Photography News | Issue 54 | photographynews.co.uk
40
First tests
Interfit Honey Badger two-head kit £600
Specs
If you’ve never heard of them, Honey Badgers are small and powerful little critters with what’s best described as a ‘mean streak’. So, you can immediately get a flavour of what Interfit is trying to get across with this compact and lightweight two-head mains flash kit that is keenly priced at just under £600. But, leaving safari-esque comparisons at the door, Interfit really hasmanaged something quite special by creating a studio flash solution that’s not only reasonably priced, but portable and versatile too. Let’s take a look at what you get for not a great deal of money. The kit comprises two 320Ws (Watts-per- second) heads, power leads and sync cables, stands, a pop-up softbox, a brolly, Interfit’s universal radio trigger and a padded bag. Everything you need to get started in studio lighting, but enough to take your portraiture further and to begin crafting light. For starters, before I even got to the hardware, I was mightily impressed by the heavy-duty padded bag. Complete with internal dividers, it’s one of the best laid-out carry cases I’ve come across and makes packing/ unpacking the kit a breeze. What’s more, being able to transport all your lighting kit in one neat bag is a huge advantage for photographers on the move and will certainly protect the lights when moving them around day to day. The heads are surprisingly compact, which is an advantage when on the stand as there’s less weight to tip forward or be weighed down by a softbox. They also boast a 60 watt LED modelling light, which not only illuminates the scene, but can double as a light source for any video you’re shooting too. The rear LCD clearly displays all the important information and the individual buttons have lights so you can easily see their status. The receiver that pairs up with the supplied universal manual remote is
Price Two-head kit with softbox,
umbrella/reflector and remote kit £599.99, one head with sync and power cable £239.99, one light with 24in pop-up softbox kit £259.99, one head, umbrella and reflector kit £279.99 In the box Two Honey Badger 320Ws heads, 1x24in pop-up softbox, 2x2.6m air-cushioned stands, 1x90cm translucent brolly, 17in reflector, 1xtwo head kit bag, 1x Interfit manual remote, 2x mains cables, 2x sync cables Max output 320Ws Power range 7EV, 5-320Ws, adjustable in 0.1EV Recycle time (full power) One second Flash duration (full power) 1/900sec Colour temp 5600K +/- 200K Modelling lamp 60 watt LED, 5600K output Wireless control Compatible with all Interfit S1 remotes Fan cooling Yes, with auto shut off when it gets too hot Auto dump Yes Modifier mount S-type mount with pop-up softbox mount Umbrella mount Accepts up to 8mm brolly shafts Head dimensions 12.7x12.7x15.2cm Head weight 1.4kg Contact interfitphotographic.com
Images This well-priced kit provides enough power for lots of depth-of-field and its compact and lightweight accessories make it very portable in the sturdy padded bag provided.
Images Interfit’s Honey Badger two-head kit has all the ingredients you need to get started in studio lighting and develop your portraiture skills. With 320W/s to play with, each Honey Badger head has a Guide Number of 148 (ISO 100/m) and a flash duration of 1/900sec at full power. Without getting totally lost in the stats and specs, you can be assured that these heads, which weigh less than 1400g each, punch well above their weight. Suitable for group shots or portraits taken with a wider focal length and the heads moved fairly far back, the Honey Badgers impress with their quality of light. Of course, for such a small kit, there are a couple of compromises to be aware of – there is no High Speed Sync setting (HSS) and the max sync speed is 1/250sec. What’s more, the fans in the heads are operating all the time, but it’s not a loud-enough distraction to cause any problems. MG While getting a fair amount of kit for your buck is all good and well, the acid test is, of course, how it performs on the job. One of the key appeals of this kit is that it’s lightweight, portable and easy to set-up. Once you’ve made yourself familiar with the Honey Badger set-up, it’s possible to go from pack bag to clicking the shutter in less than five minutes, so this kit really is easy to get going with. The flash output is rated as 5600K and throughout my shoot colour stayed consistent, so there were no shocks as I was scrolling through the files later on Lightroom. Recycling time is rated at one second – quick enough for most portrait shoots – and each head boasts a power range of seven stops, from 320W/s full power down to 5W/s, enabling photographers to have more control over balancing the output of light falling on subjects.
built-in to the head, so there are no trailing wires, and under the head is a thread hole for a brolly to be securely placed into position. Each of the heads boasts not one but twomounting options. Alongwith the standard Bowens mount there is also a ring mount for attaching pop- up softboxes, meaning users certainly aren’t short of modifier options. Also included in the box is a shoot- through brolly and a pop-up softbox, which folds flat to fit into a tiny pouch. Velcro strips around the edges of the softbox secure a scrim to soften the light and to also help increase the rigidity of the softbox. The trigger is easy to use thanks to dedicated buttons for testing flash or turning off the modelling lights remotely and can also be used to control individual or groups of lights.
Verdict
There’s nomistaking that Interfit’s Honey Badger kit boasts a high-level of gear for its reasonable price-tag. Plus, the versatility it offers with mounting options and a powerful LEDmodelling light further increases this kit’s appeal to a broad spectrumof photographers. The fact that it’s lightweight, compact and delivers a consistent output of quality light is the icing on the cake. Aside from the couple of niggles already mentioned, the Honey Badger looks certain to be a success for Interfit.
Pros Good price, compact, kit comes with quality radio trigger, light quality, versatile Cons No high speed sync
Powered by FlippingBook