Update: The new Profoto B1 500 AirTTL is available for pre-order at B&H Photo here.

Profoto is by far one of the two leaders in lighting gears, along with Broncolor.

They are not cheap but they do what they are supposed to.

I’ve been using Profoto for some year now and having tried several solutions from different markets, I came to a conclusion that sometimes you just can not afford to buy cheap gears.

It already happened to me on a commercial shoot, in studio, where the client was present with her whole team of marketing and creative people, after two looks and in the middle of the third one, I had to invent all sort of excuses and check the computer (I was shooting tethered) to not keep shooting just because my lights were … overheating and had to stop to cool down.

So imagine you are shooting a commercial where you charge top dollars using cheap gears.

When nothing is wrong with this approach if your interest is to maximise your profit, you have to have tons of (cheap) gears to replace them on the fly, during the shoot. Everyone’s time is precious, especially your clients’ time, on your set. If you want to keep a long term relationship with your clients, don’t waste their time.

So that was for the short story of how and why I came to use Profoto. From 5 years of using Profoto, I have never had a light to fail on me on a shoot. They have a wide range of light modifiers and their design is just kick ass.

It is so with very excitement that when Profoto announced the new Profoto B1, I had to chime in and line up for a test.

Before we get there, here are some images and short specs to keep you patient and start saving for what will be revolutionary in the use of off camera flash with TTL capability.

At this stage, the Profoto B1 is not HHS (High Speed Sync) capable but hey, this is something you can do with future software updates..

At this stage, there is no power connectivity to the head, which means you are limited by the capacity of the battery, even for shoots in the studio. But because it’s an ‘open’ system, I bet Profoto will release a power bloc, the same as for the Profoto B2 AirS, to be attached to where the battery sits that would allow you to plug to the wall.
Soon to come ..

Here is what the Profoto B1 looks like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0