James,
I still like using a two strobe setup to balance the lighting and for major Specialties like the ARC National, I need the extra coverage for shots like Stud Dog and Brood Bitch which have three dogs, three handlers, a judge and usually a breeder and the Purina rep in them. One PLM simply won't give me that type of coverage side-to-side. In fact, I usually run out of backdrop on those shots.

But for small Specialties -- especially where the dogs are being set up on a table -- it's a very nice alternative. Less wires. Less setup and take-down time. And nice light.

I have another Specialty tomorrow in West Palm Beach. This is a Rottie Specialty and I may see if I get enough top-to-bottom coverage with a single PLM to use it with dogs that are set up on the floor. Again, the simplicity of the overall setup is nice and there are less things for people to trip over on the way to the backdrop. Plus, I can power one strobe from a Vagabond all day long if necessary which is another advantage in some locations. And I love having the redundancy of a backup strobe just in case anything goes wrong. Of course I carry backup flash tubes but if I lost one, it would be a cinch to simply put the PLM on my second AB400 and never lose more than 5 minutes of shooting time.

I think that the 86" might give me enough spread for those big group shots based on the tests that Rob Galbraith did but they're on back-order and, according to Preston, are undergoing some re-engineering.

As I said before, they are a nice addition to the lighting arsenal but they don't necessarily replace my other setups for all shows.

Jim