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I want to buy a set of monolights (2 or more) and battery packs to take to weddings.
I need recommendations from those that actually use them
I notice Sean uses:
White Lightning x2400,
White Lightning Ultrazap 1600s,
Vagabond II battery/inverter
any other recommendations.
or does anyone have some for sale?
I also use an Innovatronix Explorer XT. It works quite well too. I don
Love my Vagabond LiMini. I usually have it powering a WL X1600 and AB800 and have yet to kill a single fully charged battery on one shoot. I must mention I rarely shoot more than half power on the X1600 and of course I have a spare battery.
I did a shoot where I shot over 400 shots with the X1600 @ 3/8 power and the AB800 @ full on one battery with some to spare.
I shoot a lot with a Ring Light (580EXII w/Rayflash) as a fill. So I think my next purchase is going to be another Vaga Mini and the ABR800. While the 580II and Rayflash are plenty powerful enough I want the ring to be a little larger and since the LiMini is so light and wearable this seems like a great alternative to other power pack/ring combos.
Interesting that you are using a ring light as a fill.
I use it for close up but not as a fill.
Is it because of the catch lights or some other reason?
I
Pretty much what Sean said.
It also does some interesting things with edge definition. It also softens skins better since the light is on axis. Wrinkles and pours are pretty much shadows because angular light can't fill them from the viewer perspective. It will light up the eyes better too. I read an article that Pamela Anderson will not allow anyone to photograph her without a ring light due to this functionality.
I also use it a lot because for my main client I usually I don't have luxury of using a vast set up. A lot of what I do is "hurry bang-bang but remember we need this to run on billboards and run in magazines." So I usually stick 580II on a stand with silver bounce card close to a white ceiling, use a 580II in a 36" Photek Soflighter for angular key and 580II w/Ray Flash and that is my 2 minute drill lighting. I can move it room to room with out breaking it down and all in one trip. My Fill is attached to the camera hanging around my neck, I collapse the legs of the other two stands, one in each hand and I'm on to the next spot and the marketing folks love my speed and final product.
To Sean's second point about a large fill behind; I too like this method when space is available. I use the PLM 64" white with diffuser panel. I am a big fan of the PLM. The light is a little creamier than my 60" Photek and the construction is 100x better. Plus the 16 ribs make for a near perfect round catch where the Photek's 10 ribs is less than round.