Jason Tag Photography

Alien Bees B800

Last night I had some time to play with my new light before going to sleep.  This is not a review of the product so much as it is my first experience with the Alien Bees B800 and the rest of the gear I got from Alien Bees as well.  if you’d like a more thorough review you can find one here!

First off, My order shipped in three boxes.  The first and most obvious was the actual flash unit.  It shipped in a box clearly labeled with what was inside.  the light!  The other two boxes were a bit less clear what would be found in each box, however I knew what was inside collectively so this wasn’t a problem.

I started tearing into the boxes and found in one box two tubes that were housing the 48″ Umbrella, 48″ Brolly Box, and a box which contained the 10′ light stand.  In the second of the the two mystery boxes, I found a 32″ x 40″ softbox and the CST & CSRB remote triggers.  I opened up the softbox and found an easy time of putting it together.  Next I opened up the umbrella and brolly box to see how big they were.  They were a bit smaller than I was expecting.  I now realize that the 48″ measurement is not the diameter but the distance of the curve of the fabric.  So in reality the size is more like 35″ when fully open.  Still plenty big for what I need.

Alien Bees B800 with 60 watt bulb

Next step was to attach the light to the stand, plug it in to make sure it was working properly.  As I did this I realized that the modeling lamp that shipped with the unit was broken.  Not burnt out mind you, just didn’t work.  I rummaged around the house for a suitable alternative and was able to use a 60 watt bulb instead of the 150 watt bulb that was broken.  in the next few days I’ll replace the 60 watt with a 150 watt.  This is a feature I really like about the Alien Bees line.  The modeling lamp uses an edison connector which is just like every light bulb in my houseso bulbs are cheap and readily availble.  the modeling light connection and circuit in the unit is rated for 150 watts.

Left to right... THe CST(transmitter) and the CSRB(reciever)

Once I tackled that obstacle I attached the CST to my camera and the CSRB to the light’s sync jack and began testing the strobe.  It fired nicely at 1/32 power.  I had a hard time attaching the CST to my cameras hot shoe.  the fit was very tight but with some convicing I was able to get it on the hot shoe.  After a few times of getting on and off the camera it got easier.  On the bottom of the CST is the firing pin.. the contact for triggering the signal that fires the flash.  I found that this is springloaded and was just stiff.  So I asssume that it just needed to be excersized a bit since it was brand new.

Self-Portrait with 48" Paul C. Buff Brolly Box

The first modifier I tried out was the Brolly Box.  The brolly box was the one I was most interested in since I have never seen one or never heard about before.  It’s quite cool in that it is an umbrella that acts like a softbox.  I found that it’s not as soft as a softbox given that it doesn’t have a diffusion panel inside to diffuse the light before it reaches the outer layer like a softbox has.  It has a hood in the back which fits around the light so that as much light as possible is shot forward to the fabric so that there is minimal light loss as a result of bounce.  I imagine I will use this much more often than an umbrella.

Self-Protrait with 32" x 40" foldable softbox

Next I wanted to attach the softbox.  The one I got is the large 32″ x 40″ Paull C. Buff foldable Softbox. folding wise it’s about the size of a sleeping bag when rolled up.  and came in it’s own bag which was nice.   Assembly was quite easy.  All I did was open up the fabric and secure the metal supports from the front to the rear post on the inside of the box.  It takes it’s shape quite nicely and easily.  after I had the box somewhat together I attached the box to the light.  The speed ring made this very easy.  I did have to take off the reflector on the light in order to attacht the softbox but this was very easy to do.  Once attached to the light I could then attach the diffusion panel and then the outer panel.  I had a tricky time with the outer panel as it didn’t want to line up right, but I got it after a few minutes of playing with it.  Once it was together I realized that I had made the right choice to buy the 32″ x 40″.  I was worried that I had gone too big but I know now that I’ll need that size later for doing full body shots.  the medium sized box would have been too small for me.

The quality of light that I got with the softbox was my favorite.  It provided a nice large area for the light which is what makes the light so soft.   I know I’m going to have a lot of fun shooting with this.

Alien Bees B800 with 48" umbrella attached

After the box I attached the 48″ umbrella.  The umbrella came with a cover so that it can be used as a shoot through umbrella or as a bounce umbrella.  I left the cover on it and used it as a bounce umbrella.  I figured I would bounce the light since I had already shot through fabric with the last two modifiers.  This was by far the easiest in terms of setup.  just slip in the umbrella through the hole on the light, and voila!  start shooting!  I found the light was a just a tad harsher than the other two modifiers but I pretty much expected that.  It did however widen out the light so that it would cover a larger area.  And of course by doing so softening the light a little than if it were just a bare bulb.

Self-Portrait shot with 48" bounce umbrella

In all of my test shots with the Alien Bees B800, I never set it above 1/4 power. and it seemed to produce just enough light for me at that level.  I was shooting in a room with only one light at night.  And most of the time the modifiers I was using blocked that light anyways.  Camera settings for this shoot were ISO 100, shutter speed was set at 1/160th at ƒ11.  I think it’ll be just enough for what I need!