Flashpoint 320M monolight
Oct 10, 2015 12:06:39 #
Oct 10, 2015 13:12:35 #
I have a pair of Flashpoint 400 moons an they work great. Variable controls on light output and many accessories to shape the light are available.
Oct 10, 2015 14:06:30 #
I have (2) 1200's and (1)300. I haven't used them very much this year. I had a problem with the 300 within a year of purchase, but Adorama replaced it immediately. I'm happy with price/reliability compromise.
Oct 11, 2015 14:39:13 #
amfoto1
Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA
I have not used those particular monolights, but use something similar and can offer some information.
Flashpoint is Adorama's "house brand". They don't actually make anything, so these are manufactured for Adorama by someone else (best guess: Interfit). Adorama has some really good values in their house brands. And they stand behind them if anything goes wrong.
The 320M appears to be the smallest and lowest powered of their line. At 150WS, it's a very low-powered monolight. (That's equal to about 118 guide number flash.) Two or three of these would be fine for small product photography. But you would need a whole bunch of them if you wanted to shoot portraits.
I use five 320WS Norman monolights in my portable/location lighting kit, which I use mostly for portraiture. When using them in umbrellas, to have enough power I gang two of these in my main light... i.e, 640WS... but often with the units set to 1/2 power so they'll recycle faster. This lets me use use f4 or f5.6 and a reasonably low ISO 200 or 400.
So, frankly, for portraiture or anything else that's more than just small product, tabletop studio work, I'd look at the more powerful 300WS Flashpoint 620M models or Flashpoint 1220M with 600WS, instead. A lot of portrait photographers I know use 800, 1000 and 1200WS monolights or strobes. Fashion photographers and similar use the largest of those and even more powerful units.
Note that all these Flashpoints are "AC/DC", meaning that while they are typically powered by standard household current, you also have the option of using them with a battery pack, if no AC power is available. The same is true of my Norman monolights. But, I gotta say that DC usage is limited. The battery packs are rather pricey, slow down recycling and are good for about 75 full power "pops" with each charge. I don't know, but would guess the lower powered 320M likely recycle faster and give more pops per charge, while the higher powered 1220M are likely slower and give fewer pops per charge.
The Flashpoint appear to have an extensive system of accessories (as do my Norman), which is good. Also check the price of replacement flash tubes... they run about $45 or $50 each for my monolights. Not cheap and they do burn out with some regularity... especially when hauled around a lot like in a portable/location kit.
Flashpoint is Adorama's "house brand". They don't actually make anything, so these are manufactured for Adorama by someone else (best guess: Interfit). Adorama has some really good values in their house brands. And they stand behind them if anything goes wrong.
The 320M appears to be the smallest and lowest powered of their line. At 150WS, it's a very low-powered monolight. (That's equal to about 118 guide number flash.) Two or three of these would be fine for small product photography. But you would need a whole bunch of them if you wanted to shoot portraits.
I use five 320WS Norman monolights in my portable/location lighting kit, which I use mostly for portraiture. When using them in umbrellas, to have enough power I gang two of these in my main light... i.e, 640WS... but often with the units set to 1/2 power so they'll recycle faster. This lets me use use f4 or f5.6 and a reasonably low ISO 200 or 400.
So, frankly, for portraiture or anything else that's more than just small product, tabletop studio work, I'd look at the more powerful 300WS Flashpoint 620M models or Flashpoint 1220M with 600WS, instead. A lot of portrait photographers I know use 800, 1000 and 1200WS monolights or strobes. Fashion photographers and similar use the largest of those and even more powerful units.
Note that all these Flashpoints are "AC/DC", meaning that while they are typically powered by standard household current, you also have the option of using them with a battery pack, if no AC power is available. The same is true of my Norman monolights. But, I gotta say that DC usage is limited. The battery packs are rather pricey, slow down recycling and are good for about 75 full power "pops" with each charge. I don't know, but would guess the lower powered 320M likely recycle faster and give more pops per charge, while the higher powered 1220M are likely slower and give fewer pops per charge.
The Flashpoint appear to have an extensive system of accessories (as do my Norman), which is good. Also check the price of replacement flash tubes... they run about $45 or $50 each for my monolights. Not cheap and they do burn out with some regularity... especially when hauled around a lot like in a portable/location kit.
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