Help setting up 1/1600 flash sync

[george2787]

Apart from the sticker price, zilch !

Yeah... it could miss a zero if you ask me 

[gazwas]

just out of curiosity... what's not to like in the profoto B4? it seems "perfect"

Taking cost out of the equation, size and weight are a massive issue with the B4. Next to each other the Move looks like a toy but is much more feature packed, more powerful, wider range of "optimal" flash duration, more colour stable etc, etc.

I tried the B1's and while a great light I prefer a separate pack/head. I was all set to buy a couple of B4's to go along with my AcuteB's until I was introduced to Bron and the Move at a trade show and it was enough for me to dump all my profoto gear and jump ship. I honestly think anyone who tries a Move will be hooked, they're that good.

[Chris Valites]

Taking cost out of the equation, size and weight are a massive issue with the B4. Next to each other the Move looks like a toy but is much more feature packed, more powerful, wider range of "optimal" flash duration, more colour stable etc, etc.

I tried the B1's and while a great light I prefer a separate pack/head. I was all set to buy a couple of B4's to go along with my AcuteB's until I was introduced to Bron and the Move at a trade show and it was enough for me to dump all my profoto gear and jump ship. I honestly think anyone who tries a Move will be hooked, they're that good.

Why do you prefer a separate pack and head? Just curious on this side, as I'm a huge fan of monoblocs as I tend to be monkeying around my sets so much that the less cables, the better. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose, but I always love hearing from other people's personal takes; you never know what you might pick up!

[gazwas]

Why do you prefer a separate pack and head?

Lots of reasons but I like the buttons on the ground rather that 3m in the air. Putting a head and 6ft softbox up the the air is much less of a worry with smaller and lighter heads hanging off the stand. The main reason however is I much prefer the size of the heads and I especially found the B1 plus modifier to be too big. I shoot a lot of interiors and the B1 was difficult to hide. The AcuteB heads and now the MobiLED heads are tiny in comparison and can be hidden almost anywhere.

[Chris Valites]

Lots of reasons but I like the buttons on the ground rather that 3m in the air. Putting a head and 6ft softbox up the the air is much less of a worry with smaller and lighter heads hanging off the stand. The main reason however is I much prefer the size of the heads and I especially found the B1 plus modifier to be too big. I shoot a lot of interiors and the B1 was difficult to hide. The AcuteB heads and now the MobiLED heads are tiny in comparison and can be hidden almost anywhere.

Ahhh, right on. I got so used to using the PocketWizard ControlTL system (and now the Profoto Air system) that button control never really bothered me much. I should have realized about hiding them though; goes to show what shooting so much in the studio does, you just hide stuff with lens control!

Thanks for the feedback!

[Transposure]

Chris,
Although we have strayed off topic, since there seems to be interest, I'll add a few cents...
And since these packs sync up the speeds questioned, it is not totally off topic....lol
I use a mixture of Profoto packs and heads (B4's, D4, 8A, D1's).  Whenever I have a D1 on a stand, I am always aware that if the wind takes it down, I am risking damage to everything (head, electronics, flashcube, modeling light, case), except the power cable (yuck, yuck).  With the separate packs and heads, regardless of brand, the expensive part is safe down low and the less expensive part is up high at risk.  A Pro B Plus head on a stand fell over a month ago due to the wind and I couldn't catch it in time.  The flash tube alone was over $400.  That was a lesson.  Ugh.
But there is another benefit that I like.  With the separate pack and head, I have attached these Home Depot heavy duty velcro straps with integral swivel carabiners to all of the pack handles.  I connect those to the light stands at their bases, under tension.  That way, you have built-in, always ready, ballast for your stands.  Unfortunately that pack ballast, as heavy as it was, was no match for the large soft box and the wind on that fateful day a month ago.  Cha-ching!
Ken

[gazwas]

Ahhh, right on. I got so used to using the PocketWizard ControlTL system (and now the Profoto Air system) that button control never really bothered me much.

It's not just the button pressing as the RFS 2.1 triggers do everything the Air Remote does but sometimes it's just nice to know what power you're at when it's buried in a modifier and IMO adjusting the power of multiple heads (in a studio) is still much quicker manually (especially out of the same pack) that jumping about lamp addresses on the remotes.

[jojo204]

But there is another benefit that I like.  With the separate pack and head, I have attached these Home Depot heavy duty velcro straps with integral swivel carabiners to all of the pack handles.  I connect those to the light stands at their bases, under tension.  That way, you have built-in, always ready, ballast for your stands.  Unfortunately that pack ballast, as heavy as it was, was no match for the large soft box and the wind on that fateful day a month ago.  Cha-ching!
Ken

I would love to see this set up.  Sounds like a great idea

[jojo204]

Also as we are sort of on the topic.  Has any one tried to use the Profioto B1 Airs at full power and at higher sync speeds of 1/800 or above.  From what I have been reading it doesnt look possible even with the short flash duration but would love to hear if any one has real world experience with it.  Trying to air travel with 2 ranger packs, 4 batteries, and 4 heads is heavy.  I was thinking of jumping ship and getting 4 b1's instead.

thanks

[Steve Hendrix]

Chris,
Although we have strayed off topic, since there seems to be interest, I'll add a few cents...
And since these packs sync up the speeds questioned, it is not totally off topic....lol
I use a mixture of Profoto packs and heads (B4's, D4, 8A, D1's).  Whenever I have a D1 on a stand, I am always aware that if the wind takes it down, I am risking damage to everything (head, electronics, flashcube, modeling light, case), except the power cable (yuck, yuck).  With the separate packs and heads, regardless of brand, the expensive part is safe down low and the less expensive part is up high at risk.  A Pro B Plus head on a stand fell over a month ago due to the wind and I couldn't catch it in time.  The flash tube alone was over $400.  That was a lesson.  Ugh.
But there is another benefit that I like.  With the separate pack and head, I have attached these Home Depot heavy duty velcro straps with integral swivel carabiners to all of the pack handles.  I connect those to the light stands at their bases, under tension.  That way, you have built-in, always ready, ballast for your stands.  Unfortunately that pack ballast, as heavy as it was, was no match for the large soft box and the wind on that fateful day a month ago.  Cha-ching!
Ken

As a counter-note, (only) on the topic of disaster budgets, the replacement flashtubes for D1/B1 are $156 vs $400 for the Pro B Heads.


Steve Hendrix
Capture Integration

[jojo204]

Hey Steve

Have you guys done any testing with the Profoto B1 airs at the shop yet?  Full power or even at 7-8 to see how fast it will sync with a 645DF+.  interested to find out.  In the Phase One videos where the photographer is shooting with the B1's and an IQ250 in Australia. Im wondering at what power he we at and what sync speed.  There's no mention of it during the video. 

If you can shed any light on this it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[gazwas]

Has any one tried to use the Profioto B1 Airs at full power and at higher sync speeds of 1/800 or above. From what I have been reading it doesnt look possible even with the short flash duration but would love to hear if any one has real world experience with it.

I've not seen that mentioned before. Do you mean physically won't sync or sync but with major loss of output at full power and high camera sync speed?

I never tested this when I had my B1's but looking at the specs the B1 in FREEZE mode should sync above 1/800s from about power setting 8.5 (190Ws t.01) and below. By a power setting of 8.0 (125Ws t.01) you'll probably safely sync at 1/1600s without experiencing light loss. In normal flash mode (colour stable) you'd probably have to drop the power down to 6.0 (30Ws t.01) to get good flash durations for high speed sync.

[Chris Valites]

If I get a chance, I'm going to test this later today, but my guess is that at lower power (faster flash duration) you'll see less dramatic light falloff than at full power, as the entire output of the flash will emitted in a shorter time at lower power than at full.

[jojo204]

would love to hear your findings.

thanks