The recent review of AB's new ringlight, by John Fisher, a pro-shooter from Miami Beach who makes most his living shooting fashion (catalogue, for the most part) has sparked a small debate regarding the differences between lower and moderately-priced gear and more expensive gear. Alien Bee's new ringlight being the example debated.Like clothing apparell, name brands often cost more: A plain, black tee-shirt will often cost little. Add a Nike logo and the price increases exponentially. Are Nike's tee-shirts better quality than the generics? Maybe, sometimes, and sometimes not.
The same holds true, to varying degrees, for photography gear. Lighting equipment is a perfect example: Will Profoto gear make better pictures than, say, my Novatron monolights? Abosolutely not; not automatically. Does Profoto gear cost more than my Novatrons? Absolutely yes, quite a bit more. Does Profoto gear out-spec my Novatrons? The answer is yes again and it does so in many ways. Are the performance differences between my Novatrons and Profoto lighting worth the big difference in costs? Well, that's a matter of my needs, isn't it? (i.e., my expectations regarding the performance of the gear.) Finally, does Profoto gear produce photons of a different quality and natural-design than my Novatron's? Hell no! I don't care how much money this brand or that brand of lighting manufacturer spends on the design and production of their gear, or how much they charge their customers, photons are photons and no one has redesigned, recreated, or restructured the physics of photons. Light is light. Sure, there are different kinds of light, e.g., color temperatures, wavelengths, and all that, but when it comes photography, light is light. How a photographer uses light, modifies it, controls it, wields it, and captures it is one of the key elements to great photography.
I'm not bashing expensive, high-end gear. In many cases, you get what you pay for in terms of performance, reliability, and durability. But, at the same time, I'm not convinced so-called "better" gear is always worth the price tag. Once again, it depends on an individual shooter's needs. So next time you're trying to decide how much you should spend on this or that, don't be led by the nose by name branding. Determine your individual needs and buy what fits those needs the best and at the best price.The young lady's images accompanying this post is Kayla. She's such a sexy lil' thing! I don't remember if I've posted these pics of Kayla before. I'm too freakin' lazy to go back through all my posts to see if I've done so. So sue me if I have.
5 comments:
Hmmm, I disagree. I'm not fountian of truth and your stuff is on a HNL (hole nutha level) compared to mine, but I like the light from my Balcar lights better than my Novatrons, in general. Granted I have the pack and head Novatrons, not the monolights and my primary complaint was builtin reflectors that couldn't hold a softbox (and believe me I tried). Also Novaton makes fairly low power units in the grand scheme of things. So I decided to switch and I watched fleabay for the better part of a year before I won a Balcar system and ended up getting 10kws for less than $400! I percieved a difference and it may be psychological, but it may be real, I don't know. I do know it's possible and here's my thoughts on that...
One is that not all photons are created equal. The photons emitted from a HPS street light are different from a CFL energey saver that's different from your flash, etc. Truth is i don't know how much this effects the "quality" of the light, but it is a fact. I think *alot* of it has to do with engineering. The US is know for making strobes that are a good value, but the EU is know for making strobes with good "light quality". I think it comes down to a difference in priorities. Americans egineer stuff to be built to last and/or cheap. Europeans engineer stuff into the ground apparently because they just enjoy doing so. :) I haven't tested this at all so it's more of a SWAG (scientific wild ass guess) based on my (limited?) observation than a theory but I'm guessing the pricey euro brands spend more time and energy in engineering accessories. I *know* this is true fr Balcar because they've made some wack a$$ stuff you can slap a light on! One thing that is also true is that reflectors have bokeh, some make doughnuts while others make dots, and still some blobs. Which are better? I don't know but I think the Europeans might. I mean just look at the standard AB reflector and compare it to a Broncolor, Balcar, Profoto, Elinchrom, etc standard reflector. The AB reflector will definately win the "cheapest to manufacture" award. Did they think about light spread and pattern and parabolas and focul points? Doesn't look like it, and that's just the standard reflector never mind beauty dishes (you yourself say molas are of near devine inspiration), fresnel spots, snoots, grids, gel holders, fiber optic attachments, focusing spots, you get the point. I'm reasonably certian that (in general) Europeans care more about where the light goes and how it gets there after it's generated than their American counterparts. Hopefully I'll someday be able to prove the point through my own photography. ;-)
In terms of people photography (portrait, glamour, boudoir, etc.), I think JimmyD is right on with this article.
However, and in the spirit of good-natured fun, I remind readers that JimmyD himself once wrote a glowing post about a specific, and quite expensive, beauty dish (Me and My Mola: A Love Affair). So glowing, in fact, that it persuaded me to rent the same one he uses and give it a try. I only do location work, so adding something that big to my list of travel equipment was a challenge, but the thought of better results propelled me forward. Alas, working with that Mola dish on location was a PITA; moreover, the results were different but not better than I was getting with this AB dish at less than one-sixth the price and half the bulk. All of which, at least for me, proves his point: better gear alone does not equal better pictures.
This image (girl on couch, eyes closed, wearing red slip) was lit with one AB1600 attached to the AB Beauty Dish mentioned above and one large silver/gold reflector.
Regarding gear, Ron Harris (who, on his website, claims the title of "...the most acclaimed erotic photographer in the world.") says:
Equipment: Your least important asset. Canon 20D (I just bought a Canon 5D), Metz strobe. Amateur photographers fondle there cameras and talk tech talk all the time. Professional photographers spend there time on the things that matter and it is not about who has the best camera.
I assume Mr. Harris would also include items like Profoto, Hensel, Broncolor, and other lighting manfacturers in his pronouncement.
Sorry Jimmy, I don't get Ron's quote, I just see "/*
james, dunno. i see it. i'll try again. here's what i quoted from Harris' site:
Equipment: Your least important asset. Canon 20D (I just bought a Canon 5D), Metz strobe. Amateur photographers fondle there cameras and talk tech talk all the time. Professional photographers spend there time on the things that matter and it is not about who has the best camera.
Post a Comment