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Studi0488

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Something I said on another thread made me think.

We have just bought some second hand strobes for the life of me cannot remember the names, one of them is a 1200w jobby and on full power actually ionises the air, you can actually smell it, and the flash noise is seriously scary.

So when would there be a need for such power, apart from an instant sun tan and and possibly signalling space aliens to come on down......

Edit:
Units are photonics Xb primes
 
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You'd want that kind of power (or more) if you were shooting medium or large format tranny film, or if you were shooting in a factory or similar.

For small digital cameras though, that's far too much power for any normal use. Manufacturers still make overpowered flashes because people still buy them. People still buy them because they don't know any better.

It's watt seconds BTW, not watts
 
I live in Harwood,fire that strobe out of your studio window and I would probably be able to see it
 
michael kilner said:
I live in Harwood,fire that strobe out of your studio window and I would probably be able to see it
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Honestly you would, it scares the **** out of me the noise it makes, in the wrong hands it would be dangerous.

I bought 5 as a job lot, 2x500 2x700 and the 1200
 
Haha no! Even the 500s are to powerful, think they are at 1/3 power most of the time.
 
1200Ws isn't that much really - only one stop brighter than 600Ws and that's run of the mill. Plenty more powerful about. For filling large interiors and big subjects like cars or whatever.

And outdoors, that kind of power in a big softbox at any distance disappears into nothing against bright sun.

I think both Garry and I can remember the huge Strobe consoles in the 70s, 5000Ws and the size of a small fridge. They always scared me a bit, but I don't think they were as efficient as modern units.
 
HoppyUK said:
1200Ws isn't that much really - only one stop brighter than 600Ws and that's run of the mill. Plenty more powerful about. For filling large interiors and big subjects like cars or whatever.

And outdoors, that kind of power in a big softbox at any distance disappears into nothing against bright sun.

I think both Garry and I can remember the huge Strobe consoles in the 70s, 5000Ws and the size of a small fridge. They always scared me a bit, but I don't think they were as efficient as modern units.
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You mean the City?...
Lethal, but they used to impress the clients
 
Studi0488 said:
Something I said on another thread made me think.

We have just bought some second hand strobes for the life of me cannot remember the names, one of them is a 1200w jobby and on full power actually ionises the air, you can actually smell it, and the flash noise is seriously scary.

So when would there be a need for such power, apart from an instant sun tan and and possibly signalling space aliens to come on down......

Edit:
Units are photonics Xb primes
Click to expand...

Depends what you want to light

You might have a 100W bulb in your living room, a typical football stadium uses about 350,000W

Additionally, it depends on what duration you want, and what the qualities are when the lights are at say 1/8th power. In this scenario, you might find a very short flash duration with a comparitivley good power compared to say a 200W/S head stopped down to 1/8th power
 
1200W :eek:

We used 600's in the studio and even with modifiers I've never needed to turn one to full power.
 
ohara said:
1200W :eek:

We used 600's in the studio and even with modifiers I've never needed to turn one to full power.
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In the studio, yeah, generally not, and certainly not in small studios - but 1200ws isn't really a huge amount of power for some stuff. Depends on style etc you're after - f16 at ISO 50 or 100 on a big set in a commercial studio or on location somewhere sunny, or with lights far away or through a good amount of diffusion, needs a nice kick :)
 
Recycle time is something else that hasn't been mentioned yet.

A 1200w/s light at 1/4 should recycle a lot faster than a 300w/s light at full power, depending on make/power pack etc etc.

Oh, and on location lighting (mentioned a few times).

Just ask Treeman!
 
Richard King said:
Depends what you want to light

You might have a 100W bulb in your living room, a typical football stadium uses about 350,000W

Additionally, it depends on what duration you want, and what the qualities are when the lights are at say 1/8th power. In this scenario, you might find a very short flash duration with a comparitivley good power compared to say a 200W/S head stopped down to 1/8th power
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Big monoblocks with big capacitors are invariably sluggish when you turn them down. Small capacitors working hard are better for shorter durations, more accurate colour, and better power consistency flash to flash.

Free-standing generators are better as they have loads of capacitors, sometimes dozens of them, that are mixed and matched for optimum performance at all outputs.
 
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