Buyers’ guide
Leading lights
Buyers’ guide
Siros, Reflex, Honey Badger – just a few of the current crop of lighting superheroes. PN takes an illuminating look at options for the discerning image maker
Words by Will Cheung
so they are comfortable in the studio too, and some dual-powered units offer the best of both worlds. Flash is great for stills photography, but a non-starter for video – which explains the explosion in LED continuous lighting. Just like flash, LED lighting can be mains or battery powered, used on- or off-camera and accepts modifiers. In output terms, comparing a similarly priced flash and LED unit will reveal that mains flash wins out. But with digital cameras having great
The monolight’s appeal has enhanced further due to technology crossover from on-camera speedlights, specifically TTL flash, high-speed sync (HSS) and advanced wireless triggers that allow control of multiple lights from the camera position – a convenience feature also offered by smart devices and apps. Modern studio flashes don’t just use mains – there are options for battery power which are ideal for location shoots. Such units accept the same modifiers as mains monolights,
WHEN IT COMES to studio lighting, mains flash has been the dominant force among enthusiast and pro photographers for years. With ample power at your disposal, fast recycling, output consistency, cool running and the support of a huge range of modifiers to achieve every possible effect, mains flash remains the lighting mainstay for photographers of all levels. However, the lighting landscape has changed markedly in recent years. If you’re looking to update your kit or set up for the first time, mains
flash is available in a range of prices and output levels – and for most photographers the monolight (or monoblock) is the way to go. These have the flashtube, modelling lamp and power unit in a single body – all you have to do is plug into a mains supply and you’re ready to shoot. For photography in big studios where lots of energy is needed, there’s the option of separate generator pack and flash heads, but this brings us to serious budgets – and overkill for most – so isn’t covered here.
performance even at high ISO, LED is genuinely dual purpose and perfectly usable for stills and video. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that LED lighting has perks for stills, too. What you see is what you get – and with LEDs featuring RGB control, you can dial in virtually any colour you want without physically adding extra filters. Our guide takes in key names in the flash and LED lighting world, so whatever your photographic speciality, there’s something here for you.
Profoto › profoto.com
can be controlled wirelessly from up to 300m, allowing TTL flash and high-speed sync up to 1/8000sec. Add support for over 120 Profoto shaping tools, and the D2 series is worth serious consideration. A single D2 500 AirTTL costs £1875, while it’s £3675 for a two- head kit. For more power, a single D2 1000 AirTTL is £2299. For flash triggering, the Air Remote TTL sells for £215, and for true versatility the Connect Pro trigger is £339.
500Ws and 1000Ws respectively, are better options and suitable for most subjects. Output aside, they share the same feature set. There’s a 10EV power range controllable in 0.1EV steps, recycling is super quick, enabling flash bursts of up to 20fps, and flash duration at low power settings is as short as 1/63,000sec to freeze the fastest action. Both support Profoto AirTTL, and with a suitable trigger the lights
Profoto is a highly respected name in studio lighting. In recent times, its focus has been on battery-powered lights, with products like the A2 and B10 series enjoying great success. Its monolight selection is limited to the three models of the D2 series. One of these, the D2 Industrial, is built for heavy, high-volume shooting. That’s reflected in the price – £2795 for a single head. For most shooters, the D2 500 and D2 1000, giving outputs of
Elinchrom › theflashcentre.com
Skyport receivers and the optional Transmitter Pro. Both include an action mode for optimised flash duration, daylight modelling lamps, smart cooling and short recycling times – 0.45sec at full power. If you take the RX 4 route, the Three Head Set to Go costs £1299, and includes stands, modifiers, a Skyport Plus transmitter and a carrying case. For the same money, another option is the two- head ELC 125 & 500 TTL outfit.
Studio specialist Elinchrom offers a broad selection of great-value studio lighting for photographers of all disciplines and budgets. The D-Lite RX One and RX 4 are affordable routes into the Elinchrom ecosystem, and you get fantastic features for your money. The RX One has an output range of 6-100Ws that can be adjusted in a selection of EV increments. If you can stretch to the RX 4, the reward is a much more potent unit at 400Ws. Both lights have built-in Skyport, allowing power control and flash firing with an optional transmitter. The Skyport Transmitter Pro costs £240 and is available for Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Pentax and Sony. With more sophistication, the ELC 125 and 500 both offer TTL studio flash and high-speed sync to 1/8000sec with built-in
Issue 103 | Photography News 35
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