difference between these bowen 500's

Hope I can sum up the main differences for you:

Esprit II and Esprit 500 were the older workhorses. They were replaced with the Esprit Gemini, which in my opinion were never built as well as the Esprit 500's. They are both of a basic design (which is why they went on working so well) two dials on the side controlled flash power and modellling lamp power.

The Esprit Gemini was replaced as part of a completely new line-up of heads from Bowens a few years ago. The equivalent of the Esprit Gemini is the Gemini 500 Classic.

The 500R is pretty much the same bit of kit under the hood, but the dials on the side are for whole stops of light and tenths of stops, so it's more accurate in being able to set the flash power (rather than a 'dimmer switch approach of the Classic and older Gemini heads).

If you go to the Pro heads, these are fan cooled and have a faster flash duration (1/2500th fastest speed rather 1/900th for the R & Classic).

Hope that helps.
 
andygrif said:
Hope I can sum up the main differences for you:

Esprit II and Esprit 500 were the older workhorses. They were replaced with the Esprit Gemini, which in my opinion were never built as well as the Esprit 500's. They are both of a basic design (which is why they went on working so well) two dials on the side controlled flash power and modellling lamp power.

The Esprit Gemini was replaced as part of a completely new line-up of heads from Bowens a few years ago. The equivalent of the Esprit Gemini is the Gemini 500 Classic.

The 500R is pretty much the same bit of kit under the hood, but the dials on the side are for whole stops of light and tenths of stops, so it's more accurate in being able to set the flash power (rather than a 'dimmer switch approach of the Classic and older Gemini heads).

If you go to the Pro heads, these are fan cooled and have a faster flash duration (1/2500th fastest speed rather 1/900th for the R & Classic).

Hope that helps.
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I for one would like to thank you Andy for that detailed explanation.
I'm going shopping in a couple of weeks for Bowens gear and that info could not have been better timed.
 
andygrif said:
Hope I can sum up the main differences for you:

Esprit II and Esprit 500 were the older workhorses. They were replaced with the Esprit Gemini, which in my opinion were never built as well as the Esprit 500's. They are both of a basic design (which is why they went on working so well) two dials on the side controlled flash power and modellling lamp power.

The Esprit Gemini was replaced as part of a completely new line-up of heads from Bowens a few years ago. The equivalent of the Esprit Gemini is the Gemini 500 Classic.

The 500R is pretty much the same bit of kit under the hood, but the dials on the side are for whole stops of light and tenths of stops, so it's more accurate in being able to set the flash power (rather than a 'dimmer switch approach of the Classic and older Gemini heads).

If you go to the Pro heads, these are fan cooled and have a faster flash duration (1/2500th fastest speed rather 1/900th for the R & Classic).

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

excellent explantion thanks. :clap:

Thanks again and to marts too.
 
Hi all, first post here but have enjoyed everything I have read until now - mostly in the lighting section - and thanks to everyone.

I am in the market for a set of lights and have pretty much settled on the Gemini pro's - primarily because of the travel pak, because they can also be plugged straight into the mains supply and because of the shorter flash duration than the R's. The price is competitive too, as I usually shoot commercial with rented high-end gear - the light system which I am building is for personal projects and use.

User info' on the Gemini pro's is scarce - and Bowen's in general - but should I second guess myself - again - before I place my order? Everyone seems to be in the same boat at one time and another - and I would greatly appreciate any feed back.
 
Darren Campbell said:
Hi all, first post here but have enjoyed everything I have read until now - mostly in the lighting section - and thanks to everyone.

I am in the market for a set of lights and have pretty much settled on the Gemini pro's - primarily because of the travel pak, because they can also be plugged straight into the mains supply and because of the shorter flash duration than the R's. The price is competitive too, as I usually shoot commercial with rented high-end gear - the light system which I am building is for personal projects and use.

User info' on the Gemini pro's is scarce - and Bowen's in general - but should I second guess myself - again - before I place my order? Everyone seems to be in the same boat at one time and another - and I would greatly appreciate any feed back.
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Welcome to TP :)

Nothing wrong with Bowens at all. Geminis are good and popular, with the Pro versions having significantly faster flash durations than most, plus fan cooling.

If the spec and price is right, go ahead. If flash durations are important, be aware that the quoted t.5 times flatter. To get a better comparison with actual shutter speeds, multiply by 2x longer, some say 3x. There's been a lot of discussion on this here over recent months if you search.
 
HoppyUK said:
Welcome to TP :)

Nothing wrong with Bowens at all. Geminis are good and popular, with the Pro versions having significantly faster flash durations than most, plus fan cooling.

If the spec and price is right, go ahead. If flash durations are important, be aware that the quoted t.5 times flatter. To get a better comparison with actual shutter speeds, multiply by 2x longer, some say 3x. There's been a lot of discussion on this here over recent months if you search.
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Thank you - your first sentence is exactly the sort of info' I need. I read on an American forum that someone who swears by Bowens, was getting shutter speed equivalent of about 1/1000 - from the 500pros - which is what I plan to begin with - a single monoblock and the Travelpak. I'll need to buy an 8 metre cable too from Bowens - as it is my understanding the cables are not offered by any third party company. It's a touch rich at 150 quid.

While on the subject of money - todays exchange rate has a Travelpak and 500 pro at 1398 Euros. The same items are available from an official Bowens dealer in Europe for 877 Euros. Quite an attention getter.
 
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Darren Campbell said:
Thank you - your first sentence is exactly the sort of info' I need. I read on an American forum that someone who swears by Bowens, was getting shutter speed equivalent of about 1/1000 - from the 500pros - which is what I plan to begin with - a single monoblock and the Travelpak. I'll need to buy an 8 metre cable too from Bowens - as it is my understanding the cables are not offered by any third party company. It's a touch rich at 150 quid.

While on the subject of money - todays exchange rate has a Travelpak and 500 pro at 1398 Euros. The same items are available from an official Bowens dealer in Europe for 877 Euros. Quite an attention getter.
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The main problem I have with Bowens is their pricing.

If flash durations are important, your 1/1000sec estimate relative to a t.5 time of 1/2900sec for the 500 Pro is probably about right, but it will be longer at lower power settings.

Elinchrom BXRi-250 is pretty swift and cheaper, if you don't need the extra stop of light. Plug it into an Innovatronix battery pack for remote use. See TheFlashCentre.
 
Thank you for the Elinchrom BXRi-250 recommendation. I have, however, used these and they are not powerful enough for my short term needs - and they have a digital button back. The dials on the Bowens are much more satisfying for me to operate.

Earlier in my research, I looked into the Innovatronix Explorer range too, but the extra weight - 8.5kg and 11.5kg - compared with 6.4kg for the Travelpak would mean much less travelling - defeating my purpose. The only other power source of comparable weight is the Hensel Porty L600 - but with only 600ws compared to the 3000ws of the Travelpak - and an eye-watering X4 times the price. No.

The one detail I cannot find info' on, is how weather proof the Travelpak is? Is it at least morning dew proof?

I hope this has benefitted someone who is sitting on the fence. I intend to pull the trigger by Monday and will of course let you all know what my findings are when the gear arrives.
 
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Darren Campbell said:
Thank you for the Elinchrom BXRi-250 recommendation. I have, however, used these and they are not powerful enough for my short term needs - and they have a digital button back. The dials on the Bowens are much more satisfying for me to operate.

Earlier in my research, I looked into the Innovatronix Explorer range too, but the extra weight - 8.5kg and 11.5kg - compared with 6.4kg for the Travelpak would mean much less travelling - defeating my purpose. The only other power source of comparable weight is the Hensel Porty L600 - but with only 600ws compared to the 3000ws of the Travelpak - and an eye-watering X4 times the price. No.

The one detail I cannot find info' on, is how weather proof the Travelpak is? Is it at least morning dew proof?

I hope this has benefitted someone who is sitting on the fence. I intend to pull the trigger by Monday and will of course let you all know what my findings are when the gear arrives.
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No idea on weather proofing, though search for posts by boyfalldown. Hugh is a keen Bowens Travel Pak user. He may see this thread, or PM him.

Bowens do have nice chunky analogue-yet-digital controls, I'll grant you that, but I think I prefer Elinchrom's neat little digital Skyport remote/sync that comes FOC. At this kind of level though, there's no bad kit, more just secondary features and personal preference.

ps Seen the Innovatronix Mini?
 
HoppyUK said:
No idea on weather proofing, though search for posts by boyfalldown. Hugh is a keen Bowens Travel Pak user. He may see this thread, or PM him.
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He did see it ;). Its not really properly weather proof, it does have a join between the controller and the battery thats not sealed. but having said that the individual components of the pak are sealed so I have no issue using it on wet/dewy/frosty/muddy grass type surfaces. I wouldn't leave it in standing water though, nor would I use it in the rain, but the lights aren't sealed either so.......
 
boyfalldown said:
He did see it ;). Its not really properly weather proof, it does have a join between the controller and the battery thats not sealed. but having said that the individual components of the pak are sealed so I have no issue using it on wet/dewy/frosty/muddy grass type surfaces. I wouldn't leave it in standing water though, nor would I use it in the rain, but the lights aren't sealed either so.......
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Thank you - I spent half of last night stalking your posts across the forum, to pick up any tit-bits on the Travelpak.

I was offered one used this morning - with the larger battery, with less than 1000 pops for 200Euro. Think I'll probably bite and pick up a single Gemini 750 Pro next week.

Hopefully that set up will give me the latitude I need to begin my side project.

If you don't mind: do you use the Pulsar and card, or a Pocketwizard?
 
Thats a bit of a bargin for the Travelpak. I'd bite his hand off.

I use PW TT5s to fire them, but the principal reason for this is because I also use alot of iTTL off camera flash at weddings and I'm not sure what the point is in buying a second set of triggers.
 
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