Experience with AcuteB 600R?

[psorantin]

Hello Folks,
I am looking for a battery-based power pack for usage with my Hassy503/Aptus.

I need flash for outdoor shots to control contrast from available light.

Since I have Profoto Acute2 equipment (pack/head/modifiers), the fairly new Profoto AcuteB 600R looks interesting.

Any experience with that pack and the head?

Any advise on whether a Quantum Qflash or similar might be more suited?

I was working in the past on locations sometimes with Canon flashes (580EX) and DigitalCameraBattery power supplies, but consistency of flash output was low.

Thanks,
Peter

[Morgan_Moore]

Hello Folks,
I am looking for a battery-based power pack for usage with my Hassy503/Aptus.

I need flash for outdoor shots to control contrast from available light.

Since I have Profoto Acute2 equipment (pack/head/modifiers), the fairly new Profoto AcuteB 600R looks interesting.

Any experience with that pack and the head?

Any advise on whether a Quantum Qflash or similar might be more suited?

I was working in the past on locations sometimes with Canon flashes (580EX) and DigitalCameraBattery power supplies, but consistency of flash output was low.

Thanks,
Peter
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167112\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I have Qflashes and an elly ranger not the Profoto.

My comment is with Softboxes the Qs are often too weak for MF (at50ISO) - they are OK for open use but the light is harsh

Conversly unmodified ie open head no softbox  the Elly is often too powerful to use in close

The Qs can be used without an assistant though and are great for air travel being light

Depends on the size of your shoot - with a Q you can do single person portraits with the box just out of the frame - but with five people for example they dont have the grunt to get F8 too many times if they have a softbox on

S

[godtfred]

Hello Folks,
I am looking for a battery-based power pack for usage with my Hassy503/Aptus.

I need flash for outdoor shots to control contrast from available light.

Since I have Profoto Acute2 equipment (pack/head/modifiers), the fairly new Profoto AcuteB 600R looks interesting.

Any experience with that pack and the head?

Any advise on whether a Quantum Qflash or similar might be more suited?

I was working in the past on locations sometimes with Canon flashes (580EX) and DigitalCameraBattery power supplies, but consistency of flash output was low.

Thanks,
Peter
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167112\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Make sure the Acute600R meets your need for freezing action, the Pro7b and ProB2 have a shorter flash duration. Other than that and the obvious smaller battery and 1 stop lower power, i love the little thing.

You can get a converter kit to use your Acute heads on the 600R, just became available a little while back. (Have not tried it.)

[Snook]

Make sure the Acute600R meets your need for freezing action, the Pro7b and ProB2 have a shorter flash duration. Other than that and the obvious smaller battery and 1 stop lower power, i love the little thing.

You can get a converter kit to use your Acute heads on the 600R, just became available a little while back. (Have not tried it.)
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167136\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Love Mine...BUT and a big BUT I think it is more for Indoors lighting on Location.. Not great for overpowering daylight at all, and get atleast 3-4 batteries for sure.
Also I do not think it is Built well for Outdoors which for me is dusty, dirty and sometimes Beach sandy locations, It will not last very long.
Also the flash duration is actually pretty darn good, Much better than the acute line fore sure.
My modeling light never has worked since day one but I live to far away to send it back.
It is good but I thnk they could have designed it a little more rugged and more rubber on the bottom to tell you the truth.
I sold of a lot of my Hensel stuff thinking the 600R would be a little better.
Does work fine but if you get a chance check it out first.
If you do  a lot of outdoors I would think about another unit and that is coming from someone that has all profoto stuff and Loves Profoto.
The price and size is great for sure.
Just an Honest personal view. I shoot a lot of Catalogue and Fashion stuff outdoors and shoot 20-30 Pictures (Each with about 25-50 frames per Picture) a day often for several days you'll wish you had gone with the 7B2 or Hensel Porty Plus system...
Snook


Should add that it does re-cycle pretty darn quick also..:+}

You can use Acute heads and D4 head's , it is just the modeling light won't work with out the new EXT. cable

[jing q]

I love mine. in fact I'm almost thinking of replacing my pro B2 with AcuteB instead.
they are VERY compact which is great, you can even put it on your shoulder and carry it around with ease.

Love Mine...BUT and a big BUT I think it is more for Indoors lighting on Location.. Not great for overpowering daylight at all, and get atleast 3-4 batteries for sure.
Also I do not think it is Built well for Outdoors which for me is dusty, dirty and sometimes Beach sandy locations, It will not last very long.
Also the flash duration is actually pretty darn good, Much better than the acute line fore sure.
My modeling light never has worked since day one but I live to far away to send it back.
It is good but I thnk they could have designed it a little more rugged and more rubber on the bottom to tell you the truth.
I sold of a lot of my Hensel stuff thinking the 600R would be a little better.
Does work fine but if you get a chance check it out first.
If you do  a lot of outdoors I would think about another unit and that is coming from someone that has all profoto stuff and Loves Profoto.
The price and size is great for sure.
Just an Honest personal view. I shoot a lot of Catalogue and Fashion stuff outdoors and shoot 20-30 Pictures (Each with about 25-50 frames per Picture) a day often for several days you'll wish you had gone with the 7B2 or Hensel Porty Plus system...
Snook
Should add that it does re-cycle pretty darn quick also..:+}

You can use Acute heads and D4 head's , it is just the modeling light won't work with out the new EXT. cable
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167197\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

[alanshoot]

Hey Peter,

You might also look at the Inovatronics Tronic Explorer 1200. It's an external battery with a clean sine wave output made for strobes. I use it for outdoor shots. It recycles a Profoto Acute 1200 set to half power in about 2 seconds. I generally shoot forty or fifty exposures, so I don't know the capacity, although the manufacturer claims it's good for about 160 pops. For $259, I thought, what the hell, it's worth a try.

[klane]

Hey Peter,

You might also look at the Inovatronics Tronic Explorer 1200. It's an external battery with a clean sine wave output made for strobes. I use it for outdoor shots. It recycles a Profoto Acute 1200 set to half power in about 2 seconds. I generally shoot forty or fifty exposures, so I don't know the capacity, although the manufacturer claims it's good for about 160 pops. For $259, I thought, what the hell, it's worth a try.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167205\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Have you had any odd power issues using the acute 2s? Any odd fan problems?

Any one know where to get a cheap hensel porty? I have an old acute e head that id like to convert.

To the original poster, I hear nothing but great things about the acute B except for the lack of weather sealing.

[godtfred]

Here are the flash durations for some batterypacks at full power for those interested:

Profoto:
AcuteB600r: 1/1000 s
Pro7b: 1/1400 s
ProB2: 1/2200 s

Hensel:
Porty 1200: 1/980 s
Porty Premium: 1/1100 s

Elinchrom:
Ranger RX: 1/2300 s
Ranger RX Speed: 1/2300 s
Ranger RX Speed AS:1/2300 s

Broncolor:
Verso2rfs: 1/1500 s
Verso4rfs: 1/750 s
Mobil: 1/650 s

Some of the manufacturers don't say if they measure at t0.1, or at t0.5 (t0.5 is used here if given.) Please check out the specs for yourself, i just skimmed web information...

Stopping power at max speed for battery packs is really important to me, because outside, trying to compensate for the sun, you are usually at max power or close. And when that girl/boy/woman/man is to be caught jumping, throwing a ball, or generally moving about in a rapid fashion, I wan't that image to be tack sharp, even on the hair, hands and feet of the person I'm photographing.

[psorantin]

Thank You for various responses.

Sounds like the AcuteB600R is a capable unit.

Portability and consistency is my primary concern; I recognize from the posts that outdoor fitness is limited. Given my existing Profoto equipment, it is then the way to go.

Peter

[SecondFocus]

I have used the Acute a couple of times now. You can see it in action (sort of) in some behind the scenes in videos on my blog. Just got to my website at http://SecondFocus.com and click on blog. You will have to scroll back some but here are two shoots where I used it, both on the beach.

On both of those shoots I used it with the Acute ring flash off camera with great results. The pack is just tiny and it is almost like just having another camera on your shoulder when you use it with the shoulder strap. Convenience and reliability are what I think of about this unit. And then it compliments my Acute 2400.

It is really an all around good choice.

[nicolaasdb]

---------

[stiksandstones]

Have you had any odd power issues using the acute 2s? Any odd fan problems?

Any one know where to get a cheap hensel porty? I have an old acute e head that id like to convert.

To the original poster, I hear nothing but great things about the acute B except for the lack of weather sealing.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167265\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I owned the new tronix XT 2400 power pack...was using it for my acute 1200R and hoped it would work with my 2400R acute pack.
Did not work with the 2400 at all, the head set to lowest power barely fired up  (fan grumbling) and recycle on one pop was long-AT LOW WATTAGE.
My 1200 pack worked 'ok' with it, but the PW inside the pack would not fire all the time (something I never experienced using AC power) and recycle on a full 1200ws pop was about 12 seconds and the fan would have some weird rpm changes, so I just did not want to jack my packs up and sold the tronix.

Looking to get the acuteb, but SNOOKs comments about it getting dirty scare me, since I shoot in the dirt.....wish I could just get a ranger kit, but I have so much invested in profoto...o well.

[stiksandstones]

Here are the flash durations for some batterypacks at full power for those interested:

Profoto:
AcuteB600r: 1/1000 s
Pro7b: 1/1400 s
ProB2: 1/2200 s

Hensel:
Porty 1200: 1/980 s
Porty Premium: 1/1100 s

Elinchrom:
Ranger RX: 1/2300 s
Ranger RX Speed: 1/2300 s
Ranger RX Speed AS:1/2300 s

Broncolor:
Verso2rfs: 1/1500 s
Verso4rfs: 1/750 s
Mobil: 1/650 s

Some of the manufacturers don't say if they measure at t0.1, or at t0.5 (t0.5 is used here if given.) Please check out the specs for yourself, i just skimmed web information...

Stopping power at max speed for battery packs is really important to me, because outside, trying to compensate for the sun, you are usually at max power or close. And when that girl/boy/woman/man is to be caught jumping, throwing a ball, or generally moving about in a rapid fashion, I wan't that image to be tack sharp, even on the hair, hands and feet of the person I'm photographing.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167280\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for those flash duration times.
In regards to the ranger packs, I was told the 'speed AS' was the ideal sports light kit (in that price range) but seems a non speed AS head will get 2300th of a second? can someone elaborate on that? Seems to me elinchroms choices are too vast and confusing??

[canmiya]

I owned the new tronix XT 2400 power pack...was using it for my acute 1200R and hoped it would work with my 2400R acute pack.
Did not work with the 2400 at all, the head set to lowest power barely fired up  (fan grumbling) and recycle on one pop was long-AT LOW WATTAGE.
My 1200 pack worked 'ok' with it, but the PW inside the pack would not fire all the time (something I never experienced using AC power) and recycle on a full 1200ws pop was about 12 seconds and the fan would have some weird rpm changes, so I just did not want to jack my packs up and sold the tronix.

Looking to get the acuteb, but SNOOKs comments about it getting dirty scare me, since I shoot in the dirt.....wish I could just get a ranger kit, but I have so much invested in profoto...o well.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=187270\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

i use two acute br's and a b2 for my location  power needs....i set the acute b's in insulated six pack sized coolers, place them on the ground and don't think twice about dirt or sand...works fine.....

[perbernal]

Hello Folks,
I am looking for a battery-based power pack for usage with my Hassy503/Aptus.

I need flash for outdoor shots to control contrast from available light.

Since I have Profoto Acute2 equipment (pack/head/modifiers), the fairly new Profoto AcuteB 600R looks interesting.

Any experience with that pack and the head?

Any advise on whether a Quantum Qflash or similar might be more suited?

I was working in the past on locations sometimes with Canon flashes (580EX) and DigitalCameraBattery power supplies, but consistency of flash output was low.

Thanks,
Peter
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167112\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Peter,

I think the Pro AcuteB is a great, great system. I got one pack end of last year for the portability of it and has since then added on another 3 packs and heads. They are really good for location work and I recently used them during two work trips to Texas and Mexico and I have only good things to say about them. When used on a lower setting for fill and rim lights the recycle time is incredibly fast and more importantly gives the typically clean "Profoto" light. Tenba has a flight case that fit two heads and packs + two spare batteries that comes in just under 50 lbs. Since the packs are not as "hardcore" as the 7 b's, I hang them directly on the light stand with a gorilla strap or piece of rope working them as counter weight as well. But if you want to use them to cut down the sky your probably better off using the more powerful 7b unless you keep the AcuteB's very close to the subject.

[godtfred]

Thanks for those flash duration times.
In regards to the ranger packs, I was told the 'speed AS' was the ideal sports light kit (in that price range) but seems a non speed AS head will get 2300th of a second? can someone elaborate on that? Seems to me elinchroms choices are too vast and confusing??
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=187273\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I have no hands on experience with the elinchrom packs. Bud i would suspect the "speed" designation to refer to recycle times, and not flash duration?

[Sean Reginald Knight]

I have no hands on experience with the elinchrom packs. Bud i would suspect the "speed" designation to refer to recycle times, and not flash duration?
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Well, there is the Freelite A head which gives a really short flash duration of 1/5120 seconds, t=0.5, when used with the Speed AS, B output, 5.7J to 366J.

Also, for one photographer's take on the Profoto AcuteB 600: [a href=\"http://briansmithphotogear.blogspot.com/search/label/Profoto]http://briansmithphotogear.blogspot.com/search/label/Profoto[/url] .

[Snook]

Hi Peter,

I think the Pro AcuteB is a great, great system. I got one pack end of last year for the portability of it and has since then added on another 3 packs and heads. They are really good for location work and I recently used them during two work trips to Texas and Mexico and I have only good things to say about them. When used on a lower setting for fill and rim lights the recycle time is incredibly fast and more importantly gives the typically clean "Profoto" light. Tenba has a flight case that fit two heads and packs + two spare batteries that comes in just under 50 lbs. Since the packs are not as "hardcore" as the 7 b's, I hang them directly on the light stand with a gorilla strap or piece of rope working them as counter weight as well. But if you want to use them to cut down the sky your probably better off using the more powerful 7b unless you keep the AcuteB's very close to the subject.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=187452\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

You summed it all up pretty much..
Just do not plan on over powering the sun 1-2 stops all day.
I really like mine but do not like it's build as much as it should have been built.. That was my gripe..:+}
All depends what you intend to use it for. It is a great little pack, recycles fast etc... etc...
Hope that helps some what..
Snook

[HarperPhotos]

Here are the flash durations for some batterypacks at full power for those interested:

Profoto:
AcuteB600r: 1/1000 s
Pro7b: 1/1400 s
ProB2: 1/2200 s

Hensel:
Porty 1200: 1/980 s
Porty Premium: 1/1100 s

Elinchrom:
Ranger RX: 1/2300 s
Ranger RX Speed: 1/2300 sRanger RX Speed AS:1/2300 s

Broncolor:
Verso2rfs: 1/1500 s
Verso4rfs: 1/750 s
Mobil: 1/650 s

Some of the manufacturers don't say if they measure at t0.1, or at t0.5 (t0.5 is used here if given.) Please check out the specs for yourself, i just skimmed web information...

Stopping power at max speed for battery packs is really important to me, because outside, trying to compensate for the sun, you are usually at max power or close. And when that girl/boy/woman/man is to be caught jumping, throwing a ball, or generally moving about in a rapid fashion, I wan't that image to be tack sharp, even on the hair, hands and feet of the person I'm photographing.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=167280\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hi Godtfred,


Thought I would also include the Bowens Explorer in your line up.

Cheers

Simon


Bowens Explorer:

Maximum Watt/Seconds
   1500 W/s (3000 W/s with Gemini sockets & 2 Esprit & 2 QUAD heads)
Recycle Time
   0.5 - 3.8 seconds
Flash Duration
   1⁄2130 - 1⁄5700 second
Flash Variability
   1⁄10 Stop increments
Sync Voltage
   6 VDC
Voltage Stabilization
   ±0.1%
Distribution
   Symmetrical or Asymmetrical
Head Outlets
   4 (2 Quad and 2 Gemini)
Flash Ready Indicator
   Battery Status, 1/1, 3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 power, Ready Light, Switchable Audible Beep
Battery
   12 VDC, 5 Ah Non-spillable sealed lead-acid battery
Sync Voltage
   Compliant to ISO 10330 standard
Built-in Slave Cell
   Yes
Circuit Protection
   Thermostat slows recharging
Resets automatically
3x 30A ATO fuses
Auto Dump
   Yes
Dimensions
   10.6 x 7.1 x 9.4" (27 x 18 x 24 cm)
Weight
   24.7 lbs (11.2 kg)