good answer.

Regards Nigel

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Permalink Reply by Ian Phillips-McLaren on November 17, 2009 at 6:55pm

You will never use the skyports bit. I have a couple of bowens RC1 remote controls that I bought for bowens digital strobes and guess what, I've never used them. One is still in the box untouched, I keep meaning to put them on ebay.

I don't know how many flashes you get with the new bowens kit with the new portable battery but the kit that I have, you get 200 flashes on full power with the 500's, keep in mind you'll seldom use the lights on full power, I tend to use mine round about quarter to half the power as I tend to shoot wide open all the time, so that means more flashes.

You can't compare the 580ex or any other on camera flash for that matter with studio strobes no matter what the spec says. The size of the flash tube makes a big difference to the quality of the light. On camera flash is more harsh due to the small element / tube. To give you an idea - I have a full portable multi blitz kit that hasn't seen daylight for about 6 or 7 years due to the fact that the flash tube is too small for my liking, I just hate the quality of the light and they are suppose to be studio strobes but small enough to lug around for location. The Element / flash tube is about half the size of the bowens but double the size of the 580ex, it's horses for courses.

I hope this is the answer your looking for : )

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Permalink Reply by Nigel Bird on November 17, 2009 at 8:15pm

Hi Ian tahnks for the reply why dont you use your remote do you find it jsut as easy to go to the light also you say you mainly shoot without lighting are you using very high iso's or do you jsut shoot when the light is bright, I would have thought that would be difficult especialy at this time of the year if you need to shoot a client late in the day.

Regards Nigel

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Permalink Reply by Ian Phillips-McLaren on November 18, 2009 at 1:31pm

Hi Nigel, I just found it a polava, by the time you choose what channel you wanted and then set the light, I found it was just easier to go to the light and change the settings. Not to mention, if I never had the remote next to me constantly, I'd have to go get the remote, then set it.

I generally make sure that I'm shooting in the morning till 3 ish, if I have no choice then I take light's but I'm normally lucky enough to choose what time to shoot. I do also shoot at 1600 asa on dull days.

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