PROFOTO – TRAVELLING LIGHTS
Swedish professional flash company Profoto has cleverly reinvented itself to meet the changing demands of the lighting market, and is now the leader in portable batterypowered systems.
Back in 2014, Profoto created headlines when it launched the world’s first flash monobloc with TTL automatic exposure control. The batterypowered B1 brought a new level of convenience to using pro-level flash equipment on location, and Profoto has since launched a range of innovative lighting products with an emphasis on portability and flexibility. Along the way too, Profoto has developed an extensive system of OCF – Off Camera Flash – lightshaping accessories to further enhance the creative possibilities when shooting on location, no matter how remote.
The Profoto B10 Plus takes the concept of a powerful but portable flash monobloc even further as it packs 500 joules of flash power, but weighs in at just 1.9kg – and this includes the battery pack plus the light stand adapter – and is just 23.5cm in length. In fact, it’s not much bulkier overall than a largish telephoto lens. Conveniently, The B10 Plus monobloc can be operated entirely wirelessly, making it suitable for a huge variety of applications when shooting on location.
The lithium-ion battery pack is good for around 200 full-power flashes, but this can be extended further if using a lower flash setting, and here the B10 Plus offers a ten-stop adjustment range. At maximum power, recycling is still completed in just 2.5 seconds.
For video work, the B10 Plus can also function as a continuous light source via its LED modelling lamp, with a maximum brightness of up to 2500 lumens and a running duration of 75 minutes. The brightness is adjustable as is the colour temperature, which has a range of 3,000 to 6,500 Kelvin to enable closer matching with the ambient lighting.
The B10 Plus can be triggered and controlled wirelessly using any Profoto AirTTL remote – over a range of up to 300 metres – or the A1/ A1X on-camera flashes. Both TTL auto exposure control and manual control are available (plus HSS high-speed sync at up to 1/8000 second), and AirTTL remotes are available for Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus and Sony. Additionally, the B10 Plus can be wirelessly controlled from a smartphone via its built-in Bluetooth connection and using the Profoto iPhone app, which also allows for firmware upgrades.
For creative lighting effects there are a dozen light shapers in Profoto’s compact and lightweight OCF series, plus 120 more lightshaping tools in the full Profoto range.
Profoto’s latest on- camera flash adds AirX wireless connectivity to a long list of features and capabilities.
Profoto redefined the on-camera flash with the original A1, which further evolved with the A1X, and has been upgraded again with the latest
A10 model. The A10 has Profoto’s AirX Bluetooth LE wireless technology built-in, enabling creative lighting control when shooting with a smartphone (via the Profoto app).
The A10 also incorporates the same AirTTL and HSS auto flash exposure control – for the Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Sony auto flash systems – as Profoto’s portable professional flash products. This allows for full integration with these units or the use of multiple A10 flashes in a wireless TTL setup.
Like the original, the A10 has a round-shaped flash head designed to create a quality of light that’s both natural and beautiful with a pleasing soft-smooth fall-off that blends seamlessly with the ambient light. The flash head is adjustable for tilt and swing, plus it incorporates a motorised zooming function. An LED modelling lamp is built-in and, drawing on Profoto’s ‘big flash’ expertise, there’s a system of six light-shaping accessories that quickly and easily connect and disconnect via a magnetic click-on coupling. The choice of light shapers includes a dome diffuser, a gel filter kit and a grid/gel kit.
The A10’s maximum flash power output is 76 joules with a nine-stop adjustment range. There are now 20 wireless channels and the maximum operational range is 300 metres. The A10’s highspeed flash sync (HSS) enables shooting at shutter speeds of up to 1/8000 second. Depending on the power setting, the flash duration ranges from 1/800 to 1/20,000 second. A USB-C connection is provided to facilitate firmware upgrades. Fitted with its battery pack, the A10 weighs 560g. The new lithium-ion battery packs gives up to 450 flashes at full power and the recycle time (again to full power) is just one second. Full recharging of the battery takes 115 minutes.