I'm seriously considering the purchase of the new Profoto D1 500Ws Studio Strobe Kit but without practical knowledge of wireless triggers and extended experience of the studio workflow, I cannot, even to a minor degree, sway myself to adopting Air or to forego this option.
The kit with built-in Air is ~$300 more than the one without but if I go for the latter and decide to add Air in the future, the price to add Air would be substantially more than $300.
I have a small studio setup and I don't plan on porting the equipment outside of it in the immediate future.
I'm concerned about the proprietary nature of the system but I am somewhat assured of its quality due to the backing of the Profoto name.
There aren't any independent reviews that I could find on the web being that it is such a new product and so I don't have other opinions to weigh in which makes the decision that much more difficult.
I would love to hear your opinions and other considerations that will help with this decision.
Also, what light meter can I use in conjunction with the wireless sync? Prior to considering Air, I was considering the Sekonic L-358, but I'm not sure if this is still the best option when used in conjunction with the Air technology (if it is wirelessly compatible at all).
Finally, this kit will give me 2 strobes, and I'll want to invest in another 2-3 in the near future, if I go with Air initially, do I need to buy additional strobes with Air support or can I mix-n-match those with and without?
i spent some time with them last week....
-you either buy them with air built in, or without air...if you buy without air, you cannot add the air control ability later....you can buy an air sync which will allow you to fire any non air unit, profoto or some other brand.
- you have to look at the profoto air system in a similar manner that elinchrom users look at skyports--it will allow you to trigger your lights, and to control power and mod light functions without having to take them out of position...there is also optional software for the air system which allows control via computer.
- you cannot trigger the sekonic with the air system---but you can put your meter in cordless flash mode---
here is a link to a few of my thoughts as a compact owner on the D1s.... http://hdhd.wordpress.com/
Have you heard about problems with the flash bulb inside the body of the compact ?
Problems of differences of rendering between a flash head and a D1 ?
www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/740564/0?keyword=profoto,d1#6728359
Honestly, I have no clue what drove them to this 'crippled' design. More portabillity? Travel friendly? To date Profoto's goal was to 'master the light' and not to open up a travel agency
Olivier,
those are pretty lame arguments, sounding more like lame excuses in my regard
What is the most important part in setting the lighting? The lightsources, of course. No matter if continuous (movie) or still lighting, the most care is devoted to the quality of the sources. Archimedes knew this, Profoto knows this very well too - the design of their heads and suiting light formers from the zoom standard up to the new Giant reflectors is prove of this fact.
The basic of designing a source is to shape a reflector around a bare bulb. How well this is implemented makes the Profoto range of bowls valuable. With the D1 you can completely forget about using them effectively. End of rant...
I look forward to hearing from folks who actually end up doing some real world shooting with these units. I understand and share all the concerns about the built-in reflector and it's effect on the quality of the light. But I just have trouble believing that a company as good as profoto would come up with this design if it was really going to come at the cost of light quality. (I speak as someone who has happily used a Profoto D4 system for years)
williamcarter wrote: But I just have trouble believing that a company as good as profoto would come up with this design if it was really going to come at the cost of light quality. (I speak as someone who has happily used a Profoto D4 system for years)
One need only look at Profoto's old line of "Compact" monolights to see that any brand can err on occasion. Profoto's design of a built-in reflector is a bit puzzling, but very well may turn into a convenient feature. I take issue with having to adjust the way light readings are measured. Anyone using a Sekonic for wireless metering is going to be a tad annoyed with having to adjust to a less simple workflow.
They're good looking lights, but they should have found a way to bring down the weight of the body and offered options for Pocket Wizard users. This is a gross miscalculation on their part. When it comes to monolights, I get the idea that Profoto assigns the B-team to get the job done.
Deezie wrote:
One need only look at Profoto's old line of "Compact" monolights to see that any brand can err on occasion. Profoto's design of a built-in reflector is a bit puzzling, but very well may turn into a convenient feature. I take issue with having to adjust the way light readings are measured. Anyone using a Sekonic for wireless metering is going to be a tad annoyed with having to adjust to a less simple workflow.
They're good looking lights, but they should have found a way to bring down the weight of the body and offered options for Pocket Wizard users. This is a gross miscalculation on their part. When it comes to monolights, I get the idea that Profoto assigns the B-team to get the job done....Show more →
