Photography News Issue 42

Photography News | Issue 42 | absolutephoto.com

70 Accessories test

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Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System

Profoto D2 1000 AirTTL (£1500) Stand: C71

Bowens XMT500 flash (£1200) Stand: E21

17 Elinchrom ELB 1200 flash (£TBC) Stand: D111 At The Flash Centre’s TPS stand you’ll find Elinchrom’s full range of flash heads, kits and modifiers. And along with tried and tested gear, like the D-Lite and BRX systems, there’s the newELB 1200. The unit features a large OLED control display making it easy to adjust settings and offers strobe, sequence and delayed flash modes. There’s also a dimmable LED modelling lamp and silent mode, making it ideal for video recording as well as stills. The ELB 1200 will be available in four kit options frommid 2017; including the ELB 1200 Hi-Sync To Go, which comes with a Hi-Sync Head and a 16cm/90° reflector; and the ELB 1200 Pro To Roll, with a Pro Head, a shallow umbrella and an 18cm/70° reflector with 30° Grid. elinchrom.com

18 Rotolight Anova Pro BI-S LED light (£1440) Stand: D150 Powerful, adaptable LED lighting is vital for video work, but many stills photographers are embracing it, too. See what a top-class LED light can bring to your setup with the Anova Pro BI-S LED. This unit has a big 2770 lumen output (at 3ft), but uses far less power than a tungsten light of the same brightness. And of course it’s cooler in use, too. For accurate colours, the Anova Pro has a CRI of >96, so it can provide natural vibrant tones. But it’s not just a basic LED, the Anova Pro also has a series of creative CineSFX lighting modes, like Strobe, Lightning, Film, Neon and Gunshot, and using its Flash Sync mode it can be integrated with a regular studio setup, giving you the best of both worlds in one package. rotolight.com

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(£120) Stand: C81 Seek out Color Confidence’s stand for the Rogue FlashBender 2 XL kit – winner of ‘Best Studio/Lighting Accessory’ in PN’s 2016 Awards. This speedlight modifier softens light from your flash, measuring 33x41cm to create a large light source. The kit comprises a FlashBender 2 XL Pro Reflector, a Pro Soft Box Diffuser (for even softer results) and a Pro Strip Grid (for a more directional look). Due to its flexible design, the FlashBender can be sculpted to throw light as you wish. Other highlights at the stand include the FlatHat 32in Collapsible Drone Pad, the X-Rite ColorMunki Display colour management device and BenQ’s stunning PV270 Pro 27in IPS LCD monitor. gb.colorconfidence.com

When you hear Profoto claim its D2 1000 AirTTL as the world’s fastest monolight flash it’s something you needtocheckout.Ithasahugeoutput of 1000Ws, giving it the strength to overpower available light in almost any situation, but its speed is the real eye opener. With a minimum flash duration of 1/50,000sec and the ability to shoot up to 20 flashes per second, you can look forward to amazing sports and action images, with completely frozen movement. But it’s just as useful for regular shoots like portraits, with the super-fast speed giving new level of crispness to flash-lit images. As part of Profoto’s AirTTL range you can control it wirelessly with ease, and it integrates perfectlywith other AirTTL flashes like the B1 and B2. profoto.com

If you want to get creative with flash on location, you need a light like Bowens’ new XMT500. This all in one flash, which requires no external power supply, is engineered for great speed and durability. The flash includes full TTL exposure control, so you can shoot without metering, high-speed sync (at shutter speeds up to 1/8000sec) for working in strong ambient light, and very short flash durations. At speeds as high as 1/10,309sec you’ll be able to freeze motion with ease. The maximum 500Ws output can be controlled through nine stops of adjustment in 1/3stop increments, giving plenty of scope for working at wider apertures, too, and you’ll get up to 500 full power flashes from a single charge (charging from empty takes only four hours). bowens.co.uk

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