Profoto A1

[Cody'sCaptures]

If you have to ask the price you can't afford it.

Zj? Or profoto? Either way I can't...

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[Derrel]

Neil V's video review of this Profoto A1. This really looks like a device for the already-exisiting Profoto light users.



For people who do NOT have Profoto gear, the A1 does not look like a good "value" to me. The omni-0directional bare-bulb look he mentions is achieved by using their magnet-attaching dome diffuser, or so he says. To me though, the look of ANY small diffuser is NOT THE SAME as a bare-tube, clear-glass flash firing! A TRUE bare-tube burst is rather hard light, which can be used in the way bare-tube flash has been used for decades...using a frosted diffuser, the light is not quite the same; bare-tube looks a lot like incandescent lightbulb light. Not all that commonly needed, but, at times, it6's the best way to light a big area, in that 360-degree circle.

I dunno...this is a very high-tech light unit, and is yet another part of the Profoto universe, which is a far cry from the Streaklight or Yongnuo or Neewer universes!

A much longer, Adorama-sponsored look at the Profoto A1, 44 minutes, is here:

 

[chuasam]

it doesn't really fit with current profoto modifiers.

 

[TCampbell]

It supports radio via their AirTTL system (built-in), comes in E-TTL versions for both Canon & Nikon (and they also have AirTTL radio transmitters for both systems - which is the same one they use with other Profoto systems such as the Profoto B1 & B1X, etc.). It has a built-in modeling light (I'd have loved to have that back when I started shooting at dark wedding receptions).

I'm not sure how it compares to other high-end speedlites (e.g. from Canon & Nikon) because speedlites are typically rated in "guide number" (because the reflector is fixed - it's not a bare tube) and studio strobes (which typically are bare tube) are rated in watt-seconds because the "guide number" you get really depends on which modifier you use.

It took a bit of digging... but it DOES have an exchangeable Li-Ion battery pack. Extra packs are already pre-orderable at B&H Photo for $99.

But there is another fairly distinct advantage...

Suppose you are doing "event" or "on-location" photography and you want a side-light with a strong flash ... something like a Profoto B1 ... but you also want an on-camera flash. Since the AirTTL is built-in, you can use this as your "on camera" flash and use the B1 as the "off camera" flash since the radio technology is built-in and the same.

This has some nice advantages for pros (who want to add an on-camera flash to an existing Profoto "on-location" lighting system (and I'm really thinking of the B1 or B1X system). If I'm a photographer who only wants a single on-camera flash and I'm not looking at my flash as just being one part of a larger flash system... then there are lots of other flashes on the market that will probably do the job for less money. The A1 is about $1000. It's a nice flash, but it's more than even the flagship Nikon & Canon brand-name flashes.