Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I need to know which is faster to recycle. I photograph people, not water pouring out of a wine glass or fast moving trains, just slow moving models and actors. I've never had an issue with color temperature, I shoot everything Raw, no model or actor has ever complained about color shift in any of my images. I own 2 ab400 2ab800 wl1600 and lots of softboxes, BD's and other ab modifiers. I shoot sometimes in quick succession, and i notice in processing that my lights did not keep up. OK, I have 2 Einsteins on pre-order and i think I'll be e-mailed soon. Im looking at the Zeus 1250 and 2 z2500sh and thinking this may be better for me......Ummm, the Zeus seems like its a no brainer....what is soooo much better ( for me) about Einstein??? I shoot in the studio and on location. I hate to miss a shot!
I shoot with 47" octabox as key light 75% of times an a BD the rest. I like to shoot between f5.6 and f11. I dont understand if fast t1 duration would help?!

Ok, this comparison would be with one Zeus and two heads vs. two Einstein heads, and assuming both heads would be used at all times. First, you will get roughly the same total wattage, though it is possible to get 900Ws from one head with Einstein, leaving the other at about 300Ws, or you can have one head only at 1250Ws. Recycle for Zeus at full is 1.2 seconds versus the 1.7 seconds of both Einsteins, so you gain about half a second. Without Cyber Commander, you do have all of your controls on the ground for easiser access with the Zeus. That is about all of the advantages for Zeus.

Einstein will give you infinite (well, 6400) ratios between both lights, Zeus is 1:1 or 3:1 only. With CyberCommander, you can control any aspect of the Einstein lights, Zeus is far more limited. You have a broader range of power from Einstein than Zeus. The Zeus powerpack is one more piece of gear that is not required with the Einsteins. If you want to use a Vagabond, you would still have to add one to either set up. At current pricing, Zeus is about $1200 and 13.4 pounds, while Einstein is about $879 and 8.6 pounds. Add the remotes to Einstein, and you are still at a lower price point.

You will still get faster flash duration and more color consistency, even if you dont use it. 8-)