Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

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Archive 2008 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

el_hoppy
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p.1 #1 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

I currently have 3 Bowens Espirit Gemini heads (750w & 2x 250w) and a collection of softboxes for my studio.

I have a battery pack for the Bowens which mostly work well outdoors, but between the heavy heads (sometimes unstable outdoors due to the weight) and more importantly the lack of a modelling light when mobile, I am now starting to think about getting something better.

I would love to go patriotic and get profoto, but I want more power than the AcuteB600 and want the option of 2 lights, whilst the Pro7B is out of my "keep it sensible it's only a hobby" budget

(would love to replace the Bowens with the Acute2 2400w in the studio)

So it feels like I should look at getting the Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed & A-head. Elinchrom looks especially appealing as they look to have a few interesting looking modifiers that will be quick to setup and pack up (Rotalux & VariStar)

If I buy a portable solution I still want to use it in the studio along with my bowens and I wonder how well they will mix. I cannot find any info on the Ranger head temperature,does anyone know?

When the Ranger is in the studio with power, can the modelling light be always on powered externally and can you recharge whilst shooting?

Can you get mounts for the Elinchrom heads that allows you to use generic softboxes and octas?

Am I stupid discounting the AcuteB just because there will be occasional time when I want to "blast the sun" or shoot with 2 lights? Then I could sell my Bowens and get the Acute2 as well. In that case, how does the AcuteB work in the studio?

I used to be indecisive but now I am not sure

Sep 27, 2008 at 08:41 AM

Carlton Beener
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p.1 #2 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

I can answer some of that.

The rangers do not have a constant modeling light although you can set it to remain on for 15-30 seconds while shooting. It will stay on as long as you fire shots that quickly but once it turns off you'll need to press the lamp button again.

If you are not using the skyport to trigger it then you can leave it plugged in while shooting. The charger plugs into the remote port and there is a separate sync port for corded use.

Sep 27, 2008 at 03:37 PM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #3 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

el_hoppy wrote:
Can you get mounts for the Elinchrom heads that allows you to use generic softboxes and octas?

Yes. If you want to use a Chimera softbox on your Elinchrom head, just buy the right speed ring. Same with Photoflex, etc... Elinchrom is one of the "big four" lighting companies (Profoto, Elinchrom, Bowens and Broncolor), so all the third-party accessory manufacturers make Elinchrom-compatible speed rings.

Sep 29, 2008 at 03:30 AM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #4 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Carlton Beener wrote:

If you are not using the skyport to trigger it then you can leave it plugged in while shooting. The charger plugs into the remote port and there is a separate sync port for corded use.

You could always use the Skyport Universal receiver if you wanted to use the Ranger plugged into mains power in the studio (that is what I do, I hate sync cords

Dec 02, 2008 at 03:26 AM

BubbaJon
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p.1 #5 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
Carlton Beener wrote:

If you are not using the skyport to trigger it then you can leave it plugged in while shooting. The charger plugs into the remote port and there is a separate sync port for corded use.

You could always use the Skyport Universal receiver if you wanted to use the Ranger plugged into mains power in the studio (that is what I do, I hate sync cords

).
Yeah but you lose the ability to remote adjust power which is one of the niftiest things about the Skyports... I *do* wonder why they made such a boneheaded decision to make a DIN plug do that sort of double duty. As far as the OP's original questions - Carmen knows the head color temp and I'm pretty sure it is pretty close to the Bowens. Bear in mind that modifiers are a much higher cause of color variance than the typical heads. After all Xenon is Xenon and they all use it.

Dec 02, 2008 at 03:32 PM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #6 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Just keep in mind that when you use a 2 light setup, it is a fixed ratio. I find that very difficult to work with because you really have zero control over the light. I would MUCH rather have two separate lights. Don't underestimate the power of 600Ws on the AcuteB600R.

I had a ranger pack. It was certainly a nice unit, but IMO, it was overly complex (too many things can go wrong with it), I did not like the way modifiers attached, and the two head thing seemed great, but in practice it was difficult because of the fixed ratio.

I put a medium sized softbox on the ranger, and it broke the light stand attachment point. I guess it was too much weight. We're talking about a medium sized softbox here....

Dec 02, 2008 at 03:37 PM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #7 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

BubbaJon wrote:
Yeah but you lose the ability to remote adjust power which is one of the niftiest things about the Skyports... I *do* wonder why they made such a boneheaded decision to make a DIN plug do that sort of double duty.

I know how handy that is, I use the RX Skyport with my RX600 strobes in the studio. But... remote control is less of an issue with a pack, since it's usually pretty close to me anyway.

Dec 03, 2008 at 01:18 AM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #8 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Ben Horne wrote:I had a ranger pack. It was certainly a nice unit, but IMO, it was overly complex (too many things can go wrong with it), I did not like the way modifiers attached, and the two head thing seemed great, but in practice it was difficult because of the fixed ratio.

You have to work around your equipment's limitations. There are other ways to adjust the power, and you can always use more than one pack if you really need totally independent power controls. My point is - I knew what I was buying before I bought it!

Dec 03, 2008 at 01:21 AM

eSchwab
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p.1 #9 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Yeah I crank pretty hard on all of my elinchroms whenever they're on the boom and have a modifier on them. This includes the 27" beauty dish and large softboxes. Hard enough that they won't swing and I've never felt that it is a weak point. On the other hand I had an Alien bee that broke that part very easily. I guess the white lightnings are much sturdier there.

Dec 03, 2008 at 01:25 AM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #10 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
Ben Horne wrote:I had a ranger pack. It was certainly a nice unit, but IMO, it was overly complex (too many things can go wrong with it), I did not like the way modifiers attached, and the two head thing seemed great, but in practice it was difficult because of the fixed ratio.

You have to work around your equipment's limitations. There are other ways to adjust the power, and you can always use more than one pack if you really need totally independent power controls. My point is - I knew what I was buying before I bought it!

Ben Horne wrote:
I put a medium sized softbox on the ranger, and it broke the light stand attachment point. I guess it was too much weight. We're talking about a medium sized softbox here....

That sounds like a lemon to me! It happens. The swivel mounts on the Ranger are as tough as on any other professional-line Elinchrom light.

Not a lemon at all ---- just a bad design. I don't remember the specifics, but there is a metal bolt that is held in place by a piece of plastic that can be easially distorted. When I put the softbox on the light, it kept tilting forward, so I had to crank down the tilt adjustment. It continued to creep. I tightened it a bit more, and crack. I didn't think I was anywhere near over tightening it.

After that incident, I bought an adapter for my speed rings (which I highly recommend) so that the speedrings mount directly to the light stand on a heavy duty swivel. I use these whenever I use larger boxes now. The light simply attaches to the speedring, but it does not have to carry any of the load.

Dec 03, 2008 at 02:36 AM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #11 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Well, you're the only one who's had a problem with the swivel mount on a pro-line Elinchrom strobe. I just looked at mine, and there are no plastic parts. I vote for a lemon!

Dec 03, 2008 at 04:52 AM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #12 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
Well, you're the only one who's had a problem with the swivel mount on a pro-line Elinchrom strobe. I just looked at mine, and there are no plastic parts. I vote for a lemon!

So I'm the only one who has ever had a problem with the swivel mount on a pro-line Elinchrom strobe? It's that a ridiculous statement?

Dec 03, 2008 at 05:14 AM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #13 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Not as ridiculous as your not being able to accept that you most probably had a lemon! Out of all the things that can possibly go wrong with a pro-level Elinchrom strobe, the swivel mount would be one of the last things that anyone would mention. Your allegation that there is a design problem is what is ridiculous! If there was a design problem, we'd be hearing about it before now...

Dec 03, 2008 at 05:18 AM

mark petri
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p.1 #14 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

I have a few Elinchrom speed AS and came from Profoto-- no regrets at all.

Oh Ben, I've been mounting a 7' Octa on my Rangers for two years on locale and in the studio and have yet to have one issue...

Dec 03, 2008 at 05:19 AM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #15 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
Your allegation that there is a design problem is what is ridiculous! If there was a design problem, we'd be hearing about it before now...

If I recall accurately there is a little plastic cap that covers the part I mention. You can say my remarks are ridiculous all you want, but if you see the flimsy little plastic piece that is suppose to hold the torque of the bolt, you will realize that it is a bad design. There is absolutely nothing that could have been a lemon with the unit that I had. It's a small plastic piece that stops a big bolt from turning. I really don't understand the defensiveness of your posts. If you want me to tell you it's a perfect design that that it was crafted by Jesus himself, I can do that too. However, that does not change the fact that it's not a good design.

When I bought the profoto setup, one of the first things I checked was the light stand mounting point. I've worked with this stuff for a while. Believe me, I'm not just some idiot.

Dec 03, 2008 at 06:13 AM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #16 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

I know who you are, Ben. That does not change the fact that it appears that you had a lemon.

Dec 03, 2008 at 07:29 AM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #17 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
I know who you are, Ben. That does not change the fact that it appears that you had a lemon.

Whatever guys.... go drink your Kool-Aid and be happy. There must have been no design flaws whatsoever in the unit I had. I'm just making up the whole thing about how it's a bad design. I must have been imagining things when I saw what I saw. Feel free to pop off that little plastic piece opposite the lever crank to see how perfect the design is. You'll see sheer perfection --- like a Kia Sophia.

Dec 03, 2008 at 02:51 PM

rudiphoto
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p.1 #18 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Ben Horne wrote:
Whatever guys.... go drink your Kool-Aid and be happy. There must have been no design flaws whatsoever in the unit I had. I'm just making up the whole thing about how it's a bad design. I must have been imagining things when I saw what I saw. Feel free to pop off that little plastic piece opposite the lever crank to see how perfect the design is. You'll see sheer perfection --- like a Kia Sophia.

See, it's posts like this that make you sound totally rational!

Dec 03, 2008 at 03:56 PM

PeterBerressem
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p.1 #19 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Whatever guys.... go drink your Kool-Aid and be happy. There must have been no design flaws whatsoever in the unit I had. I'm just making up the whole thing about how it's a bad design. I must have been imagining things when I saw what I saw. Feel free to pop off that little plastic piece opposite the lever crank to see how perfect the design is. You'll see sheer perfection --- like a Kia Sophia.

I know what you're talking about. I routinely replace those plastic levers by sturdy steel variants. Should be availible anywhere in the world, too.
steel levers
cheers, Peter

Dec 03, 2008 at 04:16 PM

Jonathan H
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p.1 #20 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

While mine never broke, I was entirely unimpressed with the swivel on my Freelite S heads. So unimpressed that I traded my entire Elinchrom kit for a Profoto Pro7a and head.

It's lovely, but for the cost, I'm actually looking to sell it off and just stick with my tried and true Dynalites.

Dec 03, 2008 at 04:24 PM

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p.1 #21 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
Ben Horne wrote:
Whatever guys.... go drink your Kool-Aid and be happy. There must have been no design flaws whatsoever in the unit I had. I'm just making up the whole thing about how it's a bad design. I must have been imagining things when I saw what I saw. Feel free to pop off that little plastic piece opposite the lever crank to see how perfect the design is. You'll see sheer perfection --- like a Kia Sophia.

See, it's posts like this that make you sound totally rational!

I never said it couldn't happen - anything man-made can and will fail. I didn't even bring up the word "ridiculous" - that was you! You insist that there is a design problem with the swivel mount on Elinchrom pro-line strobes, and yet you're the only one who's complaining about it...

I don't doubt that it happened to you! I doubt that it's a design problem, because a design problem would result in a failure more frequently than seems to be the case here. S**t happens, and so do lemons, once in a while...

My comments are in response to your message which is quoted below

Well, you're the only one who's had a problem with the swivel mount on a pro-line Elinchrom strobe

All I did was state that there is a design issue with the swivel mount. You told me that I'm the only one who has had a problem with the swivel mount, and belittled my remarks about there being an issue with the design. It may be your opinion that there is not an issue, but you did not have one fail because of this, and I do not think you have seen the actual mechanism. There is a very large amount of plastic in the housings of the freelite heads, and just a small piece of plastic that stops a big bolt from turning. When that plastic gives, the tilt does not work. You do not need to trivialize my comments by stating that the problem does not exist, and that I must just have a lemon.

If you see how the assembly is made, you will see exactly what I am referring to. I only got ridiculous with my postings in response to your incessant claims that I must not know what I'm talking about regarding the design, and that my individual head is a lemon. If that is the case,they are all lemons, because they all have the same design.

Dec 03, 2008 at 04:48 PM

eSchwab
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p.1 #22 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

I thought the lighting forum was supposed to be the one where we didn't bicker. It's moot anyways. Ben had a problem, he switched. I doubt anyone is 100% satisfied with their lighting gear. Sometimes it's worth it to switch over to something else because a particular problem affects you or your work flow. I use elinchrom, not because of digital control, sturdy mounts, or popularity. I use it because I like the modifiers. There are things I don't like about elinchrom but it makes no sense for me to switch.

By the way Ben, do you have a link to the speedrings with the lightstand attachments? I would like to check those out. It certainly makes sense to balance it in the middle when you've got a heavy modifier on your light.

Dec 03, 2008 at 05:49 PM

Ben Horne
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p.1 #23 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

Eric Schwab wrote:
By the way Ben, do you have a link to the speedrings with the lightstand attachments? I would like to check those out. It certainly makes sense to balance it in the middle when you've got a heavy modifier on your light.

Yes, they are the westcott speed rings. Just buy the additional swivel adapter for it. You need a 3500 series speedring from westcott. These rings have two holes through the ring, which you use to attach the adapter for the swivel. Here is a link to B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/279442-REG/Westcott_2303_Adapter_and_Tilt_Bracket.html

Here is a link to the speedring

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/220991-REG/Westcott_3508_Speed_Ring_for_Strip.html

Dec 03, 2008 at 06:06 PM

Carmen Miranda
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p.1 #24 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

rudiphoto wrote:
Well, you're the only one who's had a problem with the swivel mount on a pro-line Elinchrom strobe. I just looked at mine, and there are no plastic parts. I vote for a lemon!

Rudi,

Brent is correct. The stainless bolt is indeed imbedded in plastic.
Although I have not had a problem with mine, it's possible that it is designed to be a "shear" pin, so that overtightening will case the bolt to fail before the mount itself is damaged. Bolts are cheap and easy to replace.

rudiphoto wrote:
Your allegation that there is a design problem is what is ridiculous! If there was a design problem, we'd be hearing about it before now...

IMO, the tightening bolts on Elinchrom lights are clearly sufficient for most purposes and certainly handle professional use. How much overtightening and abuse beyond that is subject to risk like anything thing else.
Not everything I break is the manufacturers fault, especially when I want things to be so much smaller, lighter, faster and cheaper.

No manufacturer, ProFoto included, condones overtightening, even though there is always that potential. I know I don't get much sympathy from my rental friends when it comes to overtighening their grip equipment, and my assistants don't get any from me either.

Products are made with specific design parameters in mind. This does not make products inherently inferior. It may make them less appropriate than others for the task at hand.

Case in point, the Octa was originally designed to be used with pack heads, which are quite a bit lighter than monolights. Using the RX series monolights work very well with the Octa but the mount just isn't sufficient for the additional weight IMO. So, do I throw the baby out with the bath water? No way. I simply beefed up the mount with a grip head, just as Brent went to the 3500 series on his Westcott boxes.

Standard mout:

D200 Grip Head replacement:

Problem solved. I get to keep and enjoy my Octa, with no frustration.

Fewer lights are using all metal brackets like they use to. Personally, I don't see the problem with this for most uses. But even Westcott recognizes, by virtue of their 3500 series, that a more robust mount system than their own conventional mount MAY be required for bigger, heavier boxes especially with the added use of grids. I've used Westcott for years, mainly their 3500 2K boxes, they are nice but they are they are NOT what you call light. The Elinchrom boxes, on the other hand, are very light and work well with their lights. Even still you can see I have beefed up certain boxes where it is appropriate for certain applications. Should every light incorporate the use of a grip head or be made of metal like the old tanks of yesteryear? Surely not.

rudiphoto wrote:
You could always use the Skyport Universal receiver if you wanted to use the Ranger plugged into mains power in the studio (that is what I do, I hate sync cords

).

I'm not a fan of the double duty charging port either, but I also don't see any reason to keep a Ranger hooked up to AC while you're using it in the studio either.
First of all, the unit provides ample capacity for most use anyway.
The idea of dragging around cords defeats it's advantage over AC packs. If you didn't like tripping over PC cords why would it be any less of a nuisance to trip over an AC cord?
RX control is just TOO nice to forsake.

And last but not least, how tough is it to plug a back up battery to AC while using the Ranger untethered?

In addition to using packs and monolights, I find it very convienient to use the Ranger on a rolling stand in close to me so I won't have to deal with cords. I also made a platform so my gear could move with it.

Different strokes for different folks.

Good luck.

Dec 03, 2008 at 09:34 PM

el_hoppy
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p.1 #25 · Elinchrom Ranger RX AS Speed A-head & Bowens

It's been an interesting discussion since this thread was revived

I ended up getting the Ranger AS speed and very quickly added a 2nd head, the ring flash and started my Elinchrom monoblock collection with the 600RX

The battery of the ranger seems to last forever. I shot 500 shots (admittedly at the low power end of the range to get DOF) with sometimes 2 heads and much of the time the modelling light on and green light on the 50% was still lit. So the strange decision for the power and skyport to share the same plug is not such a worry to me.

I do wish that the put a dedicated modelling light button on the skyport because some times I think I have held the button down long enough, but it doesn't turn it on

Dec 03, 2008 at 10:29 PM


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