p.1 #1 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
I find myself wanting (not needing) to buy the Quadra HS head. I like the opportunity the head creates to better control the shutter speed and aperture. For those of you who have the head or have used the head what are your thoughts? Is the head worth it? Does it function as marketed? Thanks.
p.1 #2 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
Short answer; Yes it is worth it, and yes it functions as marketed.
I own 2 Quadra packs with HS heads and use them both in the studio as well as on location shooting. For location portraits its very nice to be able to shoot at (very) fast shutter speeds and keep wide apertures. In a studio environment the gradient becomes more apparent when used with fast shutter speeds. This is just because of the way HS technique works. In many cases it can be fixed in post though. I have used the HS technique on several occasions to freeze liquids in motion, like I have shown before on this forum. Just an example:
p.1 #4 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
It is worth having if you shoot anything in bright ambient light. You can do some of that with the S/Pro head too, but the gradient will be more severe, particularly at lower power settings on the B port because of the shorter flash durations. For 'normal' use where I'm not mixing with bright ambient, I prefer the A/Action head for its inherently shorter flash duration. Use of the HS head at normal sync speeds will more easily result in subject motion or camera motion blur. IMO I'd skip the S/Pro head, which was the default head option prior to the HS, and use only the A/Action and HS depending on the situation.
p.1 #5 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
tembody wrote:
I find myself wanting (not needing) to buy the Quadra HS head. I like the opportunity the head creates to better control the shutter speed and aperture. For those of you who have the head or have used the head what are your thoughts? Is the head worth it? Does it function as marketed? Thanks.
Tem, I’m making some assumptions here or you would probably not be familiar with the Quadra.
I assume you’re already married to that particular Elinchrome system and have battery packs?
All that said I’m sure if you have a need. For what that head will do, then it’s worth owning.
If not, then I personally would not invest in it.
I used a Quadra for a year and found it to be a good light but not exceptional.
I personally would get an Einstein for about the same money but I’d very much opt for a an onboard battery light instead.
What I didn’t like about the Quadra was the clumsy battery pack and short cord. I was used to the clumsy pack because I have Vagabonds but not that short cord. If I raised my light high the battery had to be right under the stand.
If you have other Elinchrome products the fact that everything is proprietary may not matter. The cord fried once and the replacement was NOT cheap!
If you keep it forever you’ll be fine but I wouldn’t wanna try and sell one of those heads.
And if I recall even the trigger was proprietary.
Even though everything was plastic it seemed like a pretty nice unit and very light.
I was using it mostly for portraits and as my master and would miss a lot of shots because it recycled so slow, something I wasn’t used to but got better at waiting for it.
Anyway, depending on how you use it, all things to keep in mind! Good luck.
John
p.1 #6 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
I would also say that the Quadra/ELB400 HS head is a good buy (as is the A head).
I started out with A heads and a Quadra RX and felt I could do better in daylight with the S or HS heads. It is true that the S head does Hi Sync better, but using a Nikon full frame I could even use the A heads down to ca 1/1 250 s using a slight ODS on the Transmitter Pro. The S heads did perform slightly better using Hi Sync but the Ringflash ECO and HS heads are what you should get if you want Hi Sync.
Do you have the Transmitter Pro (formerly known as Skyport Plus HS)? If not, I would strongly recommend getting one to get optimum result with the HS head.
@JohnSil, I agree with you that the older Quadras are not ideal for a fast paced shooting style. However, the ELB 400 recycles much faster than the Quadra RX/Hybrid, even when I use the lithium battery on all packs. It really is the best Quadra pack.
p.1 #7 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
I have used the HS head with Quadra Hybrid for outdoor portraits in sunny lighting conditions and it has worked perfectly. If you need a longer cord between the battery pack and the head, they do make them, though of course it will be extra weight to carry. I like the Quadra because the head is so light, having it on a stand is not as top heavy as when using a battery-powered monolight. Also it can fit in a really small space, which is invaluable when working in a small studio (getting it as close to the wall or ceiling, for example, is possible).
p.1 #8 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
ilkka_nissila wrote:
a longer cord between the battery pack and the head, they do make them, though of course it will be extra weight to carry.
LoL, that’s funny. You won’t need to worry too much about the cord weight because it will more than be offset by how much lighter your wallet will be!!! LoL
Are most using the Quadra without a modifier?
I’m not even sure how you can set up a softbox?
I used mine with and umbrella set up as a Brolly box. What I hated about that was the lollipop shape catchlights! I guess the remedy to that might be to use a shoot-through umbrella?
John
p.1 #9 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
The fact that the Quadra is a pack and head system is what made me decide to buy into these instead of the Profoto B1 for example. I’ll take the discomfort of the cable any day over an all-in-one system where I have to breng much heavier light stands to compensate for the top heavy strobes... An extension cord is just a minor inconvenience imho..
For anyone in the market for a new battery-powered strobe system I’d recommend buying an ELB500 though. You still have the discomfort of the cable, but the heads are still very small an light weight, the recycle times are pretty fast, and you can hook up 2 heads and have full assymatrical power distribution available. They are really a joy to use...
p.1 #10 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
JohnSil wrote:
LoL, that’s funny. You won’t need to worry too much about the cord weight because it will more than be offset by how much lighter your wallet will be!!! LoL
Are most using the Quadra without a modifier?
I’m not even sure how you can set up a softbox?
I used mine with and umbrella set up as a Brolly box. What I hated about that was the lollipop shape catchlights! I guess the remedy to that might be to use a shoot-through umbrella?
John
I almost always use my Quadra/ ELB500 heads with larger modifiers like the 100cm Deep Octa. You just have to use the Quadra adapter mkII to use bigger light modifiers.
p.1 #11 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
JohnSil wrote:
LoL, that’s funny. You won’t need to worry too much about the cord weight because it will more than be offset by how much lighter your wallet will be!!! LoL
Well, I am happy with the regular cable that came with the head. But I'm more worried about the build-up of weight when working outdoors with flash than my financial well-being.
Are most using the Quadra without a modifier?
I use it outdoors with a (white) beauty dish and diffuser sock. This is less likely to pick up wind and tumble down on a stand than other modifiers so I don't need as much sand-bagging.
I’m not even sure how you can set up a softbox?
I use the Quadra EL adapter (Mk II is preferred) to mount standard EL modifiers to the Quadra. Well, technically with most direct modifiers you mount the modifiers to the adapter which is put on a stand (it has a swivel mount of its own that is stronger than the Quadra head itself) and then you mount the Quadra head on the other side of the adapter. It's a little tricky at first but manageable.
Although outdoors I prefer to use the beauty dish, indoors in the studio I use a variety of modifiers including RQ mount reflector and grid, rotalux strip, deep umbrellas (usually with diffuser) and 150cm rotalux indirect softbox which has a mount of its own and carries the adapter and head. All of these can be mounted either directly to the Quadra head or using the EL adapter.
I used mine with and umbrella set up as a Brolly box. What I hated about that was the lollipop shape catchlights! I guess the remedy to that might be to use a shoot-through umbrella?
John
As for the shape of catchlights when using an umbrella box, if it is a silver box then I suppose the stand and head cause some star-like pattern + shadow of the stand in the catch light. This is where the indirect softbox is better as the thing is mounted from the back. Using a white umbrella to make the box and adding diffuser should soften the catch light, but the overall feel of the lighting also changes. Also, to even out the light in the umbrella box, do not use a reflector in the flash head (use it in a bare bulb configuration) and do not insert the umbrella too deep. But a softbox avoids the shadows and star pattern in the catch light. To make the light from a direct softbox more even (and closer to that of an indirect softbox), I use a white semitranslucent deflector to even it out and minimize the hot spot.
p.1 #12 · Is the Elinchrom Quadra HS head worth it?
When using a boom arm I sometimes use the pack as a counter weight, try that with an all in one system
Outside I usually use my 100cm Deep Octa or the 70cm Deep Octa. I had the wind knock over the whole light stand once or twice, but since the head is very light weight, the octa box has always caught the fall, up until now anyway... Never had any damage on the heads. And since the pack is at ground level to begin with, it never took a fall either.
