What makes a good flash system?

Mornin' everyone.

Recently, I've been looking at advanced lighting systems (i.e. anything better then my solitary 550EX)

Normally, I can usually figure out what I need to know when it comes to purchasing items, but off camera / studio style flashes always get the better of me. Can anyone tell me what kind of features a photographer should look for in a light system to be used for portraits which will be travelled around?

What's the difference between an Alien Bee system or Quantums or Elinchrom lights? I barely know the difference between flashes within the same system, let alone different brands!

I figure build quality and weight are clearly going to be important, but is there much difference between lower and higher quality items for other reasons? Do things like recycle times get better the more you spend? What controls might be limited on a cheaper flash? Do these things even make a difference in the field? I've never found a definitive place to answer all of these questions.

I'd really love to hear first person accounts of any purchased flash systems and why you liked/disliked what you got. Infact, any help at all would be fantastic!

Complicated

I don't think that you can answer this post so easily in a paragraph. I took a few studio lighting classes before I bought my lighting set up so that I could try various lighting set ups and types of lighting and modifiers. Then I went to WPPI's (Wedding and Portrait Photographer Int'l) tradeshow to look at all the various brands of lights and to see them in action. If there are no classes near you, can you rent them to see how they work for you?

All that said - I bought the Profoto Monolights - 1 300ws and 2 600's. Way too much light for my available space. I bought a kit (no longer available that way) that took a fair amount of modifying. I got softboxes, pocket wizards (did not need all the ones that came with the kit!), Umbrellas, light stands. Way too much stuff. All that said - I plan to grow into it all and now this hobby has crossed the line to pro. I am searching for studio space that is big enough that I can use those lights in (ha!).

The one thing I think is missing from my setup is I need to have an electrical outlet - it's not battery operated and so possibly, my next purchase might be a small portable system of some kind that I can take on beach shoots or location that is a bit bigger than the 580ex.

Mmm, I did ask a heck of a big question, I will be going to a portrait/lighting workshop next week, hopefully alot of my questions will be answered there. Does anyone know any good courses in the London/SW area? or at least places where they can be found?

I've just remembered that I might be able to blag some cheap studio space for a while soon. I might see what I can teach myself over there...

Marc Hankins said:

Mmm, I did ask a heck of a big question, ...

Click to expand...

Yes, it was hard to know where to begin .

Equipment build quality aside, I think the first question to ask oneself is what the output power requirements are. Shooting in a smaller space requires less power than at larger distances. Related is the type of light formers you are going to use. Large soft/octo-boxes will require more power than a narrow reflector. To complicate matters, not all power specs can be compared one-on-one.

There is also a factor of color accuracy. While most equipment allows to vary the output per head to a certain degree, they don't necessarily all maintain a constant color temperature when dimmed.

Another choice is between individually powered mono-blocks or a stronger generator with lighter heads connected.

The range of accessories and/or the service possibilities, may be other factors to consider. Cost can be another ...

Bart