Profoto B1 vs. Phottix Indra

[Zak]

Another rival !!!

INTERFIT S1

http://www.interfitphotographic.com/news/the-new-s1.html#.Vjv_Q6Km2BR

http://flashhavoc.com/interfit-s1-ttl-hss-strobe-announced



500Ws – GN48.7m (160’) – ISO 100, 1/125s

Flash Modes – ETTL / I-TTL / Manual
HSS to 1/8000th (in Manual Mode)
FEC – 1/3rd Increments (±3 Stops)
Manual Power – 2.0 – 8.0 (1/10th Increments), 7 Stop Range

Interfit 2.4GHz Radio System Built In
ETTL & ITTL Radio Slave Modes
Range – 100m+
3 Groups – A / B / C
Multiple Channels

Basic Optic Slave Mode

4500mAh Li-Ion Battery Pack
350 Full Power Flashes
3 Second Recycle Time at Full Power (AC Powered S1a 2 Seconds)
AC Power adapter (Multi Voltage: 100V – 240V)

IGBT Technology
Flash Duration – 1/1000 – 1/9000 (Max-Min Power)
Color Temperature – 5700k +/- 100k

Large LCD Display
10W LED Modeling Light
Fan Cooled
Auto Dump
Temperature Regulation

Bowens S-Type Mount
Strong Aluminium Body
Frosted Glass Diffser Dome (Protects Flash Tube)

USB Port for Firmware Upgrades
3.5mm Sync Port

 

[arthurbikemad]

I just got the ELB400 with Action and HS heads, loving it!!! Best for me is super small and light heads, Tail end sync (HS, Hypersync, equivalent of IGBT flashes HSS) works brilliantly on my 5D3 and batt life is great! Power pack is easy to move around, keeps heavy heads off the stands and integrates well with my speedlights in optical trigger, the trigger is ultra sensitive!

I wanted the B1's but after trying HSS the power drop off was unusable in bright light at any distance, the tail end sync of the ELB is much better for my use, also the B1's (two heads) is a fair package to lug around all day in a backpack.

 

[Pookie]

I own 3 B1's currently (for just about a year I think), in addition to Elinchrom Rangers and Quadra's. At first I thought I would use HSS more often but I tend to do everything manual/old school. At this point I've used HSS or ETTL about 5 times in a year and only to test it out. It does work flawlessly and the only issue I have is ETTL seems to be a little inconsistent with shot to shot exposure.

The one thing I'm really not starting to like about Profoto? Their customer service... quite possibly one of the worst companies out there for any service. I had always thought Elinchrom would be the problem but I've gotten parts and service painlessly.

 

[arthurbikemad]

Elinchrom have been great with me this week, I was a little off with them as one of the tiny tabs (VERY minor but OCD and the price kicked in) that holds the spare fuse on the battery pack had snapped off, Wex (UK) replaced it and all was sorted, even though my tone may have been lost through the lack of 's they still kept up the comm's on twitter etc, all my Q's were answered pretty much within the hour! I'd say I am very happy with Elinchrom and Wex.

I was sooo close to buying the B1 kit but a couple of things put me off, heavy heads (or more so than the ELB's) and the battery packs, you have a few options with the Elinchrom, i.e cheaper lead gel and Li etc etc, some convert the older packs to Li for a cheaper option.

As for TTL its handy at times, I use my 308s to meter my lights if I need or just shoot and adjust, you soon get a feel for the scene plus blinkies help TTL and me have a mixed relation ship, I just feel that IF I use it it will blow the one shot I want haha

Profoto do lead the game with TTL imo, the one thing they have that I have missed on any other TTL system is the ability to see what was used when it metered the shot, or as they say to switch to manual (lock down) from TTL and tweak the settings it used last shot, NICE! If my 600exrt's did that I would be over the moon!

 

[pwp]

My 2 cents:

* The PCB Einsteins and modifiers are great values in the studio. Portability is ok but not great in my experience. I find the Einsteins to be heavy, clunky, and fragile enough to be left at home most of time.

I bought Einsteins precisely FOR their almost unrivaled light weight (for the 640ws output), my six have passed the three year "tough-test" almost entirely on location. By comparison, previous Elincrom and Profoto kits both spent far too much time at the repair shop. So far so good with the Einsteins.

* Einstein reliability hasn't been as good for me as others. I had to send one back because after about 4 months of use, it blew out. The bulb and diffuser bulb cover is highly exposed making it easy to break while putting on modifiers (which I've done twice).

Agree the front glass dome is exposed somewhat, but never had a breakage, changing mods all the time including a heavy, adapted 30 inch beauty dish 30 inch and a couple of the 86 inch PLM's.

* The PCB modifier speedring mechanical connection is a terrible design, and just plain doesn't work with a big octabox without extra help. In semi-windy conditions outside, even medium sized sofboxes blow off the speedring.

Yes this is a weak link but they're kind of locked in with this design. Later Einsteins function far better in this respect than the very earliest ones.

* PCB customer service, however, is awesome. They are really really fantastic. Unfortunately, I know this because I've had to work with them more than I'd like.

The service reputation is close to being unrivaled. You hear stories all the time praising the legendary PCB service. Fortunately this is still an experience that may or may not occur at some time in the future.

* Wireless: PCB commander is reliable, works pretty well, but I find the commander display tedious to work with and hard to read. Pocket wizard flex and recievers with the Einsteins are totally unreliable w.r.t. triggering. I bought the commander gear because of this. The pocket wizard recievers for the Einsteins are on recally/don't use because they apparently can overheat (I don't use the anymore so I don't have any experience with this).

The Cyber Commander is handy but has close to the worst GUI I've ever worked with. Apple's Jonny Ive would be appalled. I've got the PCB Cyber Sync setup with a receiver for each Einstein and never had a moment's trouble. The battery in the trigger seems to last for ages, and lets you know it's low with weird multiple firing. I can get HSS on full power (longest flash duration) using the Phottix Odin triggers. Don't have a lot of call for HSS but it's handy for those odd occasions. I'll be rolling this function out for a project later this week.

-pw