Anyone got any experience with Elinchrom Quadra system?

gloobag

I'm going to be investing in some more powerful lights in the new year and I really love how portable these Quadras appear to be.

Looks like you can get a two light kit for around the €2k mark.

The only downsides I can see is that they're only 400ws, and their power splits to a 2:1 ratio when two lights are plugged into the same pack.

Anyone here using them and could maybe share their thoughts, or even some suggestions for other lighting systems?

stcstc

i have a set, i love em

i use a 1.8m softbox with them and works grand

i love the 1 stop diff means you dont have to worry between main and key, as they are the right amount apart

i bought mine from paddy barker, and he was very helpful

gloobag

stcstc wrote: »

i have a set, i love em

i use a 1.8m softbox with them and works grand

i love the 1 stop diff means you dont have to worry between main and key, as they are the right amount apart

i bought mine from paddy barker, and he was very helpful

Thanks for that. Yeah, I can see the benefit of the power split alright, but I guess I'd just like the option to be able fire both at full whack. I'd probably be buying an extra pack anyways to be honest, as I may invest in a two light kit and one extra light.

Joe McNally raves about these things, so I'm guessing they can't be that bad

Do you have the A(speed) or the S(standard) version?

In what kinda situations are using them if you don't mind me asking? The majority of the stuff I'll be doing will be location based, and I'm worried that these would get drowned out by the sun fairly easily. Not that I'd be shooting in direct sunlight often, but I guess I'd like the option to be there.

stcstc

the a ones

use them for location stuff, i have them and a set of dlite 4 it, so inside i can use all and outsid ei just use the quadras

chances are i will buy second pack soon too

gloobag

stcstc wrote: »

the a ones

use them for location stuff, i have them and a set of dlite 4 it, so inside i can use all and outsid ei just use the quadras

chances are i will buy second pack soon too

Thanks again, these are defo front runner at the moment

ValueInIreland

gloobag wrote: »

Thanks for that. Yeah, I can see the benefit of the power split alright, but I guess I'd just like the option to be able fire both at full whack. I'd probably be buying an extra pack anyways to be honest, as I may invest in a two light kit and one extra light.

Joe McNally raves about these things, so I'm guessing they can't be that bad

Do you have the A(speed) or the S(standard) version?

In what kinda situations are using them if you don't mind me asking? The majority of the stuff I'll be doing will be location based, and I'm worried that these would get drowned out by the sun fairly easily. Not that I'd be shooting in direct sunlight often, but I guess I'd like the option to be there.

Two packs is a fantastic option - if the budget stretches, but there is a lot of power in 400W - It's a full stop more powerful than an SB-900.
The A heads have a shorter flash duration for freezing action, but the S heads used with Pocket Wizards allow some really high sync speeds (over 1/1000 th) - great for use in bright conditions. The two head kits are retailing here for about €1,700, so leaves change for a softbox and some bits!

gloobag

ValueInIreland wrote: »

the S heads used with Pocket Wizards allow some really high sync speeds (over 1/1000 th) - great for use in bright conditions.

I assume this is with the newer Flex type Pocket Wizards and not the Plus II's (which I have )?

gloobag

gloobag wrote: »

Looks like you can get a two light kit for around the €2k mark.

Why not spend money on generic knockoff stuff from Hong Kong and a few flashguns?

What's the advantage? Is this really not a fantastic example of paying for the brand name?

Ballyman

Deleted User wrote: »

Why not spend money on generic knockoff stuff from Hong Kong and a few flashguns?

What's the advantage? Is this really not a fantastic example of paying for the brand name?

Because the knock off stuff is a piece of crap. I'm afraid you have to pay professional prices for professional gear

stcstc

Deleted User wrote: »

Why not spend money on generic knockoff stuff from Hong Kong and a few flashguns?

What's the advantage? Is this really not a fantastic example of paying for the brand name?

firstly asking if we take hard drugs is not a particularly helpful response

as for the difference

firstly some very subtle diffs, the colour temp of the light is way more controlled on pro gear like this

spares and parts are both available and user changable

build quality is in a different league

if your trying to earn money from your kit, you need it to just work, and work every time you need it


and - would you use the same analogy for buying lenses? instead of canon L glass ah sure some cheap ebay knock off will do the same job?

gloobag

stcstc wrote: »

firstly asking if we take hard drugs is not a particularly helpful response

as for the difference

firstly some very subtle diffs, the colour temp of the light is way more controlled on pro gear like this

spares and parts are both available and user changable

build quality is in a different league

if your trying to earn money from your kit, you need it to just work, and work every time you need it


and - would you use the same analogy for buying lenses? instead of canon L glass ah sure some cheap ebay knock off will do the same job?

What he said...

oshead

You gotta weight up the pros and cons to see if this solution will work for you. We've seen plenty of pros... What are the disadvantages?

The lights are generally intended for outdoor, on location work. You'll probably need an assistant to work them comfortably. McNally has two assistants.... If you usually work alone it can be quite a big step up to paying an assistant to help carry gear and most importantly to take care that these babys don't get blown over by the wind.

They don't do ttl. Not such a problem unless you plan to run 'n' gun...

Accessories are expensive. They'll work with the PWII no problem, but to get the HSS mentioned earlier you'll need to throw another lump of money at it. One trigger for the camera and one for each block. Could be as much €500. Maybe you could work up to these, and use the included skyport triggers. You probably won't need faster shutter speeds. If you are worried about killing the sun, these have enough power, especially with two blocks @ 100%. You might want to invest in a fader ND filter (about €70) for those wide apertures on your 85mm.

There aren't many light shaping accessories that will fit directly to the heads. You'll need an adapter to attach larger and heavier softboxes. One adapter and a 70cm Deep Octa will set you back another €300.

If portability is your main concern then 10kg and 400ws, this could be the set for you. If having the extra power is the main thing the 1100ws @ 21kg Ranger RS might be considered. I think barker photographic let you try before you buy for both of these. Surely that would help with any niggling concerns you may have.

stcstc

oshead wrote: »

You gotta weight up the pros and cons to see if this solution will work for you. We've seen plenty of pros... What are the disadvantages?

The lights are generally intended for outdoor, on location work. You'll probably need an assistant to work them comfortably. McNally has two assistants.... If you usually work alone it can be quite a big step up to paying an assistant to help carry gear and most importantly to take care that these babys don't get blown over by the wind.

They don't do ttl. Not such a problem unless you plan to run 'n' gun...

Accessories are expensive. They'll work with the PWII no problem, but to get the HSS mentioned earlier you'll need to throw another lump of money at it. One trigger for the camera and one for each block. Could be as much €500. Maybe you could work up to these, and use the included skyport triggers. You probably won't need faster shutter speeds. If you are worried about killing the sun, these have enough power, especially with two blocks @ 100%. You might want to invest in a fader ND filter (about €70) for those wide apertures on your 85mm.

There aren't many light shaping accessories that will fit directly to the heads. You'll need an adapter to attach larger and heavier softboxes. One adapter and a 70cm Deep Octa will set you back another €300.

If portability is your main concern then 10kg and 400ws, this could be the set for you. If having the extra power is the main thing the 1100ws @ 21kg Ranger RS might be considered. I think barker photographic let you try before you buy for both of these. Surely that would help with any niggling concerns you may have.

accessories are not to bad, i have a 1.8m softbox, not an elinchrom one. and it cost less than 400 euros

as for an assistant kinda depends what you doing. any amount of lights outdoors you might need someone to help never mind the brand

as for high sync speeds, pixel knight do a pair of triggers for 150 euros ie transmitter and reciever so no you dont have to spend on pocket wizards

oshead

stcstc wrote: »

accessories are not to bad, i have a 1.8m softbox, not an elinchrom one. and it cost less than 400 euros

No doubt with the EL adapter...

stcstc wrote: »

as for an assistant kinda depends what you doing. any amount of lights outdoors you might need someone to help never mind the brand

I agree, though i'd hate to see one of the flimsy quadra heads taking a tumble...

stcstc wrote: »

as for high sync speeds, pixel knight do a pair of triggers for 150 euros ie transmitter and reciever so no you dont have to spend on pocket wizards

Does hss work on the Quadra's? It would be nice to know the details, max sync speed and at how much power loss.

stcstc

yes with the adptor just like any other modifier
although the price i quoted included the adaptor price too

actually because they are so small the head, they tend not to end on the floor if they take a tumble as the modifiers tend to hold them up

i dont use the hss, but thats why there are 2 versions


its horses for courses, having used cheap lighting setups and now owning the quadras man you can really tell the difference

oshead

Elinchrom make a couple of light weight softboxes (RQ Portalites) for use on the head directly. But you're confined to using them only on the Quadra.

I've googled and couldn't find any reference to high speed sync with the pixelknights. Some test results would be nice to find...

Yeah, for sure, I would prefer to use and spend the money on a quadra kit than trying to do the same thing with a bunch of speedlites.

stcstc

to get close with speedlites

by the time you add it up you not too far off the same price with the same amount of light

as would need 4 speedlites to give you the same amount of light

ValueInIreland

gloobag wrote: »

I assume this is with the newer Flex type Pocket Wizards and not the Plus II's (which I have )?

'Fraid your're right.

ValueInIreland

oshead wrote: »

........

If portability is your main concern then 10kg and 400ws, this could be the set for you. If having the extra power is the main thing the 1100ws @ 21kg Ranger RS might be considered. I think barker photographic let you try before you buy for both of these. Surely that would help with any niggling concerns you may have.

You make some good points, but you are way off with the weights... A Ranger Quadra (Pack, Battery & Head) is under 3.5Kg. It's Bigger brother the Ranger Speed AS is about 8-9Kg , Pack, Battery & Head.

oshead

ValueInIreland wrote: »

You make some good points, but you are way off with the weights... A Ranger Quadra (Pack, Battery & Head) is under 3.5Kg. It's Bigger brother the Ranger Speed AS is about 8-9Kg , Pack, Battery & Head.

Sorry, were we not talking about the whole kit. I should have specified 'weight of kit'. The pack, battery and head are useless without the rest of the kit. Elinchrom specify the weight of the Quadra Kit as 10.2kg. I presume that includes the case, cables, charger and extra battery. All of these are necessary parts of what I would call a portable kit, Ie With the exception of the charger, transporting it from A to B, would you not want to bring the whole kit?

stcstc

those figures are really irrelavent

add 20kg for camera bag, another 4 for grip kit

and none of those figure really matter

well unless you shooting up a mountain or something

gloobag

Just realised that these are not compatible with my existing Westcott umbrellas and Apollo softbox due to Elinchrom being awkward with their smaller umbrella shaft

Admittedly, I haven't used an umbrella in ages so I wouldn't mind too much selling them on, but I would miss the Apollo.

stcstc

i have a westscott appolo and they work with mine

althoughi tend to use them through a brolley adaptor on the stand

stcstc

stcstc wrote: »

firstly asking if we take hard drugs is not a particularly helpful response

T'was a saracastic remark. Those prices are crazy.

stcstc wrote: »

as for the difference

firstly some very subtle diffs, the colour temp of the light is way more controlled on pro gear like this

Surely if you use a bunch of flasguns, all the same type, the temeperature will all be the same, anyway? And if you shoot RAW or gel the flashes this becomes even less of an issue?

spares and parts are both available and user changable

build quality is in a different league

But you're spending so much less on flashguns that any damage done would see you better off just replacing the flashgun rather than repairing it? I use flashguns for everything and mine have been bumped and dropped and pushed and pulled, and the only thing that's ever happened is a broken foot mount on one of them. I replaced it for less than €10 (now admittedly I did a crap job of fixing it, but a fellow boardsie was going through the same thing at the same time, and he fixed his one well, so it can be done).

Plus the flash still works fine, it sways a little if you move around with it on top of the camera, but on a light stand or such it works perfectly.

if your trying to earn money from your kit, you need it to just work, and work every time you need it

The only time I ever had a flash I wouldn't trust was a Yongnuo one. Can't remember which one exactly, but it was a disaster unit and was a waste of money (though that said I've had a YN460II sitting around for the last 6 months and it's been fine). I use Metz stuff, and it's never, ever failed me. I use cheap ass Yongnuo triggers and again, never once have they not fired for me.

and - would you use the same analogy for buying lenses? instead of canon L glass ah sure some cheap ebay knock off will do the same job?

But the difference is that a knockoff lens probably wont be up to the same quality of glass. That's a real thing that can actually affect your images. I've used flashguns for practically everything and I've used big bulky Elinchrom lights here and there (not sure of their actual name) for another photographer before and I seen them being used by him too, and the only upside I seen was that his stuff had much stronger outputs (but they needed to be plugged in, or connected to a big ass battery pack).

This is the equivalent to paying for a Canon battery grip, or a BlackRapid strap. It's senseless and you're really just paying over the top for a name. The generic versions of the same product will do the same job.

Don't get me wrong, I realise everyone's into something different (and that's what makes things so interesting). If everyone liked the same thing then we'd all be a bit boring. I just find the value in those sets to be really lacking (unless you're making a fair few Euro, and you want to pay for big ticket stuff just because you can).


As someone said above, "horses for courses", and all that. Just my own opinion.

stcstc

Deleted User wrote: »

But you're spending so much less on flashguns that any damage done would see you better off just replacing the flashgun rather than repairing it? I use flashguns for everything and mine have been bumped and dropped and pushed and pulled, and the only thing that's ever happened is a broken foot mount on one of them. I replaced it for less than €10 (now admittedly I did a crap job of fixing it, but a fellow boardsie was going through the same thing at the same time, and he fixed his one well, so it can be done).

The only time I ever had a flash I wouldn't trust was a Yongnuo one. Can't remember which one exactly, but it was a disaster unit and was a waste of money (though that said I've had a YN460II sitting around for the last 6 months and it's been fine). I use Metz stuff, and it's never, ever failed me. I use cheap ass Yongnuo triggers and again, never once have they not fired for me.

But the difference is that a knockoff lens probably wont be up to the same quality of glass. That's a real thing that can actually affect your images. I've used flashguns for practically everything and I've used big bulky Elinchrom lights here and there (not sure of their actual name) for another photographer before and I seen them being used by him too, and the only upside I seen was that his stuff had much stronger outputs (but they needed to be plugged in, or connected to a big ass battery pack).

This is the equivalent to paying for a Canon battery grip, or a BlackRapid strap. It's senseless and you're really just paying over the top for a name. The generic versions of the same product will do the same job.

Don't get me wrong, I realise everyone's into something different (and that's what makes things so interesting). If everyone liked the same thing then we'd all be a bit boring. I just find the value in those sets to be really lacking (unless you're making a fair few Euro, and you want to pay for big ticket stuff just because you can).


As someone said above, "horses for courses", and all that. Just my own opinion.

well at least compare like with like

if your talking about flashguns - then compare flash guns with flashguns

if you wanted flashguns (speedlites) with the same amount of light output, with consistent colour, consisten output, etc

well you would be looking at a min of 4 speedlights, for example 4 canon 580s or even the metz equiv, your then talking about getting towards the same cost as buying the elinchrom quadras

as for fixing later, no thats not correct if you have 2 or 4 lights with variing output colour temps its not possible to fix, well not very easily in post

and using colour correction gel wont do it either as the steps are to wide

stcstc

stcstc wrote: »

as for fixing later, no thats not correct if you have 2 or 4 lights with variing output colour temps its not possible to fix, well not very easily in post

But if you use all of the same flashgun they'll all have the same temperature will they not?

stcstc

nope not always, particularly with the cheaper speedlites


and when you do 10 euro repairs to them almost certainly not

stcstc

stcstc wrote: »

nope not always, particularly with the cheaper speedlites


and when you do 10 euro repairs to them almost certainly not

The repair was to the foot (had no effect on anything else) and i'd not consider Metz to be a 'cheaper speedlite'. They're fairly highly regarded.

stcstc

actualy wasnt talking about brand, was talking about speedlites in the range from any supplier