el_hoppy wrote:
And speed lights have less power making the Quadra more flexible
Sure... It seems that Elinchrom places the Quadra in between the Speedlights and Ranger RX packs. But if you own both Speedlights and a Ranger RX pack, I fail to see the attraction of the Quadra. For your particular shoot you could have easily taken the Ranger RX with you. At least, that is what I would have done. It is too easy to max out the Quadra under these conditions...
BTW Speedlights are even smaller/lighter than the Quadra
True I could have easily taken my Ranger, especially as we shot right where I parked the boat, so the weight and size savings were unimportant. But I am a gear head with a spending addiction and I wanted to play with my new toys
I will probably end up taking both the Quadra and Ranger on boat shoots which will give me the option of up to 4 heads or more realistically 2 fully asyncronisis lights. Before the Quadra came a long I was thinking (stupidly) of a 2nd Ranger but now that is not necessary. What I really want is the adapter so I can connect my RingFlash to the Quadra and use it as a fill light and the Ranger to power the key.
el_hoppy wrote:
True I could have easily taken my Ranger, especially as we shot right where I parked the boat, so the weight and size savings were unimportant. But I am a gear head with a spending addiction and I wanted to play with my new toys
Yep, I know what you are talking about
I will probably end up taking both the Quadra and Ranger on boat shoots which will give me the option of up to 4 heads or more realistically 2 fully asyncronisis lights. Before the Quadra came a long I was thinking (stupidly) of a 2nd Ranger but now that is not necessary. What I really want is the adapter so I can connect my RingFlash to the Quadra and use it as a fill light and the Ranger to power the key.
Yeah, I have though about this myself... Add another head for the Ranger RX or buy a Quadra for location work. The main advantage of the RX over the Quadra is of course weight/size savings. But I figured, once I have to take all that gear with me (Ranger + Quadra + heads + modifiers), this advantage will be long gone. The Ranger with two heads doesn't seem to be more cumbersome that way. Plus the Ranger RX will still give you 366 w/s on its B channel (when using two heads). The only thing is that I am tied to, is that I can't use two heads on the Ranger RX in an asynchronical manner. Here a Ranger RX + Quadra solution is more fflexible... Or just moving the strobes around in the case of 1 Ranger RX + 2 heads might work as well...
One thing I tried and quite liked was that I managed to fit the Quadra pack, 2 heads, cables, 1Dmk3, 24-70L & 70-200 f2.8L in my Peli 1510 case.
Beach, bikini and sunshine is perhaps not the best environment for the Quadra, but if you are shooting in an abandoned building or around the city at night etc.., then the Quadra has more than enough power and is more portable than the Ranger and has a modelling light for focusing which spped lights lack.
el_hoppy wrote:
One thing I tried and quite liked was that I managed to fit the Quadra pack, 2 heads, cables, 1Dmk3, 24-70L & 70-200 f2.8L in my Peli 1510 case.
Beach, bikini and sunshine is perhaps not the best environment for the Quadra, but if you are shooting in an abandoned building or around the city at night etc.., then the Quadra has more than enough power and is more portable than the Ranger and has a modelling light for focusing which spped lights lack.
Agreed, under those conditions the Quadra would work very well
But then again... if I am shooting in those circumstances, I will drive up there. So weight and size aren't much of a concern. Furthermore, it has to be really dark to make a continuous LED modelling light necessary. Usually when I do inside location work there is AC available. So I'd rather use my RX's instead.
Don't get me wrong here... I am not saying the Quadra is completely worthless... It is just that I fail to see how it could benefit me next to my Ranger RX, RX's and Speedlights... in such a way that it is worth investing in one. It seems too much like a niche product to me. YMMV
evertdoorn wrote:
Daan, isn't it so that if you combine an A- and S-head on a symmetrical rx speed unit like the one you have, you get an assymetrical division anyway?
Evert, I have the Ranger Speed AS version (asymmetrical)
Don't know what happens when I combine an A and S head on that. I will have to look into that...
evertdoorn wrote:
Daan, isn't it so that if you combine an A- and S-head on a symmetrical rx speed unit like the one you have, you get an assymetrical division anyway?
evertdoorn wrote:
Daan, isn't it so that if you combine an A- and S-head on a symmetrical rx speed unit like the one you have, you get an assymetrical division anyway?
I tested the two heads on the Ranger and posted the results somewhere in the bowels of this forum.
I was surprised to find there was virtually NO difference (as in tenths) between the A and S Freelite head in terms of output.
I don't know if that will be the same with the Quadra heads, but I suspect they will be close as well.
Carmen Miranda wrote:
I tested the two heads on the Ranger and posted the results somewhere in the bowels of this forum.
I was surprised to find there was virtually NO difference (as in tenths) between the A and S Freelite head in terms of output.
I don't know if that will be the same with the Quadra heads, but I suspect they will be close as well.
Good luck.
Carmen, how about using a combination of A and S heads on the Ranger RX Speed AS? Can you make the output 1:1 that way?
That's exactly what she's talking about. I talked to one of the Bogen techs and he said the same, that they only work like that on the symmetrical packs, but that the power distribution on the AS negated the effect, so you can't make your AS pack symmetrical.
bacilonur wrote:
That's exactly what she's talking about. I talked to one of the Bogen techs and he said the same, that they only work like that on the symmetrical packs, but that the power distribution on the AS negated the effect, so you can't make your AS pack symmetrical.
bacilonur wrote:
That's exactly what she's talking about. I talked to one of the Bogen techs and he said the same, that they only work like that on the symmetrical packs, but that the power distribution on the AS negated the effect, so you can't make your AS pack symmetrical.
That's interesting. I did test with the Speed AS, but was not aware that heads would perform any differently on a symmetrical pack. Wonder why that is?
Daan B wrote:
Carmen, how about using a combination of A and S heads on the Ranger RX Speed AS? Can you make the output 1:1 that way?
I recall that thread.... I'm pretty sure that the "no difference" was related to the output when using the same output not a symmetrical output from an A & S combo on the one pack... But I drink sometimes and my memory can be wrong
bacilonur wrote:
That's exactly what she's talking about. I talked to one of the Bogen techs and he said the same, that they only work like that on the symmetrical packs, but that the power distribution on the AS negated the effect, so you can't make your AS pack symmetrical.
I've never seen any Elinchrom documentation stating that fact, and in fact Elinchrom state that the A and S heads are identical, the only exception being the flash duration. So I doubt that they would behave any differently on a symmetrical pack, since I don't believe there is any way for the heads or packs to know the difference (as in, tell which head is plugged into which port - I don't think the head can tell whether it's plugged into an asymmetrical pack, and the pack wouldn't know which head is plugged into it - they are not that intelligent, AFAIK).
On the AS unit, the B channel can only deliver 33% of the available power, with or without additional head. The A channel can deliver 100% of the power available, except if there is another head connected to the B channel. In which case, the A channel can only deliver 66%.
Percentages will remain constant as variator is changed up or down the power scale.
One head only:
A Channel = 100% (17-1100) ws
B Channel = 33% (5.7-366) ws
Two heads (A & B)
A Channel = 66% (11.4-733) ws
B Channel = 33% (5.7-366) ws
Couple of other points to add :
1. A (Action) head has half the flash duration as the S (Standard) head.
2. Either head in the B channel will produce half the flash duration as they would in the A channel.
3. If a A (Action) head is used on the A channel and the S (Standard) head on the B channel the flash duration from either head will be basically the same.
4. My unofficial testing (posted in a previous thread) has shown that A (Action) head produces basically the same output as the S (Standard) head at the same power level. Within tenths as I recall. This amounts to virtually no difference in the light ratios produced if the A (Action) and S (Standard) heads are used in combination with each other on either A or B channels.
Rudi, I got that answer from two different Bogen reps who also offered to get me in contact with the pack designer for more detailed answers. In their explanation, it wasn't that the pack knew the difference between which head you plugged in, it was that the internal efficiency differences that separate the A head from the S head make them consume power differently when plugged into a Ranger RX which, by design, shares its power between the two heads equally.
bacilonur wrote:
Rudi, I got that answer from two different Bogen reps who also offered to get me in contact with the pack designer for more detailed answers. In their explanation, it wasn't that the pack knew the difference between which head you plugged in, it was that the internal efficiency differences that separate the A head from the S head make them consume power differently when plugged into a Ranger RX which, by design, shares its power between the two heads equally.
Hi-
This is pulled from the B&H web site description of the Ranger A head (under features). This is the only place I have found this, but it mirrors the above:
Asymmetric Distribution
Even though the Ranger Power Supply has symmetrical distribution only, the photographer is able to achieve a 2:1 ratio between the "A" and "S" series of heads. This works because the "A" heads have a duration up to 1/3250 second while the "S" heads have a duraton up to 1/1600 second. The "A" head is twice as fast, and draws twice the energy of the "S" head creating a 2:1 ratio.
Thanks for digging that up hoppy 