Lighting flash duration question

[BrendanStewart]

Wow all this talk of lighting and no mention of Elinchrom?

Do you want your fastest duration at low power? Or with higher power? If higher, Elinchrom is a good option.

Specs: 1/5120th sounds pretty good to me. A head on B port. I have the Ranger and Quadra systems. Absolute workhorses which won't break the bank;
http://elinchrom.com/pdf.php?p_id=62&file=http://elinchrom.s3.amazonaws.com/download/ranger_rx_speed_as_eng.pdf

[K.C.]

Wow all this talk of lighting and no mention of Elinchrom?

Well the OP did say he wanted to stay with Bowens.

As for the Golbraith review, consider that he gets the lights for free. Not sure how you keep your reviews objective at that point. Compared to Bowens quality, well, you get what you pay for.

[roskav]

Hi All

Thanks for all the replies again.  I'm still waiting for finance to come through so it is interesting to hear all of your opinions.  I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't let my current system dictate what I go for.  There are only some Beauty dishes and snoots that I can't adapt to another system.   Elinchrom do offer a well priced set of options, and there are some dealers in this country, which helps.  I have rented the quadra, which wasn't enough power for good daylight options/ shots.  I hadn't fully figured out if you can use the hypersync system with pocket wizard on it... which might change things.  It seems though if you are using a system that can do both studio and location with an emphasis on studio, that there are several well priced possibilities out there.  (recession has been dragging on here for a bit)  I'll let you all know!  BTW thanks for the heads up on Robs freebies.  The Einstein system does seem very good on paper and for the price too.  Their modifiers are also reasonably priced. 

R

[Paul Barker]

Good article, another one to digest (8 pages)  - http://www.h2hreviews.com/article/Lighting-H2H-Profoto-Pro-8a-2400-Air-vs-Broncolor-Scoro-A4S/Introduction-The-Matchup.html

After reading that review, I'm happy to stick with Profoto. There are swings and roundabouts with any system.

Back to the question, I'd have thought the Einstein's are a good option to freeze action and can take conventional modifiers, if you can live with 80w/s or less to freeze the action. But as mentioned, with DSLR sensors, you can get away with higher iso. I quite like that they go down to 2.5w/s as well, if you want  to use wider apertures. Also compact and good value... I'm quite tempted to get a set of 3!

I noticed these pics shot with Einstein's over in the amateur photography threads on this car forum, of a girl wearing a 'milk' dress by Simon_j, apparently an amateur doing it just for fun... rather good, I thought.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=109&t=671452&i=1220&mid=0&nmt=Random+portraits+thread

[gss]

Profoto, Elinchrom, hensel and the likes cannot compete with lights using IGBT technology - if freezing fast moving subjects is the priority.

Profoto and Elinchrom both compete quite well at full power.  Actually they compete quite well at 1/4 power.  If freezing fast moving objects which need light is a priority, I would absolutely go with something other than the Einsteins.

Hensel, with its SpeedMax, competes quite handily with the Einsteins.  Granted, the Hensel SpeedMax runs around 10 times the cost of the Einsteins.

[UlfKrentz]

After reading that review, I'm happy to stick with Profoto. There are swings and roundabouts with any system.

Paul,

there has been a long discussion about this article here on LL. In case you have some time left...

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=39927.0

The H2H test contains some mistakes and leads to results that I could not verify. I found similar effects like in the biwa tests.
Profoto Pro Series excel in high power short flash duration because of their higher voltage (1000V). The Bron Grafit and Scoro units work with an active IGBT controlled cut off of the light emission that produces razor sharp edges when the output power level is reduced for more than about 2 f-stops. Additionally they don´t rise the power current like the ones with three electrode flashtubes or / and higher voltage.

Some Elinchrom units use a closed ring shape flashtube which produces short flash duration like the ones with three electrodes.

Cheers, Ulf

[Paul Barker]

Thanks Ulf, I had a read through that. I think all testing is bound to be flawed, one way or another. I think it important for anyone investing in a system, to do their own tests and be happy the system will work well for 'them'.

I remember having a demo of the grafits some years back, in the days of film, and it put me off when the rep started talking about colour temp changing if you adjusted duration. With all packs set the same, not so much of a problem shooting digital. But I imagined I'd accidentally leave one pack at different settings and get film back with one light popping bluer than the others.

There's no doubting the Bron is very sophisticated in what it can do, but it's a two edged sword, having to wade through menus etc.  I prefer the simplicity of analogue dials so I can just get on with the job fast. I also prefer the broader zoom range and round plugs rather than flat, which I've had sockets and plugs break with Elicnchrom. Like everything in life, it's just come down to personal preference. If you buy into a system and it does works well for 98% of the time, you can always rent if you need to solve a special problem.

Cheers

[Ellis Vener]

As for the Galbraith review, consider that he gets the lights for free. Not sure how you keep your reviews objective at that point.

By doing exactly what Rob does, running lots of objective tests and pushing the gear hard in actual shoots. The stuff either works or it doesn't.  

[Ellis Vener]

Profoto and Elinchrom both compete quite well at full power.  Actually they compete quite well at 1/4 power.  If freezing fast moving objects which need light is a priority, I would absolutely go with something other than the Einsteins.

Hensel, with its SpeedMax, competes quite handily with the Einsteins.  Granted, the Hensel SpeedMax runs around 10 times the cost of the Einsteins.

Have you actually shot with Einsteins?

[Luxferre]

Some years ago i had Bowens espirit 750 PRO... as far i remeber the flash duration for these heads was about 1/9000. These monoheads where with 3 electrod flash lamps.

If You ar thinkig about generator, then probablu go for profoto or bron... (i swiched to profoto, and I am happy)

[gss]

Have you actually shot with Einsteins?

Have you actually shot with Profoto 8A, Elinchrom packs and Hensel SpeedMax?

[UlfKrentz]

Have you actually shot with Profoto 8A, Elinchrom packs and Hensel SpeedMax?

Flash duration of Hensel SpeedMax @400Ws t0.5 1/1200s or 1/2000s depending on the flash tube installed does not sound very impressive.
What about color temperature shift? I did not find any information in the detailed specs. Complete different approach than the Einsteins.

But if with a max of 31 flashes a second...may be we´ll find a way to snyc to video  

[Ellis Vener]

Have you actually shot with Profoto 8A, Elinchrom packs and Hensel SpeedMax?

Profoto 8A: Yes.
Elinchrom:(various ones): Yes.
Hensel SpeedMax: No.
Broncolor Scoro: Yes.
Einstein: Yes.