BOWENS: COOL UNDER PRESSURE
BOWENS CREO FLASH POWER PACKS
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE come together in Bowens’s new family of Creo flash power packs, which are designed for hard work.
The inventor of the flash monobloc – back in 1963 for all you trivia buffs – is also a dab hand at making flash power packs. The Creo series is the latest-generation of flash packs from Bowens and they’re designed to deliver very rapid recycling and ultra-short flash durations with a high level of colour temperature stability. This is achieved via a more sophisticated cooling system which prevents excessive temperature build-ups when shooting long sequences, ensuring the Creo packs always operate at optimum performance.
The Bowens Creo flash packs also introduce contemporary styling, with the convenience of a membrane-type control panel and LED digital displays. There are two models in the current line-up; the Creo 1200 and the Creo 2400, which deliver a maximum flash power of 1200 and 2400 joules respectively. Both models have two flash head outlets with asymmetric power distribution. The Creo 1200 has a nine-stop power output range for each outlet while the Creo 2400’s range is a handy ten stops. These are adjustable in either one-tenth or full-stop increments. The flash duration at the minimum power setting is a lightningfast 1/5000 second on both models, and the recycle times to full power are 0.5 seconds for the Creo 1200 and 0.9 seconds for the Creo 2400. Both models can fire off sequences at up to eight flashes per second and have the capacity to deliver up to 1000 flashes per hour thanks to the new cooling system which employs multiple fans. These automatically switch on progressively as required to increase the airflow through the pack. Additionally, a charge limiter monitors the system conditions and will automatically adjust the charge rate if necessary to protect the pack.
Colour temperature stability is quoted at no more than +/- 80 degrees Kelvin across the power ranges, and the flash-to-flash stability is quoted at +/- 40 degrees Kelvin.
The Bowens Creo packs have automatic voltage sensing so they can be used anywhere in the world. They are equipped with a ‘Radio Trigger Card’ slot enabling the ‘Pulsar Radio Rx Card’ to be used for wireless triggering and control with Bowen’s Pulsar radio trigger. Alternatively, the optional Creo Infra-Red remote control is available. Bowens has also introduced a new Creo-series flash head which is more compact and lighter than the Quad heads, although these are still compatible with the new packs. The Creo head has built-in cooling and a protection system to maintain colour temperature stability. The Creo head is compatible with Bowens Quad packs and the new Creo packs are fully compatible with the Bowens ‘S-type’ accessories.
Bowens flash equipment is distributed in Australia by C.R. Kennedy & Company and for more information visit www.bowensdirect.com.au