Luminous Landscape Forum

Equipment & Techniques => Lighting => Topic started by: FataMorgana on March 08, 2017, 10:04:57 am

Title: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: FataMorgana on March 08, 2017, 10:04:57 am
Hi there.

I have a particular technique I use to some affect which is a single mono head atop a monopod. The mono light itself is attached by long cable to a battery that is smaller than mini iPad and works a treat - it sits in my jacket pocket or pack side pocket. There are no attachments to the head as far as I am aware.

However my problem is that I would like to expand this system a little and I've been looking at the ProFoto B2 250 Air set up, but it's £1.9K here in the Uk for a 2x head, 1 (?) x battery kit.

One of the things that I do not have access to in the present setup is being able to change the output of the light nor is it TTL - which are very much care for anyway.

The other issue that I have at present with the current system is twofold: one is that there is no longer a distributor in the UK and my attempts to establish communication with others that sell this Chinese made head have come to naught. One cable has already failed. And now I'm just waiting for a bulb to blow - and then I'm up the creek without a paddle.

So the question really is what alternatives can you suggest please to a one or two head system that is relatively modular in that I can apply soft boxes, umbrellas, perhaps a snoot., perhaps barn doors (as examples)?

The ProFoto battery slings around your medical shoulders we can bring a backpack and I certainly wouldn't want the battery to be any bigger and the battery can run 2x 250W heads simultaneously which I haven't really thought much about the simple reason that much of the time when I'm being peripatetic I simply have one head on a long "stick", camera in the other hand.

I appreciate the ProFoto is also TTL with the extra gizmos.

Thanks for any / all comments.

Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: FataMorgana on March 08, 2017, 01:13:19 pm
Good thinking about B'rum.

Cheers.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: David Eichler on March 08, 2017, 06:33:56 pm
Quantum strobes, or the Godox knock offs of Quantum.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Conner999 on March 10, 2017, 08:36:55 am
Another option is the Profoto AcuteB 600. There's no remote control, but small, light, utterly reliable, top build quality, 600Ws, can use any Profoto mods with no adapters needed, use a Ring Flash, can be used with some speciality heads light the stick/ strip lights  will make all Profoto mods perform as designed (the flat face of the B2/B1/D series can be sub-optimal in some tin and larger modifiers). You can even use a Profoto Acute2/D4 Twin head into two AcuteB packs to get 1200ws (works great).

The bottom has also fallen out of their prices due to the B1/2 series. Probably one of the best buys in portable lighting out there if you don't need TTL and remote control. 
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Ken Doo on March 10, 2017, 10:22:58 am
If price, portability, and lightweight are key considerations---as well as TTL, HSS, and being able to control power from the wireless remote are required, I would look at the newly released SMDV BRiHT 360. It doesn't have quite the power of the Godox 600 and all her cousins, but it is substantially lighter and smaller, and from what an associate photographer tells me, the SMDV remote is much better than its competitors.  I have no interest in purchasing the SMDV as I am fully invested with Profoto and no longer doing weddings--which I think the portability of this light makes it ideal, but have been asked to test/review the SMDV since the distributor knows I have the Profoto B2 system. I've instead let associate photographers more familiar with Godox et al. use the SMDV lights, and so far comments have been very positive.  I'll probably consolidate their comments into an informal review on my blog at a later date.

The lightweight portability means it is much easier to put on a monopod as you have been doing or use a light stand without worry about being top heavy. Supposedly more power than B2 (haven't checked specs with light meter yet), yet light and compact. Reflectors are surprisingly well built with similar metal as Profoto reflectors. Very easy to stick one or two light kits into a small photo backpack.

Ken

See my review:  https://kendoophotography.wordpress.com/2017/06/04/the-smdv-briht-360-portable-lighting-system/
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Harold Clark on March 10, 2017, 10:30:35 am
Considering the output you require the soon to be released Godox AD200 might fit the bill, Completely self contained units at bit less than 2 lbs total. I am going to have look at them for small, quick setups.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: FelixWu on March 17, 2017, 08:27:29 am
Hi there.

I have a particular technique I use to some affect which is a single mono head atop a monopod. The mono light itself is attached by long cable to a battery that is smaller than mini iPad and works a treat - it sits in my jacket pocket or pack side pocket. There are no attachments to the head as far as I am aware.

However my problem is that I would like to expand this system a little and I've been looking at the ProFoto B2 250 Air set up, but it's £1.9K here in the Uk for a 2x head, 1 (?) x battery kit.

One of the things that I do not have access to in the present setup is being able to change the output of the light nor is it TTL - which are very much care for anyway.

The other issue that I have at present with the current system is twofold: one is that there is no longer a distributor in the UK and my attempts to establish communication with others that sell this Chinese made head have come to naught. One cable has already failed. And now I'm just waiting for a bulb to blow - and then I'm up the creek without a paddle.

So the question really is what alternatives can you suggest please to a one or two head system that is relatively modular in that I can apply soft boxes, umbrellas, perhaps a snoot., perhaps barn doors (as examples)?

The ProFoto battery slings around your medical shoulders we can bring a backpack and I certainly wouldn't want the battery to be any bigger and the battery can run 2x 250W heads simultaneously which I haven't really thought much about the simple reason that much of the time when I'm being peripatetic I simply have one head on a long "stick", camera in the other hand.

I appreciate the ProFoto is also TTL with the extra gizmos.

Thanks for any / all comments.

With the B2 even have two heads attached to generator it still outputs 250w/s max....you don't get twice the output with two heads.

Unless you wanna invest in the profoto system (and it's a good system with a lot of lighting and modifier options), I would check out the AD200. Looks interesting and its so small. I don't consider B2 as small for its power.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: FataMorgana on March 20, 2017, 04:40:23 pm
Thanks
Update:

At the show Mon Tues and there many Godox units, under various names!
B2 quite beautiful, I will let you know my thoughts later in the week.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: nemophoto on April 23, 2017, 02:18:28 pm
I have three different solutions I own (soon to own a forth). All have batteries as you use (integrated or separate),  but the key for you is having radio transmitters for adjusting the light. I tried out the B2 and, frankly, hated it and thought it was overpriced. Some of these solution may not. E avail to you in the U.K. Other than by special order, but all are cheaper, and in my eye, better. These are:
Phottix Indra 500 with the Odin II radio
Elinchrom ELB400 (I use the HS head but there are two others) w/Skyport EL
Paul Buff Einstein 640 with a vagabond battery and Pocket Wizard TT1 or TT5

I also own a Priolte MBX500 HS and radio. Nice light but heavy and for my purposes, a bit slow for recycle. I have just ordered from Adorama the new Orlit 610 which can be purchased with a Canon or Nikon radio or use the native Canon RT transmitter. It also has an integrated battery, so no cables. Any of these I'd stack up against the Profoto and all, even the Elinchrom, are cheaper.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: TonyVentourisPhotography on July 24, 2017, 07:28:20 am
The new Paul buff digibees are half the size of their other lights and lighter as well.  They also have an amazingly powerful led modeling light.  It's apparently the equivalent of a 400watt bulb.  I just baught a set to add to my lighting kit and they have been excellent.  They are light enough for a monopod and the vagabond mini is easy on a shoulder and can power two lights.  I also get over an hour or so of the modeling light when on battery. 

Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: StoryinPictures on August 01, 2017, 07:12:08 pm
The Godox is a pretty good choice for weight and power. If you want two heads, the battery packs on the 360 are enough smaller and lighter than the Prophoto that you could take two of each. You can also use two heads out of one tiny pack with the Godox.

Elinchrom also has a pack which is similar to the B2 but more powerful in the Ranger ELB which offers 425 WS of power.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: rem on August 16, 2017, 02:45:33 pm
I'm not shure about the 250W with the Profoto B2.

When I compare the B2 with the Nikon SB 900 und 910 it's about the same f stop. Speedlight Reflektor at 35mm.

So I ask me, where is the "multiple (4-5 or so) power from the B2 compared to the Speedlights??? Is this marketing or what?

Rem
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: nemophoto on August 17, 2017, 08:34:08 am
I, honestly, felt the B2 was crap. I tried two different units and radios on my Canons and both malfunctioned. I'm not totally surprised that Rem didn't find it much more powerful than his Speedlites. My Canon Speedlites also have high output. The biggest difference is the Speedlites overheat pretty rapidly if you do a lot of shooting quickly, especially when you do hi-speed sync. A much better alternative is the Elinchrom ELB400. Much higher output and faster recycle. I've owned mine over a year and use it on almost every location shoot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: elundqvist_photo on October 20, 2017, 10:26:36 am
I have a Godox AD180 and a AD360 for sale if you decide to go down that path. London based.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: BobShaw on October 21, 2017, 02:04:47 am
Go manual and use any flash you like. My vote is also Elinchrom Quadra/ELB400 at 400W/S.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: nemophoto on October 22, 2017, 08:57:26 pm
Go manual and use any flash you like. My vote is also Elinchrom Quadra/ELB400 at 400W/S.

I have to agree. The Elinchrom ELB 400 with the HS head is great. It took me a while to get the proper delay setting for the HS and my Canons, but I love the strobe. I hated my trial with the Profoto and battling with HSS (and never getting it to work). There are definitely pros to TTL, but plenty of cons as well.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: BobDavid on October 31, 2017, 02:32:17 pm
The Elinchrom Quadras are great. Especially the more recent ones that are controllable through the Skyport.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: BobShaw on November 01, 2017, 05:07:39 pm
The Elinchrom Quadras are great. Especially the more recent ones that are controllable through the Skyport.
Even the older Quadras are controllable through the Skyport for power settings and you can read settings using the EL software, although admittedly that is a bit cumbersome. The later ones just allow more features.
http://www.elinchrom.com/support/ELSP-HS.html

Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: BobDavid on November 13, 2017, 01:47:34 am
I bought an Elinchrom Quadra with an A head years ago, when it first came to market. I recently purchased an Elinchrom Quadra Living Light Kit with S head for $599 (B&H and Adorama sell them).

The "Living Light Kit" comes with a Skyport. It's an awesome deal. The color temperature is consistent. Having two Quadras is great. I highly recommend using Quadra reflector adapters so the heads will be compatible with the Elinchrom line of modifiesrs. I love the 39" and 27.5" Rotalux modifiers. The reflectors are really great too.

The standard batteries charge up fast.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Zave Smith on December 09, 2017, 09:44:57 am
Does anybody have any experience with the https://www.dynalite.com/in-the-news/bajab4/  system?
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Harold Clark on December 11, 2017, 05:42:41 pm
Does anybody have any experience with the https://www.dynalite.com/in-the-news/bajab4/  system?

I played with them in the store, very nicely built and I would imagine well supported by Dynalite. These are rebadged South Korean lights I believe, unlike  the AC units which are still built in the USA. Not that this is a problem, South Korean standards are very high.

The deal breaker for me was recycle time, which may not be a problem for you depending on how you plan to use them. I went with Godox AD 600s and I am very pleased with them.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Kirk_C on December 13, 2017, 12:40:55 pm
I played with them in the store, very nicely built and I would imagine well supported by Dynalite. These are rebadged South Korean lights I believe, unlike  the AC units which are still built in the USA. Not that this is a problem, South Korean standards are very high.

Dynalite and Comet merged a few years ago. Both brands now exist but Dynalite is sold in North America and Comet is sold in the Pacific rim. For a few years Dynalite marketed Comet in the U.S. but Comet was a brand that never had significant market beyond the East coast/New York city area.

You won't find a better quality light than these. I have Comet packs and heads that are 25+ years old and function perfectly. The Baja monoblocks are designed by Comet but intended as a price competitive light to compete with the Chinese manufactured products. In terms of features they're a little behind the times, i.e. lacking LED modeling lights, but again that's to keep the price point low.

I've been shooting with Profoto and Broncolor for nearly 30 years and I'd consider the Bajas as a very viable alternative to those brand for location monos.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: David Eichler on December 14, 2017, 12:29:31 pm
I've been shooting with Profoto and Broncolor for nearly 30 years and I'd consider the Bajas as a very viable alternative to those brand for location monos.


You would say that the build the Bajas is robust enough to compare favorably with these brands, or even the Dynalite packs. I consider the Chinese brand Godox to have pretty functionality and manufacturing consistency, enough that I can and do use them for some professional applications, but I would not consider their build quality to be nearly as robust as these other brands.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Kirk_C on December 14, 2017, 08:55:36 pm

You would say that the build the Bajas is robust enough to compare favorably with these brands, or even the Dynalite packs.

The quality of Dynalite went up considerably after they merged with Comet. They adopted the Comet head design as the Dynalite head design and dropped the old Dyna monoblocks for all Comet designs, including the Baja. But as I posted above the Baja is a price point product so the features are not up to par with the big names. Quality of light and dependability I would expect to be as good.

I'm just investing another few grand in Broncolor modifiers, which isn't much when it comes to Broncolor, for the specific things they do better than anyone else. In the studio I use a mix of Comet, Profoto and Broncolor and feel they're equal in quality with the only weak point being the idiotic Broncolor mount.

I haven't looked at Godox because I don't need to go there. If the brand works for others, great.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Two23 on March 05, 2018, 10:27:11 pm
Quantum strobes, or the Godox knock offs of Quantum.


That's my suggestion too.  Lots of output in a very portable package.  And affordable!


Kent in SD
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: tcphoto1 on March 06, 2018, 10:48:55 am
I have owned Profoto Acutes for nearly twenty years and have been quite happy with them. If I were to go battery powered, I'd buy a used 7B2 kit. If you need lightweight, I'd look at the Acute600 and PWFlexTT5 for HS sync. I'm confident that you can find two clean Acute600 kits for the price of one new B1 500ws or B2 250ws unit.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: FataMorgana on March 10, 2018, 10:51:37 am
Thanks.

I am going to the Photography Show next week (17th - 20th) and have been Short Listed in the annual Sony WPO Awards last week, which is exciting, so I must expand my portfolio me thinks, this means getting some new, more powerful and portable lighting solutions.

Looking at the full range, at the NEC on Mon and Tues (19 & 20). Will bring some new gear back with me no doubt!

Also looking at MF digital to increase my versatility and output.
Title: Re: On location lighting Profoto B2 250w - but is there a viable alternative?
Post by: Kirk_C on March 10, 2018, 10:12:36 pm
Elinchrom introduced their new ELB 500 TTL  (https://www.elinchromus.com/battery/elb500.html) this week. I'm sure the build quality is better than the PF B2 and anything made by Godox.