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Author Topic: portable generator for location alien bee  (Read 10189 times)

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« on: January 09, 2010, 17:28 »
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just got myself back into the studio with some alien bee strobe.
love them to heavens. it definitely is a big help and release for winter as
prior to that, i shoot mostly outdoors in existing lighting due to my preference to use mostly existing lighting and supportive reflectors and of fill flash.

this had a tradeoff , though ie. i cannot shoot almost half of the year, which at the beginning does not bother me as i usually flee the winter to the tropics during those times. but after we all had to tighten our belts due to the market  correction, viz the real STOCK  that matter... market.., and loss of some thick walleted clientele due to their business failure or job layoff, i too needed to make some sacrifice and therfore  stay home during the bloody winter. arggghhh!

well, so i got myself the Alien Bee units which are simply amazing.
now, i am thinking of incorporating them outdoors so i don't have to wait till the best moments to shoot .
i wonder if there are any on location pros here who have used portable generators for something small as the Alien Bees.  i think it would be cool to go off to some deserted island or forest, lol.. if i can find them, lol..
and set up these bees to shoot there.  my models think it's a cool idea this summer, and so do i.

any insights from anyone who has used portable generators will truly be appreciated.  no, don't send me to some reviews or whatnot. i am talking about first hand experience, not some desk chained paid reviewer / critic who has never used the things other than his computer and google without the faintest idea (most times) what she / he is writing about. worse some paid editor who gets a free dinner for writing something nice for some equipment distributor.

i know those machavalian scavenger do exist, as i used to get perks like that a long time ago , lol.. ie. ya, i was once a MS myself, rofl.





« Reply #1 on: January 09, 2010, 18:24 »
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Paul C Buff sells a battery pack called the Vagabond II.
http://www.white-lightning.com/battery.html
I use it on location shoots and am very happy with it. Reliable and recycles quickly.




« Reply #2 on: January 10, 2010, 08:56 »
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+ 1 for the Vagabond II here is a shot done outside using it hooked up to Speedatron 1200ws powerpack.  I know that this is not suggested but it still works.
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-6403709-outdoor-running-series.php

Hope this helps

« Reply #3 on: January 10, 2010, 10:46 »
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thx nosaya, eyedesign.
i should have said BATTERY PAK rather than "generator".  generator would not be ideal as they're noisy and bulky in most cases, and more for big production movie studios, which i am not. i bought the ABee because of its portability, and lugging a generator sort of defeats the idea of compactness. just want something i can toss into a compact automobile.

i supposed a couple of battery pak each strobe would be ideal. i shoot with a couple of battery pak for my camera, so i gather by the time my camera's battery paks run out, so will the b pak for the strobes. or probably not, since outdoors these strobes will be on partial power working as fills rather than main light source.

« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2011, 21:00 »
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We power our Bees in the field with the Vagabond

« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2011, 00:00 »
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... except you should get the vagabond lithium mini instead.

I have been using a hensel porty 12 Lithium unit and find it very handy to tug around and shoot everywhere.  I have a Pelican case for it and take it travelling a lot (sent underneath as cargo).  I have used it the whole day without it ever going 'dry'.  Yesterday I used it all day shooting and it was only down to 75%.

I realize this isn't your cheaper Paul Buff version, but I have read pretty good reviews about the Vagabond mini, so I think you'd probably be pretty happy with it.


 

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