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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Robert Mitchell" data-source="post: 100107" data-attributes="member: 11282">Hi Klas.I totally understand where you're coming from and if that's the way you view warranties and customer service then I certainly won't try to change your way of thinking. I do, however, think that it's unwise to purchase gear from a company that has a track record and reputation for poor customer service and lousy products. I realize that some people will give a positive review and that's bound to happen with any brand or product but it's wise to look at the big picture and see beyond the few people that like and use the products without issues. With electrical products that need to meet code and can potentially catch fire, causing damage or potentially kill someone, then I think you need to look at it a bit differently. Just my 2 cents, of course.In terms of buying strobes and learning how to control and use light, I think it's very important to start small and simple. A 2 or 3 light kit is great but it should be noted that a 1 light setup is amazingly powerful and many photographers that can use and do own many lights will still choose to use 1 or 2 lights at most.Overlighting and poor lighting placement is a mess and doesn't teach you anything, nor does it produce pleasing images.1 light and a reflector or 2 lights and a reflector is a great way to start and there are a few manufacturers that make affordable entry level strobes.I've been shooting with Elinchrom strobes for a while but I'm shooting with the RX series, which are not inexpensive. The entry level Elinchrom strobes are quite good but if you're in the US, I personally think that the E640 from Paul Buff is a great choice. It's hard to beat the performance and feature set offered, especially at that price point.If you're not into Paul Buff products then you can go with Elinchrom but what you give up in the entry level Elinchrom's is the wide range in power control. They have a 5 stop range compared to the 9 stop range in the E640. This holds true with many of the other brands that offer affordable lighting. Limited power range, low power modeling lights without full control. Some lights that have analog controls have extremely inaccurate controls and it's hard to recreate exact setups with a variable power knob or slider. Digital controls are more desirable but also come at a price.The Adorama Flashpoint strobes are nice and I believe they are a rebranded Interfit strobe, which are also nice.Another reason why I think you should look at the E640 is because you mentioned that you want to shoot action. Shooting moving objects with strobes isn't always easy because typically, inexpensive strobes have a relatively slow (long) flash duration and the ability to stop motion isn't that great. The only way to get super fast flash durations is to step up to lights that are very expensive and buying one light would blow your entire budget or not even get you one light.That brings me back to the E640. Buff has engineered a strobe that has a very fast flash duration and is capable of stopping fast moving objects.Just so you know, I don't own or use Paul Buff lights and I don't work for him, review his products or endorse him in any way. I'm being completely objective and I recognize that he is making an outstanding product. I don't think you can get as much from a strobe as you can with the E640.</blockquote>

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