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Author Topic: Broncolor or Profoto?  (Read 27999 times)

andreagenor

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Broncolor or Profoto?
« on: January 08, 2012, 01:10:33 am »

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a new generator and would like other opinions.
I see two options, first Broncolor Senso A4 2400 and second Profoto D4 2400.
What would be the best option?

Sorry my English!
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HarperPhotos

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2012, 01:54:23 am »

Hello,

The first thing is to consider in purchasing a new generator is the company you are thinking of dealing with especially the after sales servicing and if they have loan generators available in case yours needs to be repair.

I have been using Bowens generators now for 27 years and can say they are very reliable and also a lot cheaper than Broncolor and Profoto. Also Bowens have a new 2400 watt pack coming out in the first 1/4 of this year.

Another brand which has a very good reputation is Elinchrom. If I had to start a fresh with a new lighting system Elinchrom would be my first choice.

Cheers

Simon
« Last Edit: January 08, 2012, 02:17:24 am by HarperPhotos »
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Simon Harper
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bcooter

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2012, 02:16:34 am »

Depends on where you are located.

Europe seems on equal with Broncolor, the U.S. (especially in rental) is more profoto.

It also depends on how much you want to expand.

First do yourself a favor and rent both sets, or find a dealer that will toss in the rental once you make a purchase.

I don't know about Broncolor but Profoto has a different recycle rate on European current vs. U.S.

Also profo's D4's have a heavy draw on the mains, so if you work location that is something to consider.

They are all very good, both companies are top of the line, though I'd also look at less costly versions like the profoto monoblocks or their Acute series.

Now if you plan to move to continuous light, Bron has Kobald and most of the fixtures are interchangeable on their HMI's.

Profoto also has HMI's but the fans run while shooting which can be an issue with sound.

If I wanted to continue with profto HMI's I'd go k5600 which are more robust and the fixures match profoto.

Once again, test them in what you do, what you need and think about expansion.

Personally I don't think any light head with a standard reflector is prettier than profoto with the frosted cap, but I have both profoto flash and Broncolor HMI's and both are excellent.

IMO

BC
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henrikfoto

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2012, 04:10:38 am »

I tested Bron and Pro together with their representatives to see which was the most color-stabil.

Bron was clearly the best. But thats just one of he issues to consider.
On the other side I feel Pro is a bit more rubust.

Henrik
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amsp

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2012, 04:53:45 am »

Profoto all the way. I've used them all my professional life without as much as a hiccup. There's a reason they dominate the rental-market, they're built like tanks and they just keep working year after year.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2012, 04:56:50 am by amsp »
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PdF

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2012, 06:50:25 am »

I'm using Broncolor equipment for 35 years, sometimes in very complex circumstances, often with the need for very high accuracy (I'm a multishoot-addict). No major problems, this is the top. So, I do not need to know if the others are good! In addition, the service of the Belgian importer (Hotz) is impeccable.

Currently, I use every day 8 power packs and 15 lampheads or lightboxes. Everything works fine.

PdF
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Dustbak

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2012, 08:09:41 am »

I was in exactly the same position last year with the choice being, Scoro, D4 or Pro8A. Eventually I went with the D4.

The D4 comes very close to the Scoro with color stability (I do a lot of multishot too) where the Scoro has the ability to vary the color temp actually overall the Scoro just had a tad more options and possibilitie but this wasn't something that is absolutely necessary to me.

Considering I found both Bron as well as Profoto in many quality areas pretty equal it came down to resale value, rental possibilities & second hand availability. It also helped I could get a second hand D4 with some acute heads which after upgrading to an Air version came at around 50% of the price of new. Try finding new 2nd hand Broncolor equipment.

Another consideration over here was that Profoto is very well supported where as the Broncolor dealer just went belly up. I could have used both and I am pretty sure I would have been equally happy :)
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Chris_Brown

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2012, 09:13:30 am »

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a new generator and would like other opinions.
I see two options, first Broncolor Senso A4 2400 and second Profoto D4 2400.
What would be the best option?
It's all about repairs. Both brands will provide quality lighting and accessories for modifying that light, but the time will come when the pack you bought will need repair or maintenance. Which brand will provide you with the best after-sales service?
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andreagenor

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2012, 04:01:49 pm »

Simon, There isn't Elinchrom and Bowens in Brazil.

bcooter, I'm in Brazil, here there are only one Broncolor and Profoto seller here, end there are others national brands like Atek that I use today. www.atek.com.br
I don't want continuous light.


The service for me is less important because the two company are so good support here, i find it is because there are only two here.
My questions are more technical.
I like Broncolor Scoro because appears for me more complex and settable and i like this control.
I like to use many light points and D4 appears cool with your four lamp sockets.
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ctz

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2012, 05:17:27 pm »


I like to use many light points and D4 appears cool with your four lamp sockets.

D4's 4 lamp sockets are a bit too many (overkill), unless you use them mainly for table shots (I do).
In this case the somewhat short head cable length is ok, because you don't place the heads at long distance between them around a table.
But for people shots or larger sets I've found that I can barely fill 2 or 3 sockets, otherwise the short cable is keeping the heads too close one to another. In this cases I would stick with some pro7s or 7a.
Although, 4 sockets are more than fine if you're planning to use multiple sockets heads, as the twin head, ore some strip lights (they tend to use two or three flash lamps, i.e. sockets per "head").
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andreagenor

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #10 on: January 08, 2012, 11:20:58 pm »

I understand and I was really thinking to buy two power packs and many heads. i.e If I buy profoto D4 I will buy 8 heads.
Anyway there are extension cords and with two packs I think that will work.
Today I do with one power pack 1200w/s + 3 times 200w/s monolight.
The actual power pack is good, but the control is not precise, there aren't label in switch that indicate what power you are using.
Worse, the monolight only have 1/1, 1/2 power.
http://atek.com.br/paginas/produtos/pop_up.php?id=388

Other thing, I want more power too, because about less than one year I switch Canon to Mamiya and I'm  fighting with shorter focusing.

I don't know If I'm still using wrong lens, but when I shoot products I want all product sharpen but normally my lights can't do power for I using f22 or f32, and I think that with 2400w/s I can do.

I can't explain in English all the problems I'm facing with this world change.

Sorry my bad English, the google translate is help me.

:)
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KimD

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2012, 03:35:49 am »

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dergiman

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2012, 04:21:30 am »



This video was done by BronImaging. Do I smell bias here? I have shot water with my Pro7a and even older Pro6 packs and it was pin sharp, Pro8 should be even better in this regard.
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ctz

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2012, 04:49:35 am »

This video was done by BronImaging. Do I smell bias here? I have shot water with my Pro7a and even older Pro6 packs and it was pin sharp, Pro8 should be even better in this regard.

+1
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MarkoRepse

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2012, 07:10:03 am »

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amsp

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2012, 08:18:03 am »

Another comparison review: http://biwastudios.blogspot.com/2010/02/broncolor-scoroa4-vs-profoto-8a.html

I'd actually recommend reading the other review linked at the end of your link too, it touches on many more aspects and some of them are far more important in my mind. Here's a couple that stood out to me...


"In use, we’d have to give the Profoto pack major points for speed and ease of use - both in actual controls and in intuitive use. Throughout the testing, every time we needed to change the settings on the packs, we simply changed the Profoto to what we needed. The Broncolor was always a matter of sitting down, reading through the menu and trying to figure out if you were doing what you actually wanted to do."

"And the fan noise on the Broncolor heads is not only loud, but it has an annoying pitch. Much of this, like the controls on a camera, you can get used to. However, working with lighting is a little different than working with a camera during a shoot. The lighting system is best when it’s invisible. There’s enough to worry about on a set without having to deal with things like tangled cords, annoying fans, and weird connectors. When I am working with a system for a few hours and feel a sense of relief when I turn the fans off, I know that there’s something wrong."

"This is a very important performance difference in any shooting that requires some horsepower. Sets, room shots, people, dancers, medium-scale explosions - you get the idea. If you’re looking for astoundingly crisp, frozen action of tabletop subjects where you can move the lights in and run them at minimum power and still retain decent depth of field, you’re probably going to want the Broncolor. If you have something bigger where you need more light, more depth of field and still need to try to freeze action, then the Profoto is going to give you noticeably better results."

"The Broncolor system has remarkable color accuracy within one small piece of the test range, in this case, ironically, at the highest power. It holds the place of both the highest accuracy and consistency, and the lowest when shot with the Color Control turned off. The Profoto system has a fairly consistent margin of error throughout its power range. It’s interesting that these conclusions run parallel to what we saw in the duration testing. One system, the Broncolor, is quite remarkable within some fairly narrow parameters, and the other, the Profoto, has a more generalized, more consistent performance throughout its working range."

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MarkoRepse

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #16 on: January 09, 2012, 09:14:24 am »

Of course! I assumed it would read after the first review.
Here is the link if anyone missed it: http://www.h2hreviews.com/article/Lighting-H2H-Profoto-Pro-8a-2400-Air-vs-Broncolor-Scoro-A4S.html
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Dustbak

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #17 on: January 09, 2012, 11:55:26 am »

Yep, I read both reviews when I was about the choose between the Bron en Profoto too. To be honest I already chose the Profoto before.
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geesbert

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #18 on: January 09, 2012, 02:24:33 pm »

I use a d4 for tabletop food stuff, often all sockets filled. for me the reasons not to go for bron is my dislike of push buttons for incremental settings and, much more important, with the scoro i can't switch the individual model lights on or off from the pack, a feature i use constantly. When i tried the Scoro for a couple of days my assistant told me he would quit if i kept on sending him around the set to swich the bron model lights off by the head.

with both makes it is deeply annoying how much they charge for simple accessories, at least with Bron it seem to be genuine, most Profoto stuff is just relabled (like Bacht or Bowens) with price doubled or tripled. 

two lightformers by Bron still spark my envy: the satellite dish and the Flooter. there is no real profoto substitute for that.
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Peter Devos

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Re: Broncolor or Profoto?
« Reply #19 on: January 09, 2012, 03:32:08 pm »

You can easely mount a profoto torch in a Satelite ( if you are a bit of a handyman.... or knows one :-)
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