Bowens Gemini 500?

danieljamesphoto

danieljamesphoto

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I have this kit at work, very good. Personally I like a wireless trigger to use with it rather than the long lead.
 
danieljamesphoto said:
Hi,

Just wondering what people think of this?

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-bowens-gemini-500-500-500r-three-head-kit/p1030421

I've currently got a 3x head setup with elinchrom classic 500's but bought them used and they're not being very consistent with the power 4 years on so looking to change as getting them checked/repaired i've been quoted £100 EACH JUST to look them over.

thanks :)
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What do you mean by "not very consistent"? and is that a quote from The Flash Centre? Elinchrom has a good rep for reliability and service.

Either way, consider the cost of softboxes and attachments if you have a few modifiers. Your Elinchrom ones won't fit Bowens or Lencarta, which are both both S-fit.
 
I have 4 Bowens 500 heads in my kit, been absolutely fantastic.
 
HoppyUK said:
What do you mean by "not very consistent"? and is that a quote from The Flash Centre? Elinchrom has a good rep for reliability and service.

Either way, consider the cost of softboxes and attachments if you have a few modifiers. Your Elinchrom ones won't fit Bowens or Lencarta, which are both both S-fit.
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Yes the quote was from The Flash Centre, the recycle times seems to be all over the place, i'll take one shot and all will be fine, take another and only two have fired properly. I rang them up and that was the quote, overall they're probably 6 years+ old i'd imagine (i've had them 4 and the person before me had them a couple of years I think) so done fairly well :)
 
That's very disappointing. My own Elinchroms are appraoching that age and still like new. If they start playing up after only six years I will not be happy. I dug some old lights out of the loft recently, must be over 20 years old, and they worked fine. Have you been hammering them?

Anyway, the main point I wanted to make was about the modifier fitting :)
 
Thanks :) no not hammering them as such, not sure the condition when I got them as I was new to photography and naive about checking things (should have insisted he got them serviced and checked really) plus i've had a couple of cut outs due to overheating before (I see the Lencarta's are fan cooled which is a great idea!)

Modifier wise I haven't got a great amount really, couple of barndoors and a softbox (non offical so not expensive). Thanks for the input though :) always helpful!
 
danieljamesphoto said:
thanks :) I take it you'd recommend Lencarta heads? (again new to me, I bought Elinchrom off a friend so didnt really look around at the time of purchase)
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Yes I would recommend Lencarta, but do not take my word, as I have a vested interest.
I have owned and used other brands prior to investing heavily in Lencarta equipment for my four studios. Prior to that, I used a Lencarta Safari extensively and experienced the product's reliability and consistency, but more to the point, when I had a problem, I found their customer support and service beat the crap out of anything else offered by any other company.

I write for Lencarta's blog and will be supporting them on their stand at Focus, so yes, I do have a vested interest, but that's a recent development long after I had invested.

If I was about to re-equip the studios and my only contact with Lencarta had been to do with the initial Safari, would I still choose Lencarta heads?


Without hesitation.

If you can wait, I would suggest a trip to Focus and have a look at the latest offerings from Bowens, Elinchrom, Lencarta and anything else that catches your eye. You can't beat a bit of hands on ;)
 
Just to put a thought out there but although the Lencarta ElitePro600 are closer to the Bowens ones than the ElitePro300 with regard to power, I can't help but look at some of these stats.

Apart from the smaller colour temperature variation, I would be more inclined to go for the ElitePro300s and gain faster recycling time, much faster flash duration and also save a few bob which can be used for lots of nice extras. If you need the power of 600 then would you not be able to simply increase your ISO to 200? (I'm not sure about that part so please correct if wrong).
 
gman said:
Just to put a thought out there but although the Lencarta ElitePro600 are closer to the Bowens ones than the ElitePro300 with regard to power, I can't help but look at some of these stats.

Apart from the smaller colour temperature variation, I would be more inclined to go for the ElitePro300s and gain faster recycling time, much faster flash duration and also save a few bob which can be used for lots of nice extras. If you need the power of 600 then would you not be able to simply increase your ISO to 200? (I'm not sure about that part so please correct if wrong).
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The EP300 are great, and you are right on the recycle time too. I used the EP600 as an example because it was nearer or better than the original quoted Bowens, and also showed better value to a slightly lower cost.

Going for the four head EP300 would indeed be even better value, or even a mix of two of each.

Yes, increasing the ISO would give you an effective increase in lighting level, and you would only need to increase the ISO by one stop to compensate for the difference between the EP300 and the EP600.
One of the times you would genuinely want higher light output without increasing the ISO would be when needing to overcome the ambient light, which tends to be location shoots, and dedicated location equipment is better suited.
 
danieljamesphoto said:
Yeah I have a prolinca infra-red trigger I use with the elinchroms :) thanks, good to get some feedback! do you know the longevity of them roughly? like will i get a fair few years out of them?

Sorry i'm new to Bowens and it's a lot of money to part with but a new set is needed i think
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We bought the set at work for product shoots and they were used heavily for the first 4 months, I.e. all day every day whilst we built up the image library, then every two to three days for the next year. After that about a day a week until the middle of last year, when they've been all packed away safe. I still get them out for my personal use.

Only thing I've had is one modelling bulb go and the wireless trigger cable needed resoldering as I'd left it dangling too many times, but then I did pick it up cheap from mpb.

Michaels shout about focus is a good idea, especially if you are going. It's a great show for products and ideas.

3 v 4 heads and power levels is interesting. For portraits and family shots (white background as requested) I've used two lights on the background and the third with the soft box to the front. There have been times I'd have liked to try another for some different lighting. I don't think I've ever gone over 4-4.5 on the power (up to 6). For my smaller home setup I use 5 flashguns but really miss the recycling times.
 
Byker28i said:
For my smaller home setup I use 5 flashguns but really miss the recycling times.
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Which speedlights are you using? Is there the option of additional powerpacks?
I use SB900, SB800 and Metz 54 MZ3, all of which can take external power when required. As for the packs themselves, they range from Quantums to Nikon's own and various bits and bobs inbetween.
Surprising what you can do with a juiced up speedlight :D
 
danieljamesphoto said:
Garry's got back to me in double quick time, very impressive on a weekend. I'm thinking, on his and the advice here, of going for 3x 300's for now with umbrellas and a fairly big softbox for up front, coming in at just over £600! an absolute bargain :)
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Blimey, now that is cheap compared to the bowens setup.
 
Michael Sewell said:
Which speedlights are you using? Is there the option of additional powerpacks?
I use SB900, SB800 and Metz 54 MZ3, all of which can take external power when required. As for the packs themselves, they range from Quantums to Nikon's own and various bits and bobs inbetween.
Surprising what you can do with a juiced up speedlight :D
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I'm a canon shooter, so I have 580's, 430, 420 and a couple of cheap yn460's for manual use or where I don't want to risk my expensive ones. I know I can get packs for the 580's, probably my next buy. I was looking at the nice rechargeable packs rather that the aa battery ones. Again something to look at at focus :)
The Godox packs looked interesting.
 
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Byker28i said:
I'm a canon shooter, so I have 580's, 430, 420 and a couple of cheap yn460's for manual use or where I don't want to risk my expensive ones. I know I can get packs for the 580's, probably my next buy. I was looking at the nice rechargeable packs rather that the aa battery ones. Again something to look at at focus :)
The Godox packs looked interesting.
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These are pretty nice....

http://www.viewfinderphotography.co...peedlite-and-Strobeam-EID-500-Flash-Head.html

Not used them on a hotshoe flash but since they will run a 400 w/s head for many hundreds of shots it's unlikely you'd ever find out how long they last.
 
Byker28i said:
I'm a canon shooter, so I have 580's, 430, 420 and a couple of cheap yn460's for manual use or where I don't want to risk my expensive ones. I know I can get packs for the 580's, probably my next buy. I was looking at the nice rechargeable packs rather that the aa battery ones. Again something to look at at focus :)
The Godox packs looked interesting.
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The Godox packs have caught my eye too. They take the same leads as the quantum turbo packs, and have a similar performance. I run three quantums, but I'm seriously considering getting one or two Godox packs, although unlikely to be the retinal searing lime green edition :gag:
I've heard very, very good reports on them, and the prices are starting to creep downwards too. Seen some UK suppliers doing them at around the 100 mark
 
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