I know this is the medium/large format forum, but it seems way more likely someone here will know about these than in any of the other forums on the site:
Hey guys, I am hoping someone here has experience with these bad boys. I can't find any info on these two:
Profoto Small Fresnel - US$874
Profoto Small Spot - US$1325
Both mount directly onto the heads but I can't find info about them other than that.
It seems like the current alternative is the Profoto Multispot (much more expensive at US$3013).
If anyone knows anything about the first two I would really appreciate it. A fresnel lens modifier is *MUCH* more attractive to me than buying a specialized head just for fresnel.
I don´t know for what you plan to use them. There are some things to consider:
Fresnels consume A LOT of energy, be prepared to use max energy of your pack if you want to use it for fashion with MFDB (you might not be able to freeze motion).
Because the flashtubes cannot be build as small as modelling lamps they won´t focus that much as they pretend to do.
The way they render the light fall off is very special and can definitly not be compared with reflektors or grids.
That small spot is something complete different, it produces a very hard light with strong, sharp shadows and usually has a hard cutoff as well (imagine the light from something like a slide-projektor), very special thing, we rarely use this kind of light, but if you need it there is no other way to handle it that easy.
The small fresnel is the "budget" version of the true (with the back mirror) fresnel, may be good enough for most things.
I agree, the profoto stuff is very expensive, taking a look at bacht or something custom made is a good idea.
I love fresnel lighting in combination with butterflies, love them for stills, love them for faces, too.
Try to rent these things first, take a look what they can do for you before buying.
Cheers
Ulf