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 03/01/2007 10:58:27 PM · #1
okay so im thinking of purchasing 2 alien Bee BP400's.
after shipping and currency exchange it starts to get pricy like hte 800-900 price range. doyout hink its worth it? is there any other brands for the same quality and price i shoudl be looking at?
thanks!
 03/01/2007 11:11:25 PM · #2
If youre gonna spend that much, might as well get 800's theyre only a few bucks more.

Dont forget, if youre a student, you get a student discount of 10 percent.
03/01/2007 11:15:00 PM · #3
Originally posted by hsteg:
If youre gonna spend that much, might as well get 800's theyre only a few bucks more.

Dont forget, if youre a student, you get a student discount of 10 percent.

its an additional 55 USDeach unit for the upgrade to 800's.
what im plannign on getting is the DigiBee kit with one transmitter and one reciever
for the digibee kit=$599.03USD
Transmitter=$39.95USD
Reciever=$39.95USD
Sub-Total=$678.93
Convert to CDN=$796.63
+shipping=est. $900.00CDN

Message edited by author 2007-03-01 23:20:31.
 03/01/2007 11:21:25 PM · #4
i have 3 800's and love em to death
 03/01/2007 11:30:11 PM · #5
I use Dyna Lites - I think they are pretty reasonable too.

03/01/2007 11:31:17 PM · #6
Originally posted by EvanH:
i have 3 800's and love em to death

Is there that much of a difference between teh 400's and 800's
 03/01/2007 11:36:27 PM · #7
I JUST got 2 800s and a 1600 and i can honestly say they are top quality!
Great construction, great guys to work with (AB's called me personally the day after i put my order in to tell me that it was being shipped later that day), fast shipping, no complaints!

I'd recommend anyone to buy AB's!
 03/02/2007 12:09:31 AM · #8
Originally posted by noisemaker:
Originally posted by EvanH:
i have 3 800's and love em to death

Is there that much of a difference between teh 400's and 800's

Id assume a full stop.
 03/02/2007 01:06:15 AM · #9
since ima student have basically have no money im going to stick with 400's but it costs alllot to get shiped to canada and then currency exchange and taxes and what not.

or another question. im interested in the 70-200mm/4IS L. what is more important. lights or another lens?(already have 24-70L)
 03/02/2007 01:09:05 AM · #10
Originally posted by noisemaker:
since ima student have basically have no money im going to stick with 400's but it costs alllot to get shiped to canada and then currency exchange and taxes and what not.

or another question. im interested in the 70-200mm/4IS L. what is more important. lights or another lens?(already have 24-70L)

Depends what you shoot more. If youre gonna get more into studio stuff id say stick w the 24-70 and get the lights. If youre gonna do any sports shooting or anything like that id say get the 70-200 2.8 NON IS instead of the 4IS. Its about the same price.
 03/02/2007 01:15:03 AM · #11
if you wanted to shoot on location with AB
dont you need like a portable power source?
how much do those go for
 03/02/2007 01:16:22 AM · #12
Originally posted by hsteg:
Originally posted by noisemaker:
since ima student have basically have no money im going to stick with 400's but it costs alllot to get shiped to canada and then currency exchange and taxes and what not.

or another question. im interested in the 70-200mm/4IS L. what is more important. lights or another lens?(already have 24-70L)

Depends what you shoot more. If youre gonna get more into studio stuff id say stick w the 24-70 and get the lights. If youre gonna do any sports shooting or anything like that id say get the 70-200 2.8 NON IS instead of the 4IS. Its about the same price.

im definitly not a sports photographer, im trying to get into studio and portrait work.
and i think im still going to go for the 4/IS for the size and weight compared to 2.8 non IS.
 03/02/2007 01:35:43 AM · #13
I'd go with the lights, they make a HUGE difference.
Since i bought my 60mm 2.8 i havnt touched my 70-200 2.8, its just too big and heavy to carry around for shooting random things.

I've gone back to using my kit 18-70 in conjunction with my 60 2.8 with my ABs, i couldnt ask for much more! (except a nice canon FF setup!)
 03/02/2007 09:55:15 AM · #14
Originally posted by Elmakias:
if you wanted to shoot on location with AB
dont you need like a portable power source?
how much do those go for

for a vagabond power suppy its 500bucks. but i dont need that right now and cna do without it for a while
 03/02/2007 10:22:33 AM · #15
Originally posted by noisemaker:
okay so im thinking of purchasing 2 alien Bee BP400's.
after shipping and currency exchange it starts to get pricy like hte 800-900 price range. doyout hink its worth it? ...thanks!

Here's another opinion for ya~ yes I think it's very much worth it! I think you will be fine with the 2-400w lights. If your studio work continues you will be adding additional lights in the future and can look at higher wattage lights then.

The only thing I would suggest you consider is substituting the Alien Bee's "Heavy Duty Light Stands" for the ones included in the package. Even though they are described as "General Purpose", they are a bit on the lightweight side and somewhat tipsy. Doing so adds abour $30 per stand, so if you really need to pinch pennies then the General Purpose stands will work, but I much preferred the others.

Great idea buying the wireless setup, too. You'll like it.
03/02/2007 11:13:11 AM · #16
Originally posted by nova:
The only thing I would suggest you consider is substituting the Alien Bee's "Heavy Duty Light Stands" for the ones included in the package. Even though they are described as "General Purpose", they are a bit on the lightweight side and somewhat tipsy. Doing so adds abour $30 per stand, so if you really need to pinch pennies then the General Purpose stands will work, but I much preferred the others.


Another option to save a little is to buy the stands at B&H.

The 13' Heavy Duty Stand is $69.95 at AB and $52.95 at B&H
The 13' Air-Cushioned Heavy Duty Stand is $99.95 at AB and $69.95 at B&H
 03/02/2007 12:00:00 PM · #17
i bought a the busy bee kit about 6 weeks ago. at that time they were offering 5% off your purchase for each light included in order. 4 lights got me 20% off the total of entire order. So I ordered some extra stuff at the same time to get the discount. do they still have that offer going?
03/02/2007 12:27:41 PM · #18
Originally posted by Bugzeye:
do they still have that offer going?


That has been their SOP for a while, a good incentive to buy buy buy :)
 03/02/2007 12:37:13 PM · #19
I just got my annual review from my day job - my bosses don't hate me yet and say I can keep my job -- so I think I just gave myself permission to order my 4th light. Finally! :) It will be an AB800, giving me 2 800s and 2 400s. I'm going to order some extra bulbs too since I've probably jinxed myself by saying I've used the same strobes for over 5 years without changing a bulb. lol
 03/02/2007 12:47:18 PM · #20
newbie question: consider yourself warned!

exactly what kind of difference would the 400 and 800 have? is it about light intensity or what?
 03/02/2007 12:48:38 PM · #21
5 years? wow, I was wondering how long they will last.

Originally posted by idnic:
I've used the same strobes for over 5 years without changing a bulb. lol

03/02/2007 12:56:21 PM · #22
Originally posted by Muppet:
newbie question: consider yourself warned!

exactly what kind of difference would the 400 and 800 have? is it about light intensity or what?


Yup, intensity. an AB400 at full power in a small home studio would nearly blind you - an AB800 at full power would shine through the walls! Okay, that was eggagerated, but you get my drift. In my studio on a normal shooting day, I have my 400s at about 1/4 - 1/2 of their full power and the 800 at the lowest setting it will go -- that allows me 1/125th shutter speed and ISO 100.
 03/02/2007 01:04:36 PM · #23
Originally posted by idnic:

Yup, intensity. an AB400 at full power in a small home studio would nearly blind you - an AB800 at full power would shine through the walls! Okay, that was eggagerated, but you get my drift. In my studio on a normal shooting day, I have my 400s at about 1/4 - 1/2 of their full power and the 800 at the lowest setting it will go -- that allows me 1/125th shutter speed and ISO 100.


That's good to know ... I have a small space in my basement that I'm trying to turn into a studio ... planning on getting 1 AB400 in the next few weeks ... I guess that will be more than enough light for now ...
 03/02/2007 01:06:41 PM · #24
ok, so one would probably do better with a combo of 400's and 800's for the sake of variety. or if i do more low key pics, then i'd be better with just getting 400's and making do without 800's, right? also, how much would a 400 cost for shipping in the US? (hoping i didn't just hijack the thread)
 03/02/2007 01:10:59 PM · #25
Originally posted by Muppet:
ok, so one would probably do better with a combo of 400's and 800's for the sake of variety. or if i do more low key pics, then i'd be better with just getting 400's and making do without 800's, right? also, how much would a 400 cost for shipping in the US? (hoping i didn't just hijack the thread)


Totally depends on how you plan to use them. If you want to shoot location you're better off going with 800s because you might have to compete with daylight or other strong ambient light - if you are only going to use them in a home studio, probably 400s are plenty of power. I went with a mix for flexibility. As for price, you'll have to check their site.
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