First let me say I LOVE....LOVE my speed lights. I love the convenience, the affordability (I tend to break them or drop them in the ocean from time to time) and I've never felt the need for more power. That said, I still bought a mono light and battery pack...just had to see if I was missing out on anything. Let's start with a couple side by side examples of a mono light next to a speed light under similar conditions:
This first one was shot with the Mettle 600w/s mono light and the collapsible 27" Phottix beauty dish
and the one below was done with a Yongnuo 560 III speed light in a socked beauty dish on 1/1
The beauty dish ePhoto 22" beauty dish from Amazon
Let's look at the pros and cons of each. First, the cost of each
Mono light set up cost: $440 (mono light, battery pack and beauty dish)
Speed light set up cost: $186 (YN 560 III speed light and beauty dish)
Quite a difference in price...you can decide if you think there is a difference in the quality of light.
Other pros of the speed light set up....the speed light set up is much easier to carry and move around.
So where would the mono light shine...for me, 2 places, anywhere I can plug it in and get unlimited shots (neither of those shots were done in a studio...just a white wall on location)...AND in broad daylight. While I can do pretty well at beating the sun toward the end of the day with speed lights or even mid day using high speed sync, the mono light does have more power so it makes it easier. Below is an example of using the Mettle outside in midday South Florida sun
