Durability, takes a beating and keeps on ticking. Wind knocked it down on a windy day, kept on working. Great light burst, colors are fine, never replaced the flash light, nor the modeling light. Had it for 5 years. Love the massive handle, easy to carry and mount. Love the silver cone, gives great results. More powerful than my Alien Bee or my white lightening. Love the hard plastic case on this unit, very strong and durable. Big sensor light, easy to use. Love the angle handle, works very smoothly. Comes with the "air" cushioned stand so your light wont hit hard when you release the knob. Price is great. Love the bundle that comes with, very nice put together. Strong modeling light. Great for outdoors.
After a long day of event shooting, end of the day it stopped working. I think is a burned fuse but I'm very sure it will work again.

Only thing I don't like about this unit is that every time you turn it off, the flash goes off, so I have to tell all my clients to close their eyes when I turn it off, other wise it blinds them every time. I wish it didn't have that feature, not needed in my opinion. Also, it flashes when you turn the power up for stronger light, that is also annoying.
I don't like the recycling "sound", is annoying so I simply have it off all the time.
The knobs on the stand are kind of weak, two of them broke already and so I have to use silver tape to keep it together but then again, after 5 years and road trips, you can expect the wear I guess.

Overall, I would strongly recommend tis unit. I use it more than my white lightning or allien bees. Colors are vivid during outdoor photography, very nice put together. I would get another one if I had the mula...

Customer Service

Excellent

Similar Products Used:

White Lightning X1600, Allien Bee 400

Well made, consistant color. They take a licking and keep on firing! I highly recommend them for durable studio and outdoor work with an Explorer XT from Innovatronix

Not found any after over 5 years. Haven't even needed a flash tube replaced.

I have used these for 6 years daily. Bought the 2 light kit and have never had any failures or service required. Consistant color, well built. Have had them knocked over numerous times and outside of a deny in the reflector they are perfect. I bought some alien bees 3 years ago and both are retired with minimal use as they quit working. Also had trouble using wireless controllers with them. The Excalibers seem to work with any wireless system and have never once failed to fire. I am going to buy 2 more of the 6400 series since the ab 1600's quit working completely.

Wish I would have followed my gut and bought the Excalibers but everyone said the Bees were great. I found them inconsistant on color right out of the box. I would take shots in succesion and find the color different on almost every shot. This meant for more PS editing after the shoots.

Customer Service

Never needed any

Similar Products Used:

Alien Bees

Size is a bit big

Great lights for the price. Im not sure why I read all of the posts about problems with the lights. Sounds like you need to use a surge protector to me. Output is good and what is expected and measures out to output in exposure. For the price, they just cant be beat....almost.

Customer service is done though my local distributor or through B&H but I've never had an issue with either. I have a spare set in case there is any issue with the first and have only had to go to that once so far.

Customer Service

Local shop where purchased

I bought ten days ago the SP-Systems EXCALIBUR 2 Lights Kit 2 SP3200 320 W/S Monolights. Today I wanted to conect it to my camera and I noticed that my Canon Rebel XT needs a Sync Adaptor. I will buy it, but I read that voltage above 250 V shoul not be used. Anybody knows something about that?

Thanks!

Betty, Costa Rica

Low cost lights for the strapped beginner. But, it will end up costing more in the long run if you have the same trouble that I had. I rated the value a 3 for this very reason

Compared to the White-Lightning X-Series there are many weaknesses. This is comparing the Excalibur 3200 with the X-3200. SP does not have as much power as the W-L's. The W-L's feel beefier. I can't explain it other than they look and feel better. You are going to pay more but you are getting a much much better product!

This was my first set of studio mono lights. I decided to buy these lights on the recommendation of a salesman from one of our local photography dealers. I wish that I would have done my homework before buying. I have had trouble with the capacitors in two of my lights. One was in a 6400 and the other a 3200. Both times it has happened I started to hear a funny crackle as the lights were re-charging. Eventually they just stopped charging and were no longer usable. My local dealer wanted a $25 non-refundable deposit (per unit) to send away for a repair estimate. I decided the first time it happened to just purchase a new light because of a job I had coming up (my first wedding). I didn't want to wait for the unknown turn around time. The second time it happened (this was to the 3200 that I replaced the blown 6400 with) I decided to purchase better mono lights. After a lot of research I decided to go with the White-Lightning X series. What a difference! If you are new to the market like I was when purchasing my first set of lights and can afford the little extra for a better product I would recommend doing so.

Customer Service

Service is handled through your local dealership. You could probably do some research and send them in yourself. Save yourself the hassle and check out a better product.

Similar Products Used:

White-Lightning 3200, 1600, and 800

I've read some of the other critiques of this kit and I'm not sure what they're talking about with the remote slave stuff not working right. Mine works flawlessly all the time. I actually bought one transmitter and receiver kit (PocketWizard) from BH Also, and connected the receiver to one of the units.

None that I can see. I'm sure higher-end models offer more, but for a much higher price. This kit would be a value even at 2x the price.

I bought the 2-light kit with umbrellas, stands and softbox from BH PhotoVideo. I had used the SP Excalibur 1600's in a studio I rented and really liked them. You can't beat the price even if you tried.

Similar Products Used:

Norman, Canon 220EX, Canon 550EX

variable power, lightweight,

Slave sensor.

I'm very dissapointed with this monolight, It's too big and the power is not as good as I expected. I had used smaller monolight and more powerfull than this. I think I just Got what I paid for. The biggest problem I got with this unit is the slave sensor is not as sensitive as I wanted to be, I use wireless flash triggers from wein but the sensor won't get the signal until a use another hot shoe flash to activate it. So I have to use the pc cord instead because it wont work with the Infrared transmitter.

Similar Products Used:

Dynalite 400 Jr, Photogenic 1250, Larrylight monolight, etc

Feels sturdy. Uses standard base bulbs for modeling light Audible ready "beep" Bayonette style reflector mount Auto-dumping user changeable flash tube rear handle nice for moving/positioning nice box doubles as a case.

big - may be hard to position at certain angles no cooling fan

Great unit for the price. Has a heavy duty feel to it. It has functioned quite well in the short period of time I''ve had it. Always right on the money as far as exposure.

Customer Service

Had to have a 6400 repaired. 2 day turn around (not counting shipping). Slow to respond to e-mail, so call if you want something in a hurry.

Similar Products Used:

Alien Bee SP 6400

Simple to use, modeling lite,variable power,slave tripping & sound for ready flash. Kit is a bargin

Long PC cords hard to find because of Phono plug.

I am very happy with this unit,especially for the price. The kit comes with a stand and umbrella.

Customer Service

Hav not needed

Similar Products Used:

Novotron