• 

• Great for Beginners

• October 26, 2011
• By: Chris

I am a hobbyist, turning freelancer. After a lengthy conversation with the Henrys sales staff, speaking to the Bowens reps at the Exposure Show, and a few months of research; I settled on purchasing the Bowens Gemini 400 Single Head kit to start me off, while I build up the cash to add more lights. These are great lights. Don't let the "low" power output confuse you. This light is very powerful and is just fine for most situations. There are a few gotchas though... A few weeks earlier, I had also purchased a few Pocket Wizard Plus II transceivers, of which I intended to use with the Bowens Gemini line. The Pocket Wizard Plus II's use a 3.5mm mono jack in place of the standard (and sometimes disliked) PC Sync jack, which is great. The PocketWizard Plus II includes a 3.5mm to PC Sync cable in the box, however this is of no use to anyone wanting to use it with the Bowens. The Bowens Gemini lights use a 1/4" mono jack. So if you wish to use the PocketWizard transceivers with the Bowens, you will also need to pick up a PocketWizard MP1 or MP3 cable, which is also available from Henry's. The second is that the instruction manual doesn't mention how to attach the included umbrella reflector. For people like me, who are new to the prospect of Bowens studio lights, you may find that it won't stay in. Make sure that when you put the reflector on, you push a little harder. I'd recommend holding the back of the light to ensure you don't knock it over while you're doing this. Once you hear a clicking noise, just rotate the reflector to the right to lock it in. Simple! Overall, I'd give this light a 5/5. It's an excellent buy for anyone who wants to get into studio photography. I'd definitely recommend it to a friend.

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