this might sound like a very stupid question, i hope someone could help me with this
i have been looking at the profoto website
i know profoto is known for its packs
but i realize they have a few 'battery' packs in their generators lineup
so my question is this:
what is the difference between a battery pack or a generator pack?
are they technically the same?? are they made for different purpose (e.g. studio/location)??
thanks
Both are generators ('pack' in colloquial language). Technically the same, the main difference is in the voltage they work with: standard packs on 110 resp. 230 Volts AC , battery packs on 12 Volt DC.
The battery packs' purpose is outdoor / location in the absence of AC power, of course. The drawback compared with AC units is the very poor model light wattage, due to save battery power.
Profoto offers an AC adapter to get around this, allowing brighter model light usage in the studio: power adaptor
himcheong wrote:
what is the difference between a battery pack or a generator pack?
Like Peter already said, the battery packs are battery powered. The modelling light can be fed with AC by using an adapter. However, with some models the battery still will be drained even though the modelling light is on AC (Pro-B2 for example) - only slower. In all cases, the modelling light will be very weak. Battery packs can be used and charged at the same time. But if you shoot fast you drain your battery quicker than you charge it. So a (few) spare batteries are no luxury. Battery packs are a great solution for on location and will sometimes be used in studio as an additional light. Technically the same are the generator packs. The main difference is that they will be fed by AC (or a power generator) instead of a battery.
It's also not just Profoto - you'll find similar packs and nomenclature from folks like Elinchrom, Hensel, Broncolor, Bowens, Speedotron, etc. It can be a little confusing, but the term "pack" is generally used interchangeably to refer to a piece of equipment that powers and controls dedicated strobe heads that do not have their own controls and power supplies, like monolights do. The term is blind to how the pack itself is powered, which obviously makes a huge difference in both design and use.
Using the ProB2 with the Universal Power Adapter with ProB heads (100W modelling light) the battery will recharge faster than itīs drained. Using Pro heads with 250W mod. lights will drain your battery.
The AcuteB 600 has an optional adapter for powering mod. light that bypasses the battery completely, the AcuteB head mod. light is approximately the equivalent of a 90W lamp.
