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Elinchrom Ranger RX users...
I've been eye humping a battery pack unit for a while now and I'm pretty sure I'm going for the Elinchrom as their current promotion kicks butt. Couple questions for anyone who has used them. 1. pocketswizards vs El's remote-- experiences suggestions? I've got a couple PWs now, but not sure if the cables for the units would be worth it in terms of feature/functionality when considering the Elinchrom IR unit. 2. Anyone use the 7' Octa on a freelight head? Any issues or do you recommend going with the small 5' unit? 3. I'm pretty geeked about adding a pack in general, so anything else any battery pack guys want to share-- lets hear it. It was a tough choice between the Acute 2s, Porty, and ranger! Jun 18 07 05:08 pm Link I am right there with you... The Ranger promo looks great. I am also looking at the Profoto acuteB, and the Porty. I have been split on this for a while. But I think I'll go with the Ranger. Here's why... I will be able to use other elinchrom heads (via adapter, can with porty, can't w/ acuteB). Also best power to recycle speed, and shortest duration. The only reason I am going with the Ranger (speed AS) over Porty Premium, is it's easier to get service where I am, and a wider range of lighting tools. As for the Octabank... I have used Elinchrom Octa with Profoto Pro 7's and it rocked... next to the Bron Para it was the best source I have worked with. I plan on renting the above units, if I can, to test them out. Shhot me a message and I let you know what I find. Yours, Phil Jun 18 07 08:52 pm Link Wow-- almost deva vous... Ditto all that and the other factor is that the ranger speed AS is around 500 bucks cheaper than the porty premo. Granted the porty does have a transmit and receiver, but the ranger still beats it by 200 or so bucks if I subtract that, which pays for a grid and 27" dish. The Octa is the best modifyier that I've used by far in my life, but then again I've never been allowed near Broncolor stuff  I've read a couple posts about people who say the ranger speedring, etc isn't the best of fits, thus am a little curious given the weight and size of the octa. I'll be getting my kit next week-- lets stay in touch and trade notes. Jun 18 07 09:32 pm Link I shoot elinchrom and love them. Love the modifiers. Even caused my studiomate to switch to elinchrom. I've rented the ranger and have been very satisfied. Everytime a check comes in I think about putting it all into a ranger. I also love that with a $70 adapter I can use any head already in the studio including the ringlight. The reason I haven't bought one yet is most of the paid work I'm getting I don't need a battery pack and when I do need to rent, the rental house either just lets me borrow or charges me next to nothing. I'm interested in your experience after you receive yours. Jun 19 07 02:37 am Link will do. In fact, I'll keep this thread going with comments and some example images as I go. There is a major void in terms of actual lighting information on the web... plenty of generic info, pricelists, and people saying what others should buy, but that's it. Jun 19 07 08:40 am Link Package arrived late yesterday afternoon. Nothing of major note, cept that the spare battery arrived with several surface scratches and one of the reflectors had a major ding on it. Sent off an email to B&H support on it. As for first impressions, the pack was sturdy. As noted elsewhere, the ring/modifier connector is a bit cheesy, but works. The manual doesn't say much of anything, but the unit is intuitive to use. It came fully charged, so prep was just insert the fuse and connect the head... Jun 27 07 10:40 am Link I'm now looking at the Ranger RX Speed AS after reading your post. I was all for getting the porty premium but the faster recycling & flash duration (1/2300-1/5120 sec) as well as the several hundred dollar savings is very convincing. Love to hear a real world review in terms of ergonomics and performance of the unit after you've used it on location, are you using the Freestyle lite A head ??? and ring flash ??? Cheers  Jun 27 07 01:01 pm Link It's the Speed AS Kit-- so it's the "s" head. I did order elinchrom's ring flash, but unfort that is on backorder. Perhaps in a week or two.. I've got a location shot this week, will keep the thread updated. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 … 0_W_S.html Jun 27 07 01:25 pm Link Regarding the Elinchrome Skyport slaves- Apparently they are not shipping to the U.S. due to some FCC stuff. Bummer. Jun 27 07 01:29 pm Link Chip Morton wrote: that is a bummer-- I use pocketwizards tho. The kit comes with a 16' elinchrom -> pc sync cable. It's another $45 or so for the pocketwizard elinchrom ---> male cable tho. Jun 27 07 03:47 pm Link Chip Morton wrote: You can buy them here Elinchrom Skyport RX Set Jun 27 07 04:17 pm Link fStopstudios wrote: I cut 'n' paste this from your fstopstudios Blog, Well the kit finally arrived. While I have only tested the kit to ensure that it is functioning properly (it is), here are some snap judgments/impressions: Jun 30 07 11:22 am Link Elite Group wrote: I can not help you with items 1 & 2 but if it's any help you can buy all of the light shapers that aren't available in the U.S. from "the Flash Center" in the UK at the links below Jun 30 07 11:25 am Link Plz don't cut and paste wholesale globs from the blog-- a link is more appr. Thanks for the links btw. The kit is working very well-- it's a real pleasure to use. I still grumble a bit about the mounting mechanism esp. as it's a pain in the arse when mounting the 7ft Octa solo, but it works. Thus far the pack has been great in the field and the battery lasts a LONG time. I took close to 600 images @ apprx. 1/2 power today and it was still showing all power bars lit in the indicator panel-- that kicks butt, not to mention there's the additional battery included in the kit. I did give switching to the profoto 7b serious thought and would of if they had the free head offer going on, but it's not to be. With that said, at the "current" price point (i.e. with elinchrom promotions), I still select Elinchrom over the competition. As mentioned in the blog, availability of accessories and packaging has been my only two real gripes thus far. Jul 06 07 08:23 pm Link I've been a little lazy I guess when it comes to updating the thread. However, there isn't much to add... I keep shooting, it keeps working as it's suppose to. The company has been great and keep pretty close tabs on my satisfaction + sent an updated manual, which isn't released yet. In the coming weeks, I have a project detailing lighting, the big octa, positions, and different results produced. Nothing too heavy-- moreso for newcomers. Should be interesting... If anyone has any questions regarding the Ranger system-- feel free to ask away. Jul 17 07 02:48 pm Link I have recently begun my switch to the Elinchrom system and now use two Ranger RX Speed AS units with Ranger "A" heads. I did a lot of exhaustive research prior to purchasing the units and have come away with these observations. Depending on whom you purchase from, there may or may not be packaging problems: In my case, Bogen Imaging USA shipped everything neatly and securely packed in a heavily reinforced corrugated cardboard box , the Ranger units and heads themselves were individually enclosed in the standard Elinchrom white factory-sealed boxes. Granted, I do work for a camera shop in the DC area so I am therefore able to order directly from Bogen Imaging USA, the official Elinchrom distributor. I also purchased my two units at different times, one in June and one this month, and in each case the parcel arrived in the condition as I described above. So as far as how Bogen Imaging packs and delivers them I have no issues. I read on the fstopstudios blog that he had some complaints regarding the condition of the packaging that his equipment arrived in. If I remember correctly, he purchased his unit through B&H, so I wonder if he got sent a "demo" or at least an opened-box unit. In any case, inspect your package carefully when it arrives. Manuals... I am in complete agreement with fstopstudios that the accompanying documentation for the Ranger(and other Elinchrom products I have seen and sold for that matter...) is pretty mediocre at best. Plenty of grammatical errors, while I was able to decipher the basics of using the unit from the manual, I've seen toaster manuals that are neater and more thought out than what Elinchrom stuffs in the box. They definitely need to get better with the documentation materials. I'm sure the Swiss could afford to hire a good proof-reader. I have also noticed on one of my batteries that there were some pretty deep scuffs on the black plastic cover while the others don't. Thankfully, the Ranger packs themselves and the heads did not have any external cosmetic flaws as packaged by the manufacturer, but that scuff on the black terminal side of that one battery box does baffle me. To the heart of the matter.... The Ranger units themselves are very robust(and heavy), they appear to be able to withstand a downpour and look rugged enough to take a lot of abuse. A lot of people I've read online hate the modifier attachment interface. I find it to be a functional mechanism, although it certainly could have been better. It does feel a bit delicate, but so far I have had no issues using it with a 53" Rotalux Octagon, which produces gorgeous light BTW. I have also used a large number of other Elinchrom modifiers and like their characteristics a lot. I love the ability to change power settings from the camera position using the Elinchrom Skyport system, and I particularly like the ability to adjust output in precise 1/10 step increments. Call me a geek, but I do see the difference that this has made in my personal work, I have far more precise control over my lighting ratios. The color temperature characteristics are also very consistent. The batteries, while heavy, last a loooooong time. I seldom need to put the unit at full oomph 1100 watt-seconds, and when I need to get some really low outputs, I plug into the "B" socket, which enables power settings as low as 5.5 watt-seconds. This is very useful when I want to use flash with a wide-open aperture. My minor quibble would be that I wish that the unit was switchable symmetrical/asymmetrical. They do make the symmetrical Ranger RX and Ranger RX Speed, but the RX Speed does not appear to be distributed in the US by Bogen. I also would have like a lifting handle, the strap eyelets on the sides are functional, but I do think a handle would have been a good thing to add. The battery release mechanism works, but also could have been designed a bit better. That being said, I really like the Rangers and the Elinchrom products that I have used so far and I will continue to gradually switch over all of my strobe lighting gear to Elinchrom. Sep 30 08 10:31 pm Link Thyronne wrote: can you tell me where i can get that adapter? I have a profoto acute 2 ring...wondering if I can use it with an Ranger.. Nov 24 09 01:05 am Link maxhodges wrote: There's a company in NY (whose name I no longer have Nov 24 09 02:20 am Link SRB Photo wrote: I'm also wondering if it's possible modify a Zeus ringlight to a ranger pack... Can't imagine it would be insurmountable, if you know how to play with high voltages without frying yourself. Nov 24 09 03:56 am Link Robb Mann wrote: If we can find them, the same company may be willing / able to do it - as you say, the internal circuitry would have to be massively different in order to be impossible. Nov 24 09 04:13 am Link SRB Photo wrote: in photos, at least, the PCB Zeus head connectors look similar to the non-ranger Elinchrom & other Euro lights; I'm Willing to bet that PCB used an off-the-shelf connector to save expense. Nov 24 09 04:30 am Link Robb Mann wrote: That's because they're dynalite compatible as mentioned on the Zeus page :-P Nov 24 09 06:51 am Link SKITA Studios wrote: Thanks. Do you happen to know if they do a Zeus->Elinca mod as well? Nov 24 09 07:28 am Link SRB Photo wrote: that'd be the way I'd want to roll on a ringlight. The PCB modifiers are vast in number and low in price. Nov 25 09 03:03 am Link Chip Morton wrote: I just bought a set of the Universals. New in the box but the one plug I needed wasn't in there for my Normans. Going to try and hook them up to my Sunpak 522 and see if that will work for me. Nov 25 09 03:24 am Link I'm resurrecting a very old thread here, but just in case somebody sees it... I took delivery of a ranger unit today, which included the spare battery, A-head and briefcase style storage. I like the unit overall, though it's heavy, and hopefully it will step in where my quadra can't quite manage things. BUT, I noticed when charging that the light on the charger doesn't seem to change from yellow to green, and I wondered if anybody else had this problem? Also, I noticed that the white buttons on the main unit seem to have a bit of wear. When looking closely at them I noticed some slight fading of the white surface - not the actual printed symbols themselves, just the white surface they sit on. I wondered if this was part of the design and if anybody else had noticed it when receiving their new pack? I've had a couple of other elinchrom products arrive in less that perfect condition, and I was a little annoyed thinking I may have been given a demonstration model after having paid £2000 for the whole set of lights and pack. Any replies appreciated. Dec 07 10 09:25 am Link Jack Clark wrote: Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between their yellow and green. If you are sure your battery is discharged, and the light is green, then I would venture to guess that the charging fuse (4 AF) in the battery box is blown or not installed. Dec 07 10 09:39 am Link rangers are good great actually ... get both the pocket wizards and the elinchrome units ... with elinchrome you can adjust the power on the pack by remote ... SWEET ... Dec 08 10 08:35 am Link I have the Ranger RX speed pack with the 5' Octa, one A head, one S head, Ringflash and, until recently, 22" BD. I have skyports and pocketwizards. I had a situation once where the pack was knocked over with the pocket wizards plugged in and it broke the connector on the pack. Now I carry both... because they use different ports, if one breaks I can still shoot. The pack is solid and gives consistent lighting. I've gone all day on location in cold and wet without having to replace the battery. The packs travel well. Remove one easily accessible fuse and it's kosher for air flight. To be honest, I haven't yet noticed a difference between the A and S heads. I like the profoto ringflash better, it just seems like the light is a little more crisp. But I think the elinchrom is quite nice. FYI, switch out the clear glass for the frosted glass if your looking for more versatile lighting. By biggest criticism is that the the beauty dish never clamped to the head securely. It was niggly to attach and I never felt confident that it would stay on. That said, it never did fall off. But I'm glad I lost it as I plan to replace with a Mola. Dec 08 10 09:45 am Link I just received the ranger rx kit and co complaints of how it was shipped. the battery was in its own box and the rest in the case, then placed in another huge box full of large bubble wraps. now need to take it out for a spin Jan 03 11 04:25 pm Link |
) who'll modify the cable on a the Acute ring to let it shoot from a Ranger pack. I'm not aware that there's a singular adapter to use any head, but would buy in a heartbeat if someone can post it.
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