Flashpoint 320M Monolight Kit

I have been experimenting with off camera flash for a while and I figure I got the hang of it. I got a few light stands, a few back drops and some support systems, all the makings of an amateur studio. Well everything except a permanent studio space. I usually go where the action is for want of a better word. However, I’ve noticed that 9 out of the 10 places where I go to set up it is usually indoors and close to a wall socket so I thought it would be a good idea to have at least one Studio strobe to at least be the main light and i would have the less powerful speed lights be the rim lights and fill lights.

The 1st plan was to get the go to cheap strobe the Alien Bee 400. An Alien Bee 400 will run you about $225 direct from Paul C. Buff which in the grand scheme of things isn’t actually that expensive. A Canon 600ex-rt as at the time of the writing of this article will set you back roughly double that. The Yongnuo version will probably be about half that. However, I hit a major snag. Paul C. Buff, the company that makes Alien Bees, will not accept credit cards from international banks. they are also not too keen on sending items to freight forwarders. I could have still gone ahead with the order but there would have been an additional $5 charge for some reason and I would have had to send them the money via wire transfer. In 2016, I don’t think so.

Anyway on to plan B which was buy a strobe from someone who wants to take my money and there is no shortage of them. Also if you think the alien bee was cheap think again. You can get a 400 w/s studio strobe from amazon for under $120.00 that is, at least feature wise, on par with the Alien Bee. Quality I suspect may be a whole different story. In the end I got a couple of Flashpoint 320M 150 Watt AC/DC Monolight Strobe s as well as 2 Flashpoint Pro Air Cushioned Heavy Duty Light Stand – 7.2′, Glow Softbox 24 x 36″ and a Glow Softbox 24 x 24″. The whole thing cost around $350 US dollars.