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Archive 2022 · Profoto A2

tcphoto
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Profoto A2

I'm sure that like me, many of you have read about the newly released Profoto A2 flash. It is a compact 100ws flash that looks to be quite versatile. After watching a couple videos, I went to see the price and was amazed that it's US$1K which I will never justify for such a tool. I'm curious what others think about and if you'd spend $1K on a 100ws flash.

Jun 29, 2022 at 12:14 PM

Nathan Padgett
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Profoto A2

These look pretty cool and I was curious about the price. Knew it would be expensive since it's profoto, but man, don't think I could swallow $1000 on these.

I really liked the OCF adapter they shown for it too. Hopefully they price that reasonably or at least clearance out the old $300 version. I'd love to have a couple for my A1 flashes when I'm trying to pack light.

Jun 30, 2022 at 05:53 PM

story_teller
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Profoto A2

It's an interesting light, especially if you do weddings or use a smartphone for photography. It's on the low end of strobes and not a hot shoe speedlight. Kind of in between. The price tag isn't surprising since Sweden adds a 25% VAT tax on these types of exports.

Probably good for run and gun applications such as real estate and event. It's lightweight with an easy to use menu, so there's an appeal to some. It will be interesting to see how well it sells.

Jul 02, 2022 at 09:40 AM

mineymole
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Profoto A2

Popular enough that they are sold out everywhere....

Jul 06, 2022 at 10:39 AM

zeitlos
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Profoto A2

Has anyone already bought/tried the A2 and can comment on it?

Oct 03, 2023 at 01:59 AM

macwest
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Profoto A2

they https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1710063-REG/profoto_901250_a2_compact_monolight.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAjw9-6oBhBaEiwAHv1QvHFn7ZgEe7LDNwP96Omeu2QiD-6rzSwmlXhBUSxGWwPX3NxaWVQZvBoCLhwQAvD_BwEare

they are not sold out and i retuned mine because after 10 shots it overheated. 2nd copy the same.

Oct 03, 2023 at 06:44 AM

story_teller
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Profoto A2

macwest wrote:
they https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1710063-REG/profoto_901250_a2_compact_monolight.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAjw9-6oBhBaEiwAHv1QvHFn7ZgEe7LDNwP96Omeu2QiD-6rzSwmlXhBUSxGWwPX3NxaWVQZvBoCLhwQAvD_BwEare

they are not sold out and i retuned mine because after 10 shots it overheated. 2nd copy the same.

Strange. I wonder if there was a bad lot of A2's. I googled "overheating problem Profoto A2" and found nothing. I also looked at the 3rd party online reviews and no mention of overheating. With all the wedding photographers using A2's you would think it would be a very common complaint. How fast were you shooting between flashes?

Oct 03, 2023 at 08:46 AM

sungphoto
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Profoto A2

As cute as they are, one could purchase 3 Godox AD200s and a trigger for the same price if you really needed something that small. Could justify it as a rental but hard to justify if you only wanted one or two lights, when there are so many options with this much or more power for a lot less money.

Oct 03, 2023 at 12:00 PM

macwest
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Profoto A2

read reviews on bh i had simlar experiance ,after 20 or so shots. i purchased godox no problems so far.

Oct 03, 2023 at 04:52 PM

ronchau
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Profoto A2

The Profoto A2 and Godox AD100 pretty much occupy the same place in the respective company lineup as a small step up from a speed light.

Godox vs Profoto only matters if you have not made a decision on a lighting ecosystem yet. There always seems to be jabbing back and forth btw Godox and Profoto owners.

To me, my lights are just tools that get the job done.

Oct 03, 2023 at 10:54 PM

story_teller
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Profoto A2

Oct 04, 2023 at 07:15 AM

kaplah
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Profoto A2

tcphoto wrote:
I'm curious what others think about and if you'd spend $1K on a 100ws flash.

If I was already in the Profoto ecosystem, absolutely. Takes the place of a speedlight, power-wise (a slight step up) and roughly size-wise.

After all, the Canon EL-1 lists at $1500 and sell at B&H for $1100.

All of this makes the Nikon SB-5000 look like a bargain.

Oct 04, 2023 at 03:15 PM

macwest
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Profoto A2

now thats a hard flash to get the Canon el-1.

Oct 04, 2023 at 08:12 PM

sungphoto
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Profoto A2

ronchau wrote:
The Profoto A2 and Godox AD100 pretty much occupy the same place in the respective company lineup as a small step up from a speed light.

Godox vs Profoto only matters if you have not made a decision on a lighting ecosystem yet. There always seems to be jabbing back and forth btw Godox and Profoto owners.

To me, my lights are just tools that get the job done.

If you're at a stage where you're just stepping up from a speedlight, it'd probably make more sense to pick up a B10 at the very least if not a 500 ws D2, B1 or B1X. The A2 looks nifty but it seems like a product built by marketing teams.

Oct 05, 2023 at 11:05 AM

ronchau
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Profoto A2

sungphoto wrote:
If you're at a stage where you're just stepping up from a speedlight, it'd probably make more sense to pick up a B10 at the very least if not a 500 ws D2, B1 or B1X. The A2 looks nifty but it seems like a product built by marketing teams.

I think the target market for the A2 and AD100 is event photographers who use several lights for mixing in with the ambient lighting. The round head accessories like gels, grids, etc., are useful in this application and the small size is helpful with keeping the light/stand less obtrusive to the venue.

Oct 05, 2023 at 01:20 PM

sungphoto
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Profoto A2

ronchau wrote:
I think the target market for the A2 and AD100 is event photographers who use several lights for mixing in with the ambient lighting. The round head accessories like gels, grids, etc., are useful in this application and the small size is helpful with keeping the light/stand less obtrusive to the venue.

If you're primarily doing events, you're probably making barely enough to cover renting extra lighting and probably better off just getting more speedlights or a more powerful light. Godox or a similar lower priced lighting system makes way more sense for event photogs. Profoto is great but unless you're working regularly and often, it's generally smarter to just rent.

My guess is profoto was thinking "how do we get event and wedding photographers to buy an entry level light, when they can barely afford one of our modifiers.." and tada, the A2 was spit out. Once you put a grid, speedring etc you might as well have a B10 up there at the very least for similar money much more power.

Oct 05, 2023 at 02:03 PM

rscheffler
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Profoto A2

macwest wrote:
now thats a hard flash to get the Canon el-1.

I have borrowed/rented one from CPS a few times and it's a workhorse. The only bad thing(s) about it are price and size. But the size is partly due to its active cooling system. I ended up getting the EL-5 instead. Not quite as nice as the EL-1, but 1/3 the price for about 90% of the performance/features. (And no, I'm not interested in getting a Godox for a lot less).

Oct 05, 2023 at 02:12 PM

ronchau
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Profoto A2

sungphoto wrote:
If you're primarily doing events, you're probably making barely enough to cover renting extra lighting and probably better off just getting more speedlights or a more powerful light. Godox or a similar lower priced lighting system makes way more sense for event photogs. Profoto is great but unless you're working regularly and often, it's generally smarter to just rent.

My guess is profoto was thinking "how do we get event and wedding photographers to buy an entry level light, when they can barely afford one of our modifiers.." and tada, the A2 was spit out. Once you put a grid, speedring...Show more →
I just started working part time on weekends for a few large wedding photo companies. Most of their photographers are the same. I see both Godox and Profoto. Speedlights, little 100w and 200w strobes.

In the FM wedding section there is a recent post discussing using Profotos.

Edited on Oct 05, 2023 at 03:52 PM · View previous versions

Oct 05, 2023 at 02:37 PM

macwest
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Profoto A2

its a great flash mine never overheats and always fires.

Oct 05, 2023 at 03:30 PM


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