Re: Hensel Studiotechnik Demo Sale
LJ, Here's my range of experience (my apologies for the length) ... draw from it as you see fit.
I started out with cheap monos to shoot my first studio work. That proved a waste of money pretty quickly. I then went for Elinchrom ... primarily driven by their big Octabox which was/is unique ... and eventually added a Dynalite portable mono kit with Jackrabbit batteries (that was before the Rangers.)
The Elinchrom's kept breaking down on me, intermittent misfires wreaked havoc on sequential work I was doing for TV photomatics forcing me to start the sequence all over with the actors. But the worst was the Elinchrom bayonet mount which is awkward to handle and stripped out or bent with any kind of real load. It really is a piss poor mount IMHO.
I finally gave up and went for Profoto at the suggestion of a pro photographer friend of mine ... starting with Acute boxes 1200 & 2400. and a couple of 600 w/s monos. (The "R" Pocket Wizard versions were not available at the time.) I also discovered that Profoto made an Elinchrom adapter so I could keep the big Elinchrom Octabox, which I still use.
I also sold off the Dynalite kit because the need for a battery driven system had diminished at the time.
The Profoto mount is solid as you can get. Maybe the best there is. But there is a consequence to their slide over mount ... the mono heads are big ... mostly they are pretty long and akward to fit in cases because the diameter has to remain constant for mounting lighting controls. Lugging that stuff on location literally filled my SUV to the hilt.
Personally, I never liked the Acute boxes. The combinations of switches and dials to achieve various light levels is a PITA ... I had to paste a cheat sheet on the box to help keep it straight. I eventually upgraded to the digitally controlled D4 box, of which I now have two D4 2400Rs ... a mere $14,000. worth of generator boxes
When I needed to go portable again, I ASKED other pros FIRST this time around. The overwhelming suggestion was the Porty from Hensel. This introduced me to the Hensel line up which I had not even heard of at the time. I also secured the carbon fiber Hensel ring flash, which is so much more "usable" than the Acute ring light that it's not funny.
The Hensel mount is a positive, heavy-duty lever-lock type. Pretty no-brainer. I have Hensel Speed rings for use of my Plume Wafer soft boxes when needed, but tend to use large translucent umbrellas on location. The Hensel beauty dish is great. I've found that any light modifier worth having usually offers a Hensel speed ring. Plume is a good example. I actually may have my brother Arc Weld a Hensel Speed ring on my Elinchrom Octabox ... which is still the most convenient big soft box for location work.
I slowly began building my out of studio system around Hensel. Profoto stuff was just to big, and a LOT more expensive (have you checked B&H Profoto prices lately?) As of today, my location kit is two part ... Hensel Porty and now a "Visit" for the 2 monos provides all the battery driven light I need. The Mini 1200 with 3 heads and the two 500w/s monos provide the out of studio AC system ... and both systems are controlled by the hot shoe radio Wizard right at the camera.
I have zero complaints about my Profoto studio system ... but the cost was staggering. For less expensive solutions, IMO, the Hensel Pro Mini 1200 AS is a way better box than the Acute 1200 box I once owned. It's controlls are way easier, it's smaller and lighter, has 4 head outlets instead of 3, and unlike the Acute 1200R, can be radio controlled from the camera. The Hensel Integra Pro Plus mono heads are also controllable from the camera ... which the Profoto R monos also cannot do ... important for overhead softboxes, lights placed at a distance, or ones mounted inside a box with a diffuser in place (like the Octabox.)
If I were doing the studio all over, I'd opt for a Hensel Tria 3000, and two Tria 1500 w/s "Speed" generators which recycle in .7 sec. at full power or .25 sec @ min. power ... three boxes for 6000 w/s driving up to 10 heads, which would cost $5,000 less than the two D4s with 4800 w/s driving up to 8 heads.
Sorry for the length.
But there's no quick answer when spending this much cash.
