Hi all,
I'm looking to invest in a portable studio flash kit, as as such I've been doing a lot of research. I'm posting here for two reasons: firstly to share the results of my own research so that that may benefit others who are looking, and secondly to see if I can garner any feedback on the systems that seems, to me, to be the winners.
If there are any corrections that get pointed out I'll fix them directly in this post, so that it remains the reference.
A little background....
Currently, I own two Bowens Gemini 500W monoblocks that I use for indoor studio work. I originally chose these a few years back because they were well regarded, well priced, and potentially portable (battery pack available as an accessory). Also, there's a huge range of accessories available for the Bowens S-mount. They come with a convenient roller bag for easy-ish transportation. I believe that Bowens is commercialised under the Camulet brand in the US?
These lower-end Bowens have worked exceptionally well for me. They're well built and have great light quality. However they do suffer from one gross limitation that's affected my work - a relatively long flash duration - not helpful for freezing movement.
For most of my on-location flash needs I've gone the strobist route, using 3 Canon strobes to great effect. Most of the time this works really well, however I've now reached a stage where I often need more power on-location....
The options
There are a number of battery flash solutions on the market, with offerings from all the major players - Broncolor, Profoto, Bowens, Elinchrom, Hensel, Lumedyne, Dynalite, etc.
Based on my own needs I eliminated Lumedyne and Dynalite since they seemed more oriented to reportage than commericial photography - the kit's nice and very portable, but the flashes are less powerful and offer less potential in terms of modifiers. Also, they're much less accessible here in Europe.
I also eliminated Broncolor because they're far far too expensive.
That left Profoto, Bowens, Elinchrom and Hensel.
The frustrating thing about all this is that each company's offerings have some great advantages, but no company has it all. Even if money were no object, they'd still be compromises to make.
I'll look at each in turn.
Elinchrom
Elinchrom offer the Ranger system for portable flash, and the new Quadra. The Quadra's a very interesting new developement aimed at the photographer requiring "powerful" flash and lots of portability. Personally though, I'd like more than 400Ws for overpowering the sun.
The top-of-range "Ranger RX Speed AS" system is reasonably priced, has a fantastic range of modifiers, and offers wireless control of the flash output via the skyport radio commander. The flash heads can be used with the Quadra system, offering a more portable solution without having to reinvest in heads.
It offers 1100Ws of power, a 7 stop range, two head connections, 250 full power flashes and weights 8kg.
The shortest flash (at lowest power) duration is 1/5120s but they don't state the longest flash duration. The recycle time is 3s. The unit claims to be assymetric, but in reality it offers a fixed 2:1 ratio for each head, so not really as versatile as I'd have liked.
The biggest disadvantage seems to be the awkward mount. Many people complain about it being difficult to use, and I've read a few report about modifiers actually falling off.
Hensel
Hensel's claim to fame is that they use much newer battery technology than their competitors. The Lithium Ion technology they're using has a huge weight advantage.
The "Porty 12" is a 1200Ws unit, offering 250 full power flashes and a 2s recycle time in a 6kg battery. Very impressive.
Flash duration ranges from 1/1519 to 1/5100s when using the "EH Pro Mini 1000 P Speed" head.
The Porty 12 offers better asymmetric control than the Elinchrom with ratios of 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3, but still no fully independant control.
The biggest disadvantage to this system is price. The battery alone is neary 4000 euros!
Profoto
Everyone raves about Profoto, and I was expecting great things.
Profoto offers several battery options, ranging from the Pro B2 to the Pro 7b to the Acute.
The Acute system is smaller and lighter than the others, but less powerful and less well specified in terms of flash duration etc., so I haven't considered that. It would be very useful if you could use the normal heads with the Acute pack, but alas no - you can only use the Acute heads.
The 7b is used and highly rated by many professionals, but the specifications are uninspiring:
1200Ws
250 full power flashes from a single battery cassette
0.09–2.8 s recycling time
1/1400–1/3000s flash duration
7 f-stop range in 1/6 step adjustments
Asymmetrical or symmetrical power distribution (fixed 1:2 ratio)
100 W modeling lamp
11.5kg
So, it's heavy, expensive, and no better specified than the Elinchrom but with worse flash duration.
The B2 is a more impressive beast:
200 full power flashes from a single battery cassette
ultrafast recycling: 0.04–1.8 s
very short flash durations: 1/2200–1/7400 s
full 8 f-stop range in 1/2 or 1/10 step adjustments
asymmetrical or symmetrical power distribution (fixed 1:2 ratio)
up to 250 W modeling lamp
continuous modeling light or timer
12kg
The fast recycling and short flash durations are a great boon. However, it's very, very expensive, and still heavy.
Profoto do however have one very big advantage over the other makes - the mounting system is simply awsome. The reflecters can be moved back and forth along the flash, thus changing the light quality. Very nice indeed.
Bowens
On paper Bowens offer an outstanding battery generator - the Explorer 1500:
1500Ws
3.8s recycle (3 secs at 1200W, for the sake of comparison with the others)
1/2130 - 1/5700s flash duration
Two *fully* asymmetric heads PLUS two Bowen Geminis monoblocs for a total of 4 lights.
7 stop range
10.8 kg
To put this into perspective, it equals or betters the Profoto 7b on all fronts, and costs half the price. In terms of flash duration, it's nearly twice as fast as the 7b and at 1500Ws it's pretty much equivalent to the B2 at 1200Ws!
Furthermore, the Explorer achieves it's shortest flash duration at 1000Ws, and it increases at both higher and lower power levels. This is a very unusual feature, and for overpowering sunlight and stopping action it could be a very useful feature.
Conclusion
I wish there were a decisive winner here, but there isn't.
The Elinchrom is possible the weakest offering - the skyport being it's only saving grace.
For pure purformance the Profoto 2B seems to be the champ, with a very short minimum flash duration and the fastest recycling time. There's a caveat however - the Bowens achieves it's 1/5400s at 1000Ws, whereas the 2B is at it's best at the lowest power. At 1000Ws the Bowans is much faster than the 2B!
For portability the Hensel wins hands down with the 6kg pack!
Pricewise Profoto and Hensel are ludicrously expensive. The worse value for money is the Profoto 7b. Very expensive with very mediocre specifications that aren't any better than the others. The flash duration is awful.
Profoto does however have the outstanding mount and excellent modifiers that are very highly regarded.
The Bowens Explorer 1500 seems to be an excellent comprise. Middle weight, well priced, short flash duration, fully asymmetric and 4 lights (2 heads + 2 monoblocs). From a personal view point the fact that I can use my existing heads is a massive plus. If it had a 2s rather than 3s recycle time it'd be the undisputed winner.
I'd like to know more about the Explorer, read a few hands on reviews etc, but I can't find much at all. It's had to win the prize for the most understated battery flash generator. Do any of you have any experience with it?
Despite all that the Profoto modifiers so lovely that I'm pulled that way to - even though it's not reasonable.
Tim
I'm looking to invest in a portable studio flash kit, as as such I've been doing a lot of research. I'm posting here for two reasons: firstly to share the results of my own research so that that may benefit others who are looking, and secondly to see if I can garner any feedback on the systems that seems, to me, to be the winners.
If there are any corrections that get pointed out I'll fix them directly in this post, so that it remains the reference.
A little background....
Currently, I own two Bowens Gemini 500W monoblocks that I use for indoor studio work. I originally chose these a few years back because they were well regarded, well priced, and potentially portable (battery pack available as an accessory). Also, there's a huge range of accessories available for the Bowens S-mount. They come with a convenient roller bag for easy-ish transportation. I believe that Bowens is commercialised under the Camulet brand in the US?
These lower-end Bowens have worked exceptionally well for me. They're well built and have great light quality. However they do suffer from one gross limitation that's affected my work - a relatively long flash duration - not helpful for freezing movement.
For most of my on-location flash needs I've gone the strobist route, using 3 Canon strobes to great effect. Most of the time this works really well, however I've now reached a stage where I often need more power on-location....
The options
There are a number of battery flash solutions on the market, with offerings from all the major players - Broncolor, Profoto, Bowens, Elinchrom, Hensel, Lumedyne, Dynalite, etc.
Based on my own needs I eliminated Lumedyne and Dynalite since they seemed more oriented to reportage than commericial photography - the kit's nice and very portable, but the flashes are less powerful and offer less potential in terms of modifiers. Also, they're much less accessible here in Europe.
I also eliminated Broncolor because they're far far too expensive.
That left Profoto, Bowens, Elinchrom and Hensel.
The frustrating thing about all this is that each company's offerings have some great advantages, but no company has it all. Even if money were no object, they'd still be compromises to make.
I'll look at each in turn.
Elinchrom
Elinchrom offer the Ranger system for portable flash, and the new Quadra. The Quadra's a very interesting new developement aimed at the photographer requiring "powerful" flash and lots of portability. Personally though, I'd like more than 400Ws for overpowering the sun.
The top-of-range "Ranger RX Speed AS" system is reasonably priced, has a fantastic range of modifiers, and offers wireless control of the flash output via the skyport radio commander. The flash heads can be used with the Quadra system, offering a more portable solution without having to reinvest in heads.
It offers 1100Ws of power, a 7 stop range, two head connections, 250 full power flashes and weights 8kg.
The shortest flash (at lowest power) duration is 1/5120s but they don't state the longest flash duration. The recycle time is 3s. The unit claims to be assymetric, but in reality it offers a fixed 2:1 ratio for each head, so not really as versatile as I'd have liked.
The biggest disadvantage seems to be the awkward mount. Many people complain about it being difficult to use, and I've read a few report about modifiers actually falling off.
Hensel
Hensel's claim to fame is that they use much newer battery technology than their competitors. The Lithium Ion technology they're using has a huge weight advantage.
The "Porty 12" is a 1200Ws unit, offering 250 full power flashes and a 2s recycle time in a 6kg battery. Very impressive.
Flash duration ranges from 1/1519 to 1/5100s when using the "EH Pro Mini 1000 P Speed" head.
The Porty 12 offers better asymmetric control than the Elinchrom with ratios of 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3, but still no fully independant control.
The biggest disadvantage to this system is price. The battery alone is neary 4000 euros!
Profoto
Everyone raves about Profoto, and I was expecting great things.
Profoto offers several battery options, ranging from the Pro B2 to the Pro 7b to the Acute.
The Acute system is smaller and lighter than the others, but less powerful and less well specified in terms of flash duration etc., so I haven't considered that. It would be very useful if you could use the normal heads with the Acute pack, but alas no - you can only use the Acute heads.
The 7b is used and highly rated by many professionals, but the specifications are uninspiring:
1200Ws
250 full power flashes from a single battery cassette
0.09–2.8 s recycling time
1/1400–1/3000s flash duration
7 f-stop range in 1/6 step adjustments
Asymmetrical or symmetrical power distribution (fixed 1:2 ratio)
100 W modeling lamp
11.5kg
So, it's heavy, expensive, and no better specified than the Elinchrom but with worse flash duration.
The B2 is a more impressive beast:
200 full power flashes from a single battery cassette
ultrafast recycling: 0.04–1.8 s
very short flash durations: 1/2200–1/7400 s
full 8 f-stop range in 1/2 or 1/10 step adjustments
asymmetrical or symmetrical power distribution (fixed 1:2 ratio)
up to 250 W modeling lamp
continuous modeling light or timer
12kg
The fast recycling and short flash durations are a great boon. However, it's very, very expensive, and still heavy.
Profoto do however have one very big advantage over the other makes - the mounting system is simply awsome. The reflecters can be moved back and forth along the flash, thus changing the light quality. Very nice indeed.
Bowens
On paper Bowens offer an outstanding battery generator - the Explorer 1500:
1500Ws
3.8s recycle (3 secs at 1200W, for the sake of comparison with the others)
1/2130 - 1/5700s flash duration
Two *fully* asymmetric heads PLUS two Bowen Geminis monoblocs for a total of 4 lights.
7 stop range
10.8 kg
To put this into perspective, it equals or betters the Profoto 7b on all fronts, and costs half the price. In terms of flash duration, it's nearly twice as fast as the 7b and at 1500Ws it's pretty much equivalent to the B2 at 1200Ws!
Furthermore, the Explorer achieves it's shortest flash duration at 1000Ws, and it increases at both higher and lower power levels. This is a very unusual feature, and for overpowering sunlight and stopping action it could be a very useful feature.
Conclusion
I wish there were a decisive winner here, but there isn't.
The Elinchrom is possible the weakest offering - the skyport being it's only saving grace.
For pure purformance the Profoto 2B seems to be the champ, with a very short minimum flash duration and the fastest recycling time. There's a caveat however - the Bowens achieves it's 1/5400s at 1000Ws, whereas the 2B is at it's best at the lowest power. At 1000Ws the Bowans is much faster than the 2B!
For portability the Hensel wins hands down with the 6kg pack!
Pricewise Profoto and Hensel are ludicrously expensive. The worse value for money is the Profoto 7b. Very expensive with very mediocre specifications that aren't any better than the others. The flash duration is awful.
Profoto does however have the outstanding mount and excellent modifiers that are very highly regarded.
The Bowens Explorer 1500 seems to be an excellent comprise. Middle weight, well priced, short flash duration, fully asymmetric and 4 lights (2 heads + 2 monoblocs). From a personal view point the fact that I can use my existing heads is a massive plus. If it had a 2s rather than 3s recycle time it'd be the undisputed winner.
I'd like to know more about the Explorer, read a few hands on reviews etc, but I can't find much at all. It's had to win the prize for the most understated battery flash generator. Do any of you have any experience with it?
Despite all that the Profoto modifiers so lovely that I'm pulled that way to - even though it's not reasonable.
Tim
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