From: "Tanya Love"
Following the advice of the oh-so-wise Thomas Van Veen, I set myself up with
Alien Bees when I was in the US for my GFM trip. They were awesome. I then
sold off most of my gear when I "retired" from photography, circa 2007, and
have just finished re-enabling myself with a studio set up. I researched
the market heavily and was planning on spending the big bucks to make sure
that "this time" I did it correctly. What I ended up doing was going back
to Alien Bees! I looked at Elinchrom, I looked at Bowens, I looked at a
zillion other brands and the thing that had me back to Alien Bees is the way
they are built. They are TOUGH. They are designed to be tough. They also
now have an Aussie distributor who happens to only be a few suburbs from me,
which is even better! They also come in pink! Hehehe. Oh, and did I
mention that they cost waaaay less than the big name brands? They are also
easy to get accessories for - most Soft Boxes etc come with White Lightening
or ABs adapters (or can be purchased separately to suit). So, I just set
myself up with their Vagabond battery pack (which can be used anywhere in
the world!), 2 x 400w ABs in black, and 2 x 800w ABs in pink - the whole lot
cost me about aud$2k as compared with about $5-$6k for the equivalent in a
Bowens set up. I am now trying to decide if I will go for their Commander
system for my radio triggers or Pocket Wizards with the dedicated AB adapter
thingy. (I've been using Cactus and they are just that - CACTUS. Absolute
SHITE. Don't waste your $$$). The Pocket Wizards have the advantage of
being able to transmit directly to my Sekonic light meter, but cost more.
ABs also have their new fancy schmancy "Einstein" heads but they aren't yet
available in Australia. Supposedly before Christmas though.
Anyways, that's my take, and my plan is that by Christmas I will have my
studio set up complete with my new radio triggers, a nice long softbox,
possibly a purpose built product table, and of course, my new K-5 to round
it all out! Woot!
Then, next year, will be the "year of the lens" for me!
I just replaced my "cheap Chinese radio-slaves", which come to think
were Interfit Branded with Paul C. Buff Cybersync. Didn't go the
CyberCommander route yet, but the receivers & transmitter I have will
work with it if I ever get that far advanced.
One thing I found, the cybersync 1/4 mono adapter cable wouldn't work
with my older White Lightning 10000s, which require a 1/4 stereo wired
to tip & ring. I contacted Paul C. Buff tech support and as soon as I
explained the problem they sent me additional cables wired for the older
1/4 stereo - no charge.
I would have willingly paid for those cables, since it is an older tech
that is no longer standard.
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