Photography News Issue 44

Photography News | Issue 44 | absolutephoto.com

AwardWinner – First tests

ProfotoD2 500AirTTL £1194

Specs

Specs Profoto D2 500 (D2 1000) Prices

D2 500 £1194, D2 Duo 500/500 £2394 D2 1000 £1554, D2 Duo 1000/1000 £3114, Air Remote TTL £320 (Canon, Nikon), £330 (Sony) Output 1-500Ws in 1/10tEV Increments (2-1000Ws) Flash duration 1/2600-1/63,000sec, (1/1600- 1/50,000sec) Recycling time 0.03–0.6sec, (0.03– 1.2sec) Modelling light

300W halogen Setting range 10 f/stops Strobe mode Up to 20fps Max high speed sync 1/8000sec Weight 3.4kg Dimensions (lxwxh) 31x13x18cm Contact profoto.com

When top-end flash manufacturer Profoto launched its new D2 studio heads, there was lots of talk about the D2 500’s blisteringly fast minimum flash duration of 1/63,000sec and the more powerful D2 1000 lasts a mere 1/50,000sec. Action and fashion photographers, still life workers who wanted to freeze water droplets and anyone else who yearned for the creative possibilities of super-fast flash rejoiced. But the technology that allows the D2 head to fire so fast has brought lots of other benefits and is why the D2 500 AirTTL is our award winner. Very fast flash durations at all power levels, ridiculously high frame rates, seamless high-speed sync, TTL control, consistent exposures and colour temperatures, wide range of adjustability, ease of use and top build quality are just some of the head’s real- world charms that aremore useful than the 1/63,000sec figure. The Profoto D2 500 allows you to do things that other studio flashes just don’t, or allowyoudo to it faster ormore simply. It’s an amazingly well thought- out piece of kit that just works and proves that studio monobloc flash is ready for the future. The technology that gives the D2 heads the edge is that instead of using voltage-controlled capacitors filledwith

charge like most studio heads, they use IGBT transistors which turn the power on and off incredibly quickly, like on- camera speedlights. So they can freeze motion very well, shoot in high-speed bursts, sync with your camera at high shutter speeds or use TTL automatic settings. They offer the simplicity and ease of use of a speedlight along with the power of a studio flash. Using the AirTTL trigger available for Nikon, Canon and Sony, the D2s can be controlled and used pretty much like a dedicated flashgun. This brings two big benefits – you can use

high-speed sync and the exposure can be automatically controlled by the camera’s TTL system. The high-speed sync option is just incredible, as when you set a shutter speed higher than your sync speed, the remote control automatically sets the flash to the corresponding mode and it just works flawlessly. Of course, using high-speed sync like this does significantly cut down on the effective power of the flash, but when you start with lots of power then in many situations there’s still plenty of output. Usually, studio flash heads take longer

to set up and you have to carefully control the exposure by manually changing power settings after using a flashmeter or your camera’s histogram. This manual set-up gives ultimate consistency and of course you can use the D2s like this, if youwish. But the D2’s TTL option copes incredibly well in the majority situations, and the remote control offers an easy way to dial in under or overexposure as needed. We shot ourmodel on a sofawith the light held above her by an assistant, so as the model moved or the angle of the light changed as the assistant moved around slightly, using manual mode meant you’d constantly have to chimp and check exposure. But using TTL, it allows you to focus on the subject and just be more creative. It’s a very, very nice option to have. For the first time in amonobloc light, you can really freeze the action like never before. The D2 500’s 1/63,000sec flash duration is only at the minimum power setting, which is a tiny 1Ws. That might be fine for using the light close up to awater droplet in a blacked-out room but it’s such a tiny amount of power that’s it’s largely unusable in most shooting situations. But it’s the technology that achieves such a ridiculously short flash duration and means that the flash has a very fast flash duration at all settings, which is very useful. At full power on the 500 head it’s still a speedy 1/2600sec. For studio lights, those are impressive figures at such high power levels. Drop down a few stops from maximum power and you’re into flash durations that are significantly faster than the vast majority of studio flashes. To get really fast flash durations, you have to turn on the ‘freeze’ mode at the flash head but in this mode the colour temperature changes significantly and the light output is much cooler. As long as you are shooting Raw and can either set an in-camera custom white- balance or tweak it in post-processing afterwards, then there’s no problem. As well as the fast flash durations, the lights can also recycle very quickly. Profoto says that at some settings, the lights can shoot at a staggering 20 frames-per-second. I used a Nikon D4S at 11fps to see if the head could keep up. It did, at power settings as high as two stops down from maximum with consistent exposures. AD

Above The D2 500 has clear and easy-to-use control settings and the build quality is excellent.

The D2’s TTL option copes incredibly well in the majority of situations

Verdict

As well as the impressive tech, the Profoto D2 500 has rugged build quality and is easy to use and understand, from the remote control to the head-mounted buttons, dial and high-resolution display. It’s not kit you need to spend hours poring over the instruction book to fathom out. It’s fast to set up and use – a real speed king. At £1194 for the D2 500 head plus another £320 for the dedicated Air Remote TTL, this Profoto head is not cheap but it’s competitively priced and is an investment in cutting-edge kit that should last for years. Pros Short flash durations, high- speed sync, easy to use, build quality, TTL convenience with the optional Air Remote TTL Cons Low output at 1/63,000sec flash duration