I am looking at the new Alien Bees ring flash, and I'm wondering if any of you in OSP land have tried it???? If you have please let me know your thoughts..

Thanks,
Mike

I have the zeus ringflash from alienbees - keep in mind it's not the self-contained monolight unit, but the one that works on a power pack - and it's a nice, usable ringflash. the build is a bit cheap but fairly sturdy... except for when dropped. i dropped mine recently and broke the plastic reflector, but thats about it besides breaking the flash tubes. i'm considering getting the repair parts and selling the flash though because i really don't use it enough... someone else will enjoy it more than i do.

I have the Alien Bee ring flash. I love it. It's pretty awkward and bulky, but it's not that big of a deal for me. It puts out a lot of light and the effect and flattering even light is very nice.

Here are some shots that I took with it...

Latest one from this past weekend...


Shot up close with only the ring flash...


Used with 2 monolights at camera left and right for highlights...


Ring flash with 1 monolight at the top of the stairs for back lighting...


Ring flash only, with model close to the backdrop...

I just got it last week. I do not have any shots posted with it yet. I also got the Vagabond II.

First impressions:
The mount for your camera to the ringflash is awful to unusable. You need a screwdriver to mount and dismount your camera. I will buy an Arca compatible quick mount to make it usable, and bolt that to their mount. They could have just made a 4 inch bolt with a handle and a welded nut, and it would have worked better at little cost.
The adapter to attach their softbox fits poorly and is almost unusable. Certainly not in front of a client. You would lose all confidence going from ringflash mode to octabox mode.
The light and octobox have a cheap feeling to the materials.
Their case did not look like it included any padding. I am having fun trying to find a decent case.
The light portion works well. The unit is light weight.

The Vagabond II inverter batterypack...
The shoulder strap is a joke. I immediately replaced it with an extra from a laptop bag. The handle on the case puts all the weight of the unit on the zipper. How long will that last?
The unit functions as advertised.
Kind of strange that with the unit in the off position, there is still an indicator light on be design.


Bottom line, A good inexpensive (relatively) way to get portable power and a multi purpose flash. One you start booking jobs that use the light often...you will trade up to Lumadyne or another brand.

Ahh... yes... the mount. I do actually find that to be a pain as well. I've gotten used to it, so I guess that's why I overlooked it in my previous post. I'm gonna have to go look at the Arca solution that J Mitchel mentioned.

Thanks for the sample shots, Shawn! I have it as well, but have yet to use it (it is somewhat intimidating!)

Yeah, seriously...what is up with the mount? It's ridiculous, like they put zero thought into it.

No joke.

I have one. I use it sparingly since it is such a one trick pony of a light. Well, maybe a 2 trick pony if you do something different with it.

Cheers,
Zack

Yeah... It's definitely not something you want to use for eveything. It is a pretty good light when shot through/into an umbrella, though. But I hardly ever do that since I have my other strobes.

gotta agree on the mount. thats my main reason for wanting to get rid of the light, and the reason it fell actually.... the slide thing is ridiculous. don't get me wrong, for the price the quality of light is wonderful, but the unit itself is kind of crap. im gonna save up and buy a DynaLite ringflash when I start doing more studio work.

Hey everybody........... Thanks for the comments. I am trying to expand/complement my flash capability outside of my 580 exII and 550. I think I will keep looking. I wish the Qflash had about 1/3 more power!!!

Thanks,
Mike

mike, you should start looking into purchasing a set of strobes or monolights, depending on what your primary use would be. if you are looking to do an increased amount of off-camera work, strobes (or monolights) are certainly the way to go... just make sure to get a quality set that has enough power.

Hey Trevor,

Please make a recommendation....

Thanks,
Mike

well where will you primarily use off-camera strobes? on-location or in the studio?

I have two Alien Bees that I take with me to weddings, they are great to use during the reception to light up the reception/dance area... Plus it gives you freedom to move around without a flash on camera if you want. I don't have a battery for them yet so I haven't used them away from AC power.

Hey Chris,

Are you bouncing the light off the ceiling??? If not, how are you softening the light?

Thanks,
Mike