Flashguns vs studio strobes for occasional use/longevity?

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the_accidental

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So I occasionally dabble in some sort of off camera flash, mostly indoors for macro or portrait type stuff, very occasional outdoor sports (but not for years and less likely in future).

I’ve typically used smaller flashguns/speed lights but they don’t like not being used often, capacitors etc fail or they become unreliable. I’ve never owned studio flashes - are they better in this regard for occasional use?

It occurs they’re much less restricted by the need to be compact and battery powered so might have larger more durable capacitors etc. I could live with needing mains power as batteries can actually be a faff for occasional use when I don’t have a dedicated set. Downside might be studio kit is physically larger to store, unless someone knows a compact mains power option?

Other suggestions for lighting solutions welcome, my aging Nissin flash is playing up and on its last legs, it’s become very picky about battery voltage.
 
That's an interesting question:)

Studio flashes tend to be much better value for money and longevity should always be much better, probably for the reasons you suggest. They are also (generally) much simpler to adjust, probably again because they have greater physical size. Simpler is always better, and especially when only used occasionally.

For portraiture (and a lot of other subjects) studio flash is also much better because all but the junk end have removable reflectors, so can be used with a greater range (and better) modifiers - but flashgun are fine for macro because the tiny size of the subject doesn't require larger light sources.

Having said that, flashgun are a very valuable addition to any studio lighting kit - it's often necessary to have a physically-small light that needs to be hidden behind the subject or behind part of it, and studio flash is often the wrong choice for that.
 
Hmm, I have some of both that are well over a decade old and still functional (they do not get regular use anymore).

There are plenty of other benefits to going to main powered strobes though, power/cost/etc; but a bigger one IMO is that speedlights are very camera/brand specific... I.e. Nikon compatible speedlights only on Nikons, and older speedlights may need updates to work with newer model Nikons, or may just be unusable. With studio strobes you might have to get new triggers worst case, even if you change brands of camera over time.
 
Well as I’m mostly off camera I can use triggers too - currently I’m using a 12 year old nissin flash for 4/3 with Sony bodies (and a much, much older Hasselblad).

Hiding a flash for backlighting has occurred too, but I’d aim to keep my current flash and maybe add one or two studio strobes. Ideally something compact an inexpensive.. but if they last better used might be a better option.

I’d quite like an upgrade to being able to control the lights from the on camera remote but that’s a luxury I could live without (and have to date!)
 
Interesting, following Gary's last challenge on dark lighting I have been doing a lot more to hone my technique and setup.
Initially I was using a speedlight ( Godox TT685) but at full power , high ISO and lowish f stop in order to get sufficient light on the subject .
Changing to studio flash ( Lencarta Smartflash 1V ) I can use a low ISO (200) and a higher aperture ( f14 instead of f10) .
BTW I only have one and I don't use it all that often , its like one of those tools you only use once in a while but you can't do the job easily without it.
Both the speedlights (2) and the smartflash are controlled with a Godox wireless transmitter on the camera
 
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Why don’t you use it often?

More hassle? Or just you’re regularly using the speedlights so they’re low friction options?
 
the_accidental said:
Why don’t you use it often?

More hassle? Or just you’re regularly using the speedlights so they’re low friction options?
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I don,t have a lot of working space so when I want to set up studio lights I have to move furniture and its a PITA so I don,t use it very often unless I have a special reason
 
Hmm that’s a limitation for me too, but then I tend to mount my flash on a stand and would do the same with a studio light… or am I thinking wrong here as I’d also want larger modifiers and distances etc?

Maybe I should stick with what I know and speed lights… but if they last better a couple of studio flashes might be a reasonable used buy and it seems like the sort of thing someone might find themselves no longer using, so sell on cheap to get it out the way!
 
the_accidental said:
Hmm that’s a limitation for me too, but then I tend to mount my flash on a stand and would do the same with a studio light… or am I thinking wrong here as I’d also want larger modifiers and distances etc?

Maybe I should stick with what I know and speed lights… but if they last better a couple of studio flashes might be a reasonable used buy and it seems like the sort of thing someone might find themselves no longer using, so sell on cheap to get it out the way!
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Yes I sometimes wonder why I bought mine but I would not sell it.
You said your Nissin was getting a bit flaky, if you are getting replacements then consider Godox
 
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That in itself is my problem too… part of me thinks “I could buy some then just sell them on if I don’t like them” but then I think I’d end up never getting around to it or keeping them “just in case”… trying to have a clear out in the house not add more stuff!
 
These two statements seem to me to be contradictory,
the_accidental said:
I’ve typically used smaller flashguns/speed lights but they don’t like not being used often, capacitors etc fail or they become unreliable.
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the_accidental said:
Well as I’m mostly off camera I can use triggers too - currently I’m using a 12 year old nissin flash for 4/3 with Sony bodies (and a much, much older Hasselblad).
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If youve had flashguns for years with no problems, why do you think you’ll have problems in the future.

I’m a sporadic speedlight user. I can shoot thousands of shots in a day, and then not use a speedlight for 9 months.

I’ve got a speedlight I’ve had for 20 years. And still works fine on the rare occasions it used.

Modern li on battery flashes are known to suffer if the battery is left either full or empty. I guess I’m lucky because a full charge, short period of use and then chucking it in a box for years doesn’t appear to cause the same problems.

I suppose the takeaway from that is that modernising your flashes to battery powered bare bulb units might create a different issue you’d not factored.
 
I agree. I've just resurrected my very old SB-900 flash, which I once used to use for weddings, but I can't even remember when I last photographed a wedding. It will be when I was diagnosed with insulin-dependent diabetes, that was 17 years ago, although it may have had occasional use since then. Anyway, a new set of Enveloop batteries and it's working perfectly.

Admittedly it was a very expensive (read severely overpriced) bit of kit, but even so . . .

I think that the reality is that a lot of us still think that what used to be true a very long time ago still obtains - flashes of all types would stop working without regular use, hard-wired electrical circuits would corrode and fail, capacitors would either stop working or blow up, old-tech batteries needed replacing every few shots and so on.

Technology has moved on, we need to keep up with the improvements:)
 
If youve had flashguns for years with no problems, why do you think you’ll have problems in the future.
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Ah I should’ve been clearer - the 12yo flash is now very temperamental which is what got me thinking. I wouldn’t be able to depend on it working out the house, which got me thinking if it’s home use mostly why not a studio strobe. It seems to need a few swaps of a batteries to get ones it likes. Checking with a multimeter it’s very voltage sensitive which was never a problem in the past.

I wasn’t thinking of battery powered bare bulb, rather mains.

Of course maybe I should just declare 12 years a good innings and replace it, it wasn’t anything like SB-900 money!
 
My experience of Strobes over the last 10+ years.. is that none last all that well whether they're used or not. Elinchroms - both old and new - from my local studio were regularly sent off for repair. Bowens - both old and new - similar. Lencarta, Godox: no more or less reliable than either of the others. Some heads go on for years whether used regularly or not. And some just die.

Edit: The very first cheap Yongnuo speedlite I bought and rarely use is still going strong.
 
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Every flash I've still got, is still working. On my primary studio heads (Lencarta SF600's) I've replaced one flash tube (but that was damaged when the light got knocked over), 3 or 4 modelling bulbs, and all 3 brackets (the spring-loaded clutch that allows turning the handle without turning the clamp fails). I've worn out the power button surface on my Safari-II (now covered with gaffer tape). I also have a couple of SB900's left and they still work, although I broke the wide-angle lens on one of them. AD200's have taken a battering as they get used a lot on location but both still working. I gave away my fleet of cheapo Yongnuo 430-II's and assorted other basic flashes. They were still working when they left

The most fragile light I own is an AD600 - or specifically the bulbs - the glass domes on those will crack if you look at them funny. I never use this light - it's too heavy to lug up mountains, and I don't need it in the studio.
 
Good lighting. That's what I go for. I remember watching an interview of michael jackson and the interviewer said he paid someone $50,000 just to setup the most complimentary lighting for his skin and "facial attributes." That's video man and not the same as photography. Maybe. But I've shots some good photographs with good lighting and just 1 speed light.
 
OP mention of "... but they don’t like not being used often, capacitors etc fail or they become unreliable"...

This is due to the fact that capacitors which store electricity before sending it to the flashtube can be prone to degrading when they do not regularly get used. Flash manufacturers -- both portable electronic flash and studio flash -- used to all have a section in their owner manuals about flash maintenance, in which they mention the need to periodically TURN ON & LEAVE ON the unit to 're-form the capacitor'. Different manufacturers provided different time intervals for the periodic re-form, and I have seen 'monthly' or 'quarterly' or at least every 6 months for this interval. I first saw this maintenance technique mentioned 60 years ago, and I have seen it mentioned in my Metz flash owner manuals in recent times (before they were driven out of the flash business by the very inexpensive flash units made in the far east. I make the point of turning on every one of my flash units (5 portables, 3 studio flash power packs) at least every 6 months and leaving the power on for 1 hour before turning each one off (without discharging it first). Some of them I have owned for over 40 years, some over 35 years, a few for 20 years, and ALL remain fully functional. Only one of my studio flash heads (I own 6) has ever needed a new flash tube.
 
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I'm impressed with your perseverance @wiltw

But my oldest speedlights date back to the 90's and my newest are probably coming up for 10 years, my various other mains and battery lights are various ages, and the only 'maintenance' they have is to ensure I don't leave alkaline batteries installed.

interestingly, I bought both my oldest speedlights 2nd hand and they both had signs of battery damage when I bought them 20+ years ago.
 
AD200 / pro. Great and pretty indestructible so far.

AD600 pro and even more so 400 pro. Crap batteries. They self discharge. They don't last long on a shoot. And 400 pro battery just bloody died despite being only a few months old

400 pro umbrella / stand bracket is made of porous crap. It may break at any point without a warning. What an utter piece of s***!
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
AD200 / pro. Great and pretty indestructible so far.

AD600 pro and even more so 400 pro. Crap batteries. They self discharge. They don't last long on a shoot. And 400 pro battery just bloody died despite being only a few months old

400 pro umbrella / stand bracket is made of porous crap. It may break at any point without a warning. What an utter piece of s***!
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+1 for AD200
My AD600 original + battery is still going strong. I haven’t tried the more recent pro versions. In the studio we’ve switched to QT1200iii and QT600iii as main lights and so far so good with those.
 
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