Alien Bees B800

Thinking about a serious lighting upgrade to a couple B800s, stands, and 2.5x5ft light boxes along w/ Pocket Wizards to trigger them.

Any Alien Bees users here?

Anthony, Im also thinking about getting some. My first target would be the ABR800 Ring Flash to compliment my speedlights.
Regarding the trigger, instead of Pocket Wizzards, why dont you use Paul Buff CST and CSRB Cyber Sync System AlienBees - CyberSync™ System
I have been using them for almost 2 years and they function flawlessly.
The only time i did have a miss fire is when the battery was low on the trigger. Aside from that is 100% reliable.

I'm looking at the same sort of thing, will watch this thread and see what I can learn!

Ordered x2 Alien Bees B800 units today.

The jury is still out on transmitters. Currently, I use the Cactus v4 system for my speedlight, which is plenty for that purpose. However, many of the pros I've worked with swear by Pocket Wizards, so I'm obviously leaning that way. They're expensive, but they're the best. Might be a little overkill, but then again, I suppose having more than you need is better than not enough.

I also didn't order any light stands or light modifiers from Paul Buff. I kind of want to shop around on those, because I definitely want to get some portable soft boxes and I think I can do better on prices.

The rest:

x2 LS3900 13' heavy duty light stands
x2 30x60 collapsible lightboxes
x3 PocketWizard Plus II

I need a break. My debit card is smoldering...

Anthony - you've got some serious stuff going in there. Congratulations on you're purchase.

I'm happy with it, but am suffering a bit of sticker shock this morning as I look at my depleted bank balance. Egad! And I still need a backdrop.

And you're still married?? That should be your biggest shocker! lol Congrats on all the new stuff, Anthony. You're quite the photographer IMHO.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jack LOL! I made a list of goals that were effective January 1, 2011 to get my business off the ground. I'm very happy with the progress so far. Hoping that my investment will allow me to expand my capabilities and bring in more paying clients.

All my gear arrived late last week. I had to chuckle watching the UPS driver lug all those boxes up the driveway and set them on the porch. Holy crap, it was like Christmas in February!

A note on the softboxes...they're enormous. I knew that we used 30x60 in the studio for the modeling shoots, but I guess I didn't really put together that they look small in there because of the 20' ceilings. A 6' softbox in a room w/ 8' ceilings looks quite different LOL! The Alien Bees perform flawlessly, and put out a ton of light. They run relatively cool and are very quiet. I've been extremely busy the last several days, so I haven't had much of a chance to play with them.

I ended up ordering a backdrop kit as well, nothing fancy. It's 10' and collapses into a handy carrying bag. The kit came with black, white, and green muslin backdrops. I set it up and it assembles easily and quickly. I don't plan on using it much, so I didn't splurge, just got a basic kit.

And yes, the PocketWizards are everything I'd hoped they'd be. The AlienBees will both fire just using just 1 remote, so I can use another on my speedlight as a hairlight or backdrop light if I have to. Very cool.

Curious, I see the Alien Bee company also makes the 'White Lightning' strobes as well.

I was considering getting a modern strobe setup before my next lens, does anyone know the pros and cons of Alien Bees vs White Lightning? Seems for similar power settings, the Alien Bees are a little less expensive - so I'm guessing the White Lightning might be a bit more of a 'work horse' - I know a lot of guys using Alien Bees, and they seem plenty good enough for what I'd be doing!

johnwartjr said:

Curious, I see the Alien Bee company also makes the 'White Lightning' strobes as well.

Click to expand...

John,
Both Alien Bee and White Lightning are made by Paul C. Buff.
The Alien Bee being the cheaper version than the White Lightning.
I have tried both and I could not see any difference in performance.

I keep having issues w/ my Alien Bees. Actually, I'm more inclined to believe that it's the sync cords. My strobes seem to be on strike, and only work when they feel like it. New sync cords are on order, so we'll see if that fixes the problem. I had purchased some El Cheapo cords from Radio Shack, and there must be a problem.

The cords work just fine with my LumoPro flash, but only work sometimes with the Alien Bees.

I'm more inclined to believe that it's the sync cords.

Click to expand...

Are you not using your pocket wizards? I have a cheapy britek strobe and could never get it to work with the sync cord. When I use pocket wizards, it works like a charm . . . never misses a beat.

Yup, using PocketWizard Plus II. I don't know what the problem is. There are days where they work, and days where they don't. I called Paul C Buff, Inc and the lady gave me a Radio Shack part # for sync cords. The second time I called, a guy told me they could've changed the specs on these cords, so they might not work anymore. I don't know what the deal is, but it's definitely with the Alien Bees units. The cords work just fine with my flash.

Anthony- i purchase my sync cords from Flash Zebra FlashZebra.com
Works well with my Paul Buff triggers to any flash unit. (strobes or flash guns)

Thanks, Ranie. I have some new sync cords on order already, so if those don't work, I will give the FlashZebra ones a go.

Time for some additional questions.

I'm debating between buying another lens, or getting setup with some strobes here in the next couple weeks. Strobes are more interesting to me in the meantime, plus the lens I want is pretty much on nationwide backorder unless you're willing to pay a premium.

After using them for awhile, how do you like the Alien Bees? Do you have sufficient power with the B800s for most projects you are tackling? Are 2 heads adequate, or do you wish you'd gotten a 3rd and 4th head in the process? I have 2 SB-900s, so I could theoretically use them for additional lights.

I don't totally understand the pocketwizard situation. I know one needs to go in the shoe of the camera, and then one gets hooked to one of the strobes. Do the additional alienbees have some sort of slave to fire them from the first strobe?

Anything else a 'first time' strobe buyer should keep in mind?

Thanks!

You are correct, sir. Yes, the Alien Bees have a built-in slave that detects flash, so you only need 2 PocketWizards to fire them all simultaneously. And this goes for 1, 2, or however many Alien Bees + your flash units (which should have a slave as well). Sufficient power is a gross understatement. I have 2 B800 units and 2 speedlights, and it's been more than enough for anything I've ever thrown at it. Often times, I only use 1 B800 unit in conjunction with my speedlights instead of both, because it's just too much.

The other big decision is which modifier to purchase. Umbrella/softbox/barndoors.

OK, one more question - probably the most important of them all - white, black, yellow, green or pink? Or a combination of 2?