Ok late to the game, but was out of town shooting a wedding all weekend. Here is my personal experience. Started out with "hot" lights, and they served me well for the most part. The problem are blubs blow out fast, and on more than one occasion while shooting a wedding, I had blubs explode. Not good when shooting for a paid client. I believe this was caused by the heat of the lamps reflecting on to itself while bouncing the light in an umbrella. I know have Alien Bee strobes, which to me are a good value studio strobe. I used them at the wedding I just got back from and did not have any problems. I would have to say using the strobes was easy, though using strobes cost more money. Not only for the lights themselves, but as mention you will need a light meter also. So for me Stobes, are my favorite.