Depends on wheter or not you expect to grow with the strobe pack.

www.lensrepro.com/USED/studio.htm

SPEEDOTRON

1201A Power pack with 2 102 heads, reflectors $975

or if you can find a used Dynalite M1000

here is a head:

www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home

Profoto Acute 1200 D4-2 kit if you can find it under $1000 it will be a mircle.

I would consider Elinchrom, or Calumet as well.

I'd like to chime in and recommend Alien Bees. They are sturdy, well-built (in the US) and reasonably priced. Yes, I agree with the earlier writer who mentioned that the model numbers could be misleading, but they are completely up-front about the specs, so if you want to buy a certain number of watt-seconds, you can easily find out what the model you want provides. They start at $224 and rise to $359. I have two Aliien Bees units, as well as four of the sturdier, more pricey White Lightning strobes (made by the same company, Paul C. Buff in Tennessee). I've thrown them in gear bags, dragged them around to various studios. shot with them outside at the beach and on rooftops. They've functioned flawlessly at all times over a couple of years so far -- and I bought several of the units used! I've known a half-dozen other pros who have used them as long or longer with no complaints. (See www.lorimann.com for one pro who uses them.)

Yes, there are better, sturdier, better-known and more expensive strobes. Figuring out "what strobe is best" is like asking which is better, Nikon or Canon? You will get people who can argue that for hours, and then some guy will step in and say, "Hasselblad." Of course, he's right, but if you only have the budget for Nikon or Canon, it's irrelevant. If you are a pro or advanced amateur, if you are making money or hoping to make money, but you aren't making big bucks yet, then I highly recommend Alien Bees or White Lightning. I've bought units used on eBay, and Paul C. Buff still gave me tech support and sent me manuals at no charge. Their customer service is legendary. As you read through the forums, you will see lots of pro photographers who bad-mouth these units because of the watt-second question, and indeed, apparently the company did play fast-and-loose with the numbers when they were starting out. But they have cleaned up their act. If you want an idea of how esteemed they've become, check on eBay: Even used ones sell for nearly full retail.

I am not a shill for Alien Bees. I'm neither dealer nor distributor and I have no affiliation with the company, but the knee-jerk reaction against these units that I see over and over again bewilders me! There are other strobes (like JTL) that are total crap. A friend of mine bought a budget set for some ridiculous price (like $500 for three heads) and after a weekend of shooting, he was already having problems with them like broken knobs and intermittent flashes. Pathetic.

Cheers,

David

Thanks for all your input you guys.

I have been watching ebay and looking for good deals on brands I've worked with. The majority is shitty overseas brands for $300. I'll keep an eye out for something better.

I am looking for monoblocks vs. a powerblock. I use powerblocks, and they're great. But for some reason, I find I get best results for creative projects with those monoblocks.

I like profoto. I"ve used profoto and calumet and norman and white lighting. I think they are all good. What I don't like is that I can't afford it.

My reservations about buying online is that it is really sight unseen, and untested. SO I have to have faith that the online store is honest about any flaws, etc. in used gear.

One benefit that I did see on the alien bee site is the 2 yr warranty...

no used pro foto is gonna offer that. ;)

Wy,

I and a good friend of mine both have the Alien Bees different power outputs. Never had a problem in 3+ years. They have a 60 day return policy too, so if you hate them or they don't work like you want them to, send them back. They are made by the same company that makes White Lightning, as someone previously mentioned. If price is an issue, I would not count them out. Consider that modifiers will cost more as well on the Elinchrome, Profoto kits.

Just my thoughts.

ok ok, it takes me a long time to make a decision - but finally I did. after 6 months' of pricing, watching auctions, trying new power packs, strobes etc - I did go with the alien bees.

Mostly for bang for the buck and for versatility. this was the only pro-sumer brand with a 2 year warranty that could get me 5 flashes and portable battery power for all five, with accessories.

I know I may have sacrificed some power per head, but I think intitially I'll be happy with what they output.

I also just got a new nikor 70-200 VR lens and D200. So I'll test it all and tell y'all what I results I get. :)

thank you for your many fine opinions!