Profoto D1 reliability and user experience

[carl dw]

I occasionally come across the problem of having too much light.

I have Broncolor A4 Grafit packs which only crank down to 30J per channel. They are consistent in colour and output but too meaty so I recently bought some Broncolor Minicom 40 compact heads which have the lowest w/s rating of any Broncolor kit when switched to their "extended" low setting of 9J.

Unfortunately at this "extended" setting the output fluctuates randomly by 1/3 stop ! - on reading the manual it says in small letters that you should expect a greater tolerance with this setting - well, actually no. They all promptly went back to the supplier.

So I got to looking at the Profoto D1 250 Air which goes down to 3.9J (3 stops less than my Grafit packs).

I've had a play with one at a suppliers, popping it over and over at lowest power and it does seem to keep pretty spot on (give or take the odd 1/10th now and then).

I understand that the last generation of Profoto "compacts" were rather unreliable so me question to any owners is how do D1's stand up to professional use and would you recommend them?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Carl

[ChristopherBarrett]

Hey Carl,

I've got 10 of them.  5 1000's and 5 500's.  I've had them about two years.  The very first few had some issues but since the warranty covered modifications they and all the later purchased units have been rock solid.  All of my work is location based and the airlines have not babied them.

I was checking readings on some recently and they consistently perform to within 1/10th stop adjustments.

Totally happy with mine!

CB

[Guy Mancuso]

Hey Carl,

I've got 10 of them.  5 1000's and 5 500's.  I've had them about two years.  The very first few had some issues but since the warranty covered modifications they and all the later purchased units have been rock solid.  All of my work is location based and the airlines have not babied them.

I was checking readings on some recently and they consistently perform to within 1/10th stop adjustments.

Totally happy with mine!

CB

Good to hear I just switched today actually. LOL

[pschefz]

got mine when they came out and never had any problems....the air remotes work really well and i also got interested because they can be powered way down....super fast recycle as well....

[Dustbak]

I just got 4 of them (500's). Not much to tell about them, they work. AIR is also working but I am not yet convinced it is as solid and reliable as Pocketwizard. I don't have the units long enough to say anything about their durability.

[dergiman]

I got a D1 1000Air and a D1 500Air. I have mixed feelings about them. I prefer to use my Profoto Pro-Series packs and heads. The interface is a bit difficult to operate (modelling light brightness, AirSync channels, battery mode, etc.). The output is pretty consistent. The color is a bit off compared to the Pro-Series. It is impossible to mount them pointing straight up. The internal reflector design is not the greatest, the optional glass dome is nice and makes it behave more like a ProHead. Though, there are small diameter grids available that mount directly to the head (no reflector needed). Portability and the BatPac are great. AirSync works great. Durability? Dunno, only had them for 4 months, but a modelling light is already gone...

[Cineski]

What's off about the white balance? 

[UlfKrentz]

Hi,

why did you skip the Scoro pack? It would have done all you requested plus A LOT more.
You are able to use all your lamp bases and modifiers, you have three controlled outputs and adjustable color / flashduration. The level goes down to 0.1 (around 3J, if I remember correctly), more than three stops less than your grafit packs.

Cheers, Ulf

I occasionally come across the problem of having too much light.

I have Broncolor A4 Grafit packs which only crank down to 30J per channel. They are consistent in colour and output but too meaty so I recently bought some Broncolor Minicom 40 compact heads which have the lowest w/s rating of any Broncolor kit when switched to their "extended" low setting of 9J.

Unfortunately at this "extended" setting the output fluctuates randomly by 1/3 stop ! - on reading the manual it says in small letters that you should expect a greater tolerance with this setting - well, actually no. They all promptly went back to the supplier.

So I got to looking at the Profoto D1 250 Air which goes down to 3.9J (3 stops less than my Grafit packs).

I've had a play with one at a suppliers, popping it over and over at lowest power and it does seem to keep pretty spot on (give or take the odd 1/10th now and then).

I understand that the last generation of Profoto "compacts" were rather unreliable so me question to any owners is how do D1's stand up to professional use and would you recommend them?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Carl

[ChristopherBarrett]

By the way, I quickly added the zoom reflectors with grid lips (9"?) to them.  Even though I have the flat diffusers, the reflectors still add up to a stop of output.  They do recycle wicked fast.  I remember my old Elinchrome and Balcars (remember Balcar?) used to take 3 seconds to recycle.

[carl dw]

By the way, I quickly added the zoom reflectors with grid lips (9"?) to them.  Even though I have the flat diffusers, the reflectors still add up to a stop of output.  They do recycle wicked fast.  I remember my old Elinchrome and Balcars (remember Balcar?) used to take 3 seconds to recycle.

You are saying all the right things. I figured the zoom reflectors are a must have as well as the dome attachments for beauty dish etc.

Belcar...mmmm and how could I forget lugging Strobe kit around in my days as assisting!

With so much Bron kit it's a bummer to be looking at other makes but I think I'm going to give Profoto a go.

Thanks for your opinion,

Carl

[carl dw]

I got a D1 1000Air and a D1 500Air. I have mixed feelings about them. I prefer to use my Profoto Pro-Series packs and heads. The interface is a bit difficult to operate (modelling light brightness, AirSync channels, battery mode, etc.). The output is pretty consistent. The color is a bit off compared to the Pro-Series. It is impossible to mount them pointing straight up. The internal reflector design is not the greatest, the optional glass dome is nice and makes it behave more like a ProHead. Though, there are small diameter grids available that mount directly to the head (no reflector needed). Portability and the BatPac are great. AirSync works great. Durability? Dunno, only had them for 4 months, but a modelling light is already gone...

I do appreciate your comments, but D1 does seem to be the most cost effective way ahead for the amount of time I'm going to be using them along side my Bron stuff.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Carl

[carl dw]

What's off about the white balance? 

Hi, Do you mean next to the Bron kit or just the quality of D1 colour temperature stability generally?

Carl

[carl dw]

Hi,

why did you skip the Scoro pack? It would have done all you requested plus A LOT more.
You are able to use all your lamp bases and modifiers, you have three controlled outputs and adjustable color / flashduration. The level goes down to 0.1 (around 3J, if I remember correctly), more than three stops less than your grafit packs.

Cheers, Ulf

Hi Ulf,

I skipped the Scoro pack for a couple of reasons. Although they can be turned down I can't see the point on spending £8,400 on one new pack; using compact heads means I have additional heads too - not just additional power, and for a fraction of the Scoro price. I don't use any of the fancy features on my Grafit packs so no amount on new Scoro gizmos/bells/whistles is going to seduce 8 big ones out of my wallet!

If money was no object, I'd do as you suggest.

Thanks for your thoughts,

Carl

[dergiman]

What's off about the white balance? 

I didn´t do any tests but the images taken with the Pro-Series just have more pop, contrast, crispness and better color clarity. Hard to explain scientifically. Maybe it is just an illusion but i feel this way.