12 years ago I assisted a commercial photographer and I fell in love with photography and decided to make it my career. I started little by little buying all of the gear from another fellow photographer in an attempt to go pro as soon as I graduated college. Tomorrow, all of that gear will be sold.
When I assisted for the first time I really didn't know anything about photography. I had a film SLR that was my fathers and I had taken a few dark room classes but I didn't have any understanding of light (which is really everything) or the business of photography. I worked for a photographer for free for 2 months, carrying his bags and cleaning his studio. During that time I fell in love with the idea of being a professional photographer but I knew so little that I didn't really know the right questions to ask. I assumed that his gear must be the thing that makes his pictures look so good so I decided that I would slowly buy everything that he owned.
This photographer used Dynalite power pack systems for his studio lighting. I had never been introduced to studio lighting and I honestly didn't know of any other brands so Dynalite was my only option. I saved my money and I kept buying power packs, flash heads, speed rings, grids, dishes, stands, and softboxes until I had a enough gear to light any possible job.
When I shot weddings and needed to light up the church or the reception hall I would use these lights. When I'd shoot on location I'd pack it all up and bring it with me and when I wasn't, they were set up in my studio to use at a moments notice. When Patrick and I started Fstoppers we used all of the modeling lights on the flash heads to film every single video. Almost every image I've shot in the last 10 years was shot using these lights. During this entire time not a single piece of this gear broke aside from a few replaceable modeling lights.
A few weeks ago I made the switch to Profoto for the convenience of the D1 monolights and the new B1 battery monolights and their "air remote system." I never expected to sell my Dynalite gear, I'm honestly really attached to it, but Patrick convinced me that we will probably never use again and it's taking up a lot of space.
Some of what I have for sale is pretty new while a few pieces are what I bought while I was in college. All of the packs and heads are totally interchangeable. Everything still works perfectly and we were using it every week up until the new Profoto gear came in.
If you're in the market for some studio lighting equipment I can't recommend this gear enough. I'm sure it's going to sell for dirt cheap because it's not as sexy as the new stuff out there but I can assure this stuff is built like a tank and it's not going to break like those plastic monolights everyone currently uses; all of this stuff is made of metal. If you ever decide to upgrade to something else you'll be able to sell it and get your money back. Like pro level camera lenses, the value of pro level studio gear can only go so low.
I'd love to see this gear go to a good home. It's got years of life left.
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I also have 2 Profoto D1 250 watt monolights for sale. I am selling them simply to upgrade to the 1000 watt version.
I thought I saw you using Profoto D1s in your wedding DVD. Were you using renter gear for the video?! I feel lied to.... :)
No I've had 2 1000watt D1s for a while. But just a couple weeks ago we got 4 more and 4 B1s. We no longer need the Dyna gear.
The B1s seems pretty badass (who wouldn't want the flexibility that TTL provides) and the lack of an external battery pack is convenient. So would you say you prefer the B1s to the Einsteins? The only knock against the Profotos (and it will always be a knock against them) is the steep price. But I assume it's like most things in life... you get what you pay for (the only exception to that rule in the photographic world is radio triggers... I don't care what anyone says; Pocket Wizards are not necessarily better than a set of cheap Yongnuo 622c).
I haven't done side by side tests of output vs color casts vs recycle rates or anything, but so far I'm loving the B1s over the Einsteins. Are they 4x better to justify the cost....probably not, but if you are a seasoned photographer who wants the best then price alone probably won't stop you from getting them. The cheapest car vs the most expensive car still will get you to the same place at the same time (if you follow the law) but those who can afford the sports car will probably splurge for it to make their driving more enjoyable.
Now in response to Pocket Wizards, I think the issue might come down to the frequencies they are using. I've noticed the Profoto Air Remotes work WAY more reliably than the PW system and I think it might be because the Air Remote works on a 2.4 Ghz radio channel where the PW work on a 300-500 Mhz channel. I think the same is true for some other brand remotes; some work on lower less reliable radio channels and some are now working on the less cluttered higher 2.4 Ghz frequency. I'm not sure price has much to do with the reliability of these remotes as much as the frequency they use to transmit the signal. This is just my guess from working with both systems out in the field.
Yeah we have been in limbo the last few years with a mix of gear. For studio work it was all mainly Dynalite but for location we were using mainly speedlights (still like this option when the light is low) and Einsteins. Now that we have made the change I have been digging the B1s. My assistants love not having to change the power manually anymore and also not having to deal with the swinging vagabonds and power cable rats nest. Oh and being able to mount a large octabox properly without it snapping off has been a lifesaver too!
I just added some Dynalite equipment to my Profoto collection. The Acute 2 flash duration is too long for some shots, I'm guessing the D1s are much better.