roanjohnnyc wrote:
.......also, are people having a hard time acquiring the speed ring attachment to the quadra? It seems that all the shots I've seen so far are with the kit reflector.
Yes, the Dutch importer called Switzerland when I bought them, and Elinchrom was not able to give any dates. That's a big issue.
digitalfrog wrote:
Yes, the Dutch importer called Switzerland when I bought them, and Elinchrom was not able to give any dates. That's a big issue.
....wow..... that is kind of an issue. No wonder Frank has been proclaiming the greatness of these reflectors...... I guess he doesn't have a choice (at the moment).......
Got a quadra ranger last week. Some info I hope some people find useful.
If you own a Lastolite Ezybox hotshoe softbox, your quadra head with the included reflector is exactly the right size to fit the back of the soft box with no adaptor needed. A great modifier until the elinchrom adaptor allows us to use the larger modifiers. To be honest, the light quality from the larger ezybox hotshoe is so nice that since it collapses to such a small size its the perfect lightweight match for the quadra as a Studio-to-go setup.
Also did a quick flash output test at about 6ft vs a canon 580exII. With the 580exII zoomed all the way in, I needed to set the quadra output to 170w/s to match the Canon flash output. Obviously the output is vastly different in terms of quality and spread but thats what the meter said for those that are interested
I great news that it can fit the Ezybox without any additional speedring. I am glad you mention the last point "Quality and distrubition of light across wide area".
Gordonmac wrote:
If you own a Lastolite Ezybox hotshoe softbox, your quadra head with the included reflector is exactly the right size to fit the back of the soft box with no adaptor needed.
Great news!
Although I understand that Lastolite has redesigned their hot shoe bracket, the old one (same as the Alzo) was a little cheezy. Being able to use this slick little bit o' kit without the bracket will be even better.
The best part is that (for me) is you can use this thing while plugged in (the battery won't charge). It seems more versatile than the bxri's. Hmmm.....
roanjohnnyc wrote:
The best part is that (for me) is you can use this thing while plugged in (the battery won't charge). It seems more versatile than the bxri's. Hmmm.....
More versatile, yes. But only if you use one head per pack, otherwise you will not be getting 400Ws max on each head. So it's versatility at a cost!
rudiphoto wrote:
More versatile, yes. But only if you use one head per pack, otherwise you will not be getting 400Ws max on each head. So it's versatility at a cost!
True. But in the studio (which is where I do most of my shoot), 400 ws is more than enough. I might keep my BxRi's though.....this will give me 4 lights in total as I am thinking of getting the 2 head kit of the Quadra.......and maybe later invest on an extra battery.........
rudiphoto wrote:
That's kinda the way I did it - I have two RX600's and a Ranger Speed AS with two heads (one S, one A). Works great in the studio.
Cool!!!
......reading further on the reviews.....it's kinda puzzling that the Elinchrom studio lights (RX, BXri) which are meant to be left on the stands and stay indoors includes a flash tube plastic protector and not a reflector and the Quadra (which are meant for outdoor shoots and traveling) includes a reflector and not a flash tube protector!!
Looking at the photos shot on the beach the Ranger Quadra is no better then using two Nikon SB800s side by side that i do now.
Some shots are at ISO 50 AND F11.
I need to be at ISO 200 so i would not get F11.
Looking at all the images the backgrounds are not good at all for knocking the sun down.
So the Ranger Quadra for outdoor in the sun shots looks like it is not going to cut it.
I can hit F10 at iso 200 with the flash that close to the subject with my SB800s set to half power to recycle fast.
I would need F14 at iso 200 at 12 to 15 feet back for group shots at sunset.
I think two SB800s or 900s side by side is a much less $$ way to do this we shoot on the beach almost everyday with this set up.
I'm kind of with you digitaled. At the price of the Quadra I'm just not sure it fills a specific need in my shooting. It's not powerful enough to overpower the sun and I can get similar results and portability with 120j's or SB900's indoors. It definitely looks cool though
Before you all write it off on the basis of looking at someone elses videos of a shoot online, I suggest you try the Quadra for yourselves.
I've shot with it on a beach in full sun with white cliffs behind for extra brightness as an extreme test, and still overpowered the sun at half power to produce a deep blue sky.
