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Elinchrom vs Hensel vs Broncolor vs Profoto
I am looking to the future and planning strategy for my business. High quality lights are one of the most important and expensive purchases for a studio, I am mighty interested to see what people have to say about these 4 brands, why they like brand X or Y. Please, don't start telling me why I should get AlienBees. I have a White-Lightning, I have an Alien Bee, they have their own merits, which I am quite confident that I understand, I am looking at the top 4 brands, and really don't want this to devolve into bees vs everyone else. Sub question: Monolights vs Packs, which is the most flexible? Jun 20 07 06:05 pm Link I would go Elinchrom or Profoto. They are more reasonably priced and equally well built. Hensel and Broncolor have their reputations in part because they're so expensive. Edit: And I think monos are more flexible. Then again Elinchrom has a pack that spits our 6000w/s, so what do I know? I think that it's easier to mix and match with monos...if you run out of power, buy another mono. If you run out of power from your pack, you have to buy a whole 'nother pack. Jun 20 07 06:07 pm Link Max Bloom wrote: ? Jun 20 07 06:08 pm Link Perhaps I stand corrected. I'll narrow my vote to Elinchrom. Broncolors are, indeed, the most expensive across the board. Jun 20 07 06:10 pm Link Profoto because it's the standard and all rental houses carry the shapers, rings etc for them. They're also bomb proof. Elinchrom for the boxes because they create the prettiest soft light. My Elinchrom Octabank is something I use on 75% of my shoots. Jun 20 07 06:11 pm Link I would go with Profoto. I am currently using Hensel. - ChanStudio Jun 20 07 06:12 pm Link Subjective. Why not just ask what people think about Naomi vs. Christi Brinkley vs. Cindy Crawford vs. Gisselle. People, products and services all have similar qualities at certain levels. At the point you find them similar - be that by your own research or other's input - it's up to your own personal needs, budget and experiences to determine which is best for you. Because what's best for the next guy may not be the same for you. Old hat, I know - but it's still the way it is. Because you're really not going to gleen anything extra for yourself by asking the Ford guy to tell you why the Chevy guy is wrong. Jun 20 07 06:15 pm Link well, whats your budget? It's mostly a business decision-- what's your projected revenue? I'm settling on the Elinchrom's as right now it represents the best value for me. If money is no object Broncolor would be my pick. Profoto would be right up there as well-- but the price differential to me wasn't worth it, but it was close. If profoto ran a promo now, I would of gone with a 7b and used it in and out of the studio. I see elinchrom and hensel (I had two) on par, thus it came down to who was running a better promotion at the time. One thing I would note is that accessory availability stinks for elinchrom. Hensel shelf availability is better in the US, and profoto has superb distribution. Hensel has the best dish reflector on the market and elinchrm has the Octa beast. With profoto you can get an adapter for the Octa, so then it comes down to how much $$$ you want to spend. Personally, elinchrom gives me all I need and then some. Jun 20 07 06:19 pm Link I started with Elinchrom...reliable quality and VERY consistent. However, due to the availability of some Elinchrom accessories (like Beauty Dishes) I also bought Hensel. I love both and it is not unusual to mix and match if you are going with monolights.... Jun 20 07 06:22 pm Link I own Profoto Acutes both pack and monolights and love them. I've used Dynalite in the past and consider them my second choice. The Elinchroms are big and have their quarks like all of them. The Elinchrom Ranger kit looks to be a great system. I do own the Elinchrom Octabank and see it as irreplaceable. Jun 20 07 06:22 pm Link Well for studio work I have an old set of Norman strobes, but last year I bought a Hensel Porty with one head and a ringflash for location work. It really depends on what you want to do, but at the very least I've found the Hensel to be extremely reliable. BTW, I have a Profoto ringflash (with a separate adapter to work with Norman), but I bought the Hensel ringflash so I wouldn't have to haul a Norman pack around just to use the Profoto ringflash. This way, the Hensel gives me both a softbox (with the regular head) and the ringflash, that I can even use at the beach. As for mono vs power pack, I have used power packs with separate heads (Norman) for many years, never had a mono until I bought some slightly used White Lightnings a couple years ago for quick inside location work. I'm not sure I'd want to use a top-heavy mono light near a beach or pool, and power pack setups usually have more power for big shots. Andy Pearlman Jun 20 07 06:25 pm Link ChanStudio wrote: i think that is an interesting response. why would you change? Jun 20 07 06:28 pm Link I also agree with the Profoto suggestion, and for the same reason. If you suddenly need to rent, you are most likely to find Profoto rental gear, be it heads, packs, modifiers, etc. This allows you to ADD the rentals to your gear as a mix and match, using them to supplement what you already have in studio. As to the boxes, rock, as do many others. I think this is the area that is the most subjective. As to packs vs. mono lights... I have both, and like both for different reasons. Try putting a Profoto ComPact into a 74" Elinchrom Octabank on a boom. It was too heavy, and we had no choice but to use the Acute 1200 instead. For this reason I have a second Acute on order... Jun 20 07 06:29 pm Link Z_Photo wrote: Why? Easy, better design and better engineering. Jun 20 07 06:35 pm Link Went with elinchrom, but had profoto dreams. I'm considering adding 2 radio slave enabled profotos to my 3 elinchroms now. The above posters are correct. If you intend on renting studio space or equipment most rentals are set up for profoto. Go with the best lights you can afford the most of. Don't forget the modifiers as they add up quick. Jun 20 07 07:47 pm Link  Yeah, I go with the rental issue. Back in the day that is why so many pro's used Speedotron Blackline, the rental shops all had them. Sometime while I was out having coffee, many apparently jumped ship to Profoto. Who knew??? I own a fair amount of Speedotron Blackline equipment and I can still rent Speedo gear at Aperture (here in South Beach), but I was in a large pro studio with a lot (lot lot) of rental gear and they had completely moved over to Profoto. Demand drives so much of this, but even today I still am quite happy with Speedotron. That said, I do shoot frequently at a big studio that is completely Profoto, and it is all great gear no doubt!  (Picture of me is used with the permission of Dan O'Brian, LethalGeek.com) However, Profoto is very expensive, and we all know about the Fish and money. In short, if you have it, I will use it! But if have to buy it...............Speedotron Blackline still looks pretty good to me. Fish -- John Fisher 900 West Avenue, Suite 423 Miami Beach, Florida 33139 305 534-9322 http://www.johnfisher.com Jun 20 07 09:04 pm Link beautiful setup! Thank your lucky stars you didn't go broncolor and get the big parabolic  Jun 20 07 09:30 pm Link I've been shooting Speedotron Blackline for 20 years. I love them. They keep on working, their tech support and service is super. I have nothing negative to say about them at all. Jun 20 07 09:36 pm Link Now that's a boom arm and stand! Jun 20 07 09:41 pm Link the bees are the best! Sorry, couldn't resist. lol It's all personal choice. I don't like the new elinchromes that much, because they're all plastic, but for monolights I'd probably go with them or hensels. If I were to get packs, I'd get profoto... If I were not shooting outside of studio ever, I'd get broncolor. If I were traveling a lot, then profoto... Jun 20 07 11:33 pm Link Andrew Vorobyov wrote: I agree 100% Jun 20 07 11:47 pm Link Frank Mattoni wrote: Jun 20 07 11:58 pm Link John Fisher wrote: I agree about the Speedos. When I worked in NYC in the early 80s, every shooter who exclusively worked in studios used Speedo Blacklines. And on the once in a blue moon when they went on location, we packed up all the Blackline packs and the quad heads to do table-top in a very trendy shop - I thought my back would never be the same again! The 2401 packs are quite heavy! Jun 21 07 09:28 am Link I would go with Speedotron. Having been using black with 4800, 2400 and 800 ws packs for over 15 years and have never had a problem with them. Totally reliable. Am thinking now of getting their 1500ws portable pack. Jun 21 07 09:34 am Link Ok, I'm looking at speedotrons website, but they dont give power range in f/stops, they give it in variations, and I've little idea waht that really translates to. Jun 21 07 11:35 am Link I went the Broncolor route because I was interested in their exotic light modifiers (fresnels, spots, ring flash, light bars, and parabolic umbrellas). The programmable pulse durations, high output, impressive specs, and name recognition helped with my decision too. The trade-off is I dont have the same stuff most of my other photog friends have (profoto), less people on the west coast seem familiar with them. I have about 30 heads and 9 packs and loads of exotic pieces and parts (well over $100,000 in broncolor equipment). Was it woth it? Doesnt matter, they do the job and pay for themselves. FYI: At first I blew capacitors and flash tubes but this doesnt seem to happen anymore. These were costly repairs. The 3200J tubes are about $700 each. Maybe I beat them to much in the beginning and have since slowed down after moving to medium format. In my experience I have always got great results with all that I tried. Its like canon vs nikon...I selected the system based on the lens options more than the camera itself..I selected the broncolor based on the modifiers more than the packs. Jul 18 10 02:28 pm Link All depends on what you want to do with them most of the time. I have Broncolor, but have used Elinchrom, Profoto, Godard, Balcar, Bowens, and way back when Speedotron and Norman. Broncolor and Profoto are both top line. Since I did still life Broncolor was better. Profoto is less fragile, but the latest Scoro pack from Broncolor has no competitor. If you shoot outdoors then you need a battery operated pack. I have but don't like monoblocks. I need hefty fans to cool the heads as I gel a lot. I shoot really fast , for that demanding shooting Profoto or Broncolor are really nice. I know nothing about Hensel though.... Jul 18 10 02:36 pm Link I own WL and AB also but when I need to rent I always get ProFoto. I love the dependability and consistency of them. Jul 18 10 02:40 pm Link Go to a place that sells the equipment and pick the one that has the best feel to the layout of the controls for you. Aside from the wattage and recycle time, look for one that gives you the best options for adjusting the output through the heads. From a more practical standpoint, pick the system that seems to be the most supportable to you in your neck of the woods. If something breaks, you will want to know someone local can fix it for you (after the warranty runs out) and you can rent a replacement in the meantime. Having said that, since you are looking to have the best setup you can get, consider getting smaller wattage powerpacks, and getting more of them. Don't put all your watts in one basket. You will find you rarely need to run 4000 watts through one head, so you would be better off with 4 packs at around 1000 watts each. You can use them like monolights except you don't have to put the heavy part (powerpack) at the end of a light stand. This also gives you built in redundancy backup in the event one pack fails, and it is a whole lot cheaper to replace a capacitor on a small pack than a huge one. You will also probably cut down your recycle time with smaller packs. Plus, most of the people you want to impress with your top-notch lighting system won't know the price difference betwen a Broncolor or a Speedotron, but they can count and they know having four packs is more impressive than one. I know I didn't answer your question on which brand since you already seem to know what brand you want, and aside from price it probably doesn't really matter. Jul 18 10 03:30 pm Link I have Profotos and wouldn't go to any other brand... the lights are awesome and consistent output...they are easy to work and handle... they look nice ....and all sorts or modifiers to use with them.... I am forever sold on Profoto thats My opinion and input Jul 18 10 03:38 pm Link I have shot a lot of lights but have been using Profoto for 3 years now. Love them. They are extremely well built. Very consistent in exposure and color temp. They are expensive, especially the modifiers but once you have them you can't really wear them out. I use the 7's. The 8's are a bit faster and more expensive. Jul 18 10 03:38 pm Link What's your ROI? If you figure that out, then you can start with brand x vs. brand y. Return On Investment can mean a number of different things for different people/circumstances. There's no mention of your target market and if it's studio or mobile/outside. Andy Pearlman's outside location work has the Hensel Porty setup, as mentioned. Your business plan should tell you the direction you're headed and equipment needs, vs. want. In the immortal words of John Fisher "In short, if you have it, I will use it! But if have to buy it..............." Or just do like what Klinko & Indrani did!  Jul 18 10 03:58 pm Link Scott Nathan wrote: Unless you have infinite amounts of money, and do this as a hobby, the correct answer is Scott's. All the strobes you mentioned are good, but if you travel or need additional heads, modifiers, etc., Profoto is the rental standard in virtually every market. Jul 18 10 04:01 pm Link BlindMike wrote: My buddy has one that thing ROCKS !!! Jul 18 10 04:06 pm Link i would go Profoto but Pro ser. Am using Pro7a's 2 packs and 3 heads and one twin head. they are solid, uper simple, consistent in exposure and color temp, shaping tools are grate and if you need a strip light, frenel, spot ot what ever you can rent it for a day and had grate efect for 60$a day ... Speedos are good for what thay are but you cant put them in a same line Bron or Profoto Pro's; but if i had to pick profoto Acute or speedo? Than Speedo! as for Octos and Elin; am usin Chimera with 7ft Grid and i have to say that its blast! also am using Magnum and Telezoom reflectors with set of grids from China that was a good buy for 140$... am also using Mola Setti, and Brace Para with Pro ring... if i had a budget i would go Bron my 2c Jul 18 10 05:30 pm Link All those brands offer monos & pack systems. I love Elinchrom modifiers, and Eli is the least expensive in that group. Not sure you can make a bad choice between those options. I shoot Elinchrom rangers & quadras. Lots of flexibility & portability. Jul 18 10 05:41 pm Link I invested in a fairly complete Elinchrom Digital Rx system about a year ago - a mix of two packs running four heads and four 600w monos with a wide range of modifiers. They have worked perfectly from day one, with the exception to having a mono head crash 10ft onto pavement on location - still haven't sent it in to see if it's repairable. I went with Elinchrom as they offer consistent performance at a lower cost than Profoto/Broncolor. So far, I'm completely happy with this system. Jul 18 10 08:19 pm Link Joey wrote: OK, but I'm not declaring bankruptcy until AFTER I've dated the hot babe for 8 years. Jul 18 10 09:03 pm Link GD Whalen wrote: One trick with the modifiers is creativelight modifiers. They are made by the same company that makes profoto. They don't have the same diversity that profoto does but for many of the softboxes the light is really similar and they are about 40% less. Jul 18 10 10:14 pm Link I use Profoto packs & monos. Profoto has the by far the most accessories & modifiers available at rental houses worldwide... plus I can get replacement flash tubes easily when traveling. Honestly I think the modifier mounting system is the easiest & best in the market! For the money PF is solid stuff... not too heavy but built to be used every day! My gear flies at least 25,000 miles a year & has never failed even when being handled by airport baggage crews over the past 5 years Elinchrom is decent stuff but I had failures with the electronic controls on the back of RX Units.... plus the modifier mounts are a pain in the ass!! I've had Elinchrom Octabanks have their silver lining peel away from the speedring mount... my opinion for what its worth is that its an ok product with subpar build quality. I earn my living with the gear I select so it needs to work... if I have to rent replacements it hits my profit margin, so I go with PF! Jul 18 10 10:29 pm Link |
