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Posts Tagged ‘Flashpoint’

Flashpoint announces wireless XPLOR Power 1200 Pro R2 flash, its most powerful flash

11 Jun

Flashpoint has announced a new flagship portable flash, the XPLOR Power 1200 R2. The flash is the newest member of Flashpoint’s R2 series of portable, wireless flashes.

The XPLOR Power 1200 R2 is Flashpoint’s most powerful flash unit and it offers multiple flash modes, including power recycling of less than two seconds and long flash duration for continuous shooting. The XPLOR Power 1200 Pro power pack and flash head combine to weigh just over 17 pounds. Of the wireless flash, Flashpoint Brand Manager, Solomon Leifer, said the following:

‘The Flashpoint XPLOR Power 1200 Pro is our most robust and powerful wireless flash, while remaining lightweight and portable for location shooting. With 1200W output and an excellent battery-powered system, the XPLOR Power 1200 Pro flash is perfect for ‘big event’ and outdoor photographers.‘

The Flashpoint XPLOR Power 1200 Pro includes a built-in Flashpoint 2.4 GHz R2 wireless flash system and offers wireless control for Canon, Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax and Sony TTL camera systems. The strobe offers nine steps of output power, ranging from 1/1 to 1/256. The flash includes a high-speed sync (HSS) mode that can work with shutter speeds up to 1/8000s. For stopping action, flash durations range from 1/220 to 1/10,860s.

Photographers need more than speed and power; they also need color stability with their lighting. The flash offers a Stable Color Temperature mode to better control temperature changes. Flashpoint states that this mode keeps temperatures ranges within +/- 75K throughout the entire power range.

Connectivity features include a pair of 3.5mm sync cord plug holes for wired connection, a wireless control port and a USB Type-C port for future firmware upgrades. For connecting light modifiers, the flash head is compatible with Bowens S-Type modifiers, resulting in compatibility with hundreds of light modifiers.

For extended shooting, the large-capacity lithium-ion battery in the power pack delivers 480 full-power flashes and can be fully recharged in two hours. The battery is 36V/5200mAh and it can be swapped out of the power pack in seconds. There is also an optional AC adapter to replace the battery chamber for a direct main connection when shooting indoors or in a studio environment. If photographers want to travel by air, there’s also a 36V/2600mAh rechargeable battery pack option.

Close-up image of the Power Pack.

Additional features include a 40W LED modeling lamp with three selectable modes, fan cooled flash head, three active flash modes (Manual, TTL and Multiflash) and a Stroboscopic Mode capable of delivering 100 continuous flashes at 1/16 power output.

The Flashpoint XPLOR Power 1200 Pro R2 flash comes with the flash head, power pack, reflector, glass lamp cover, lithium-ion battery, battery charger, power cable, carrying case and rolling case.

The Flashpoint XPLOR Power 1200 Pro R2 flash system is available now for $ 1,599 USD from Adorama and comes with a power pack, flash head, reflector, glass lamp cover, lithium-ion battery, battery charger, power cable, carrying case and rolling case.

As Adorama’s house brand in the United States, this flash is sold as a Flashpoint product. However, it can also be purchased as the Godox AD1200 Pro from other retailers and in other markets. As we noted in our coverage of the Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro, for customers in the United States, Flashpoint products are covered by a two-year warranty when purchased through Adorama.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro is a Profoto B10 competitor for 1/3rd the price

07 May

Adorama’s house brand Flashpoint has formally announced the much-anticipated XPLOR 300 Pro. The 300W/s battery-powered monolight, which is a rebranded version of the Godox AD 300 Pro, is available starting today for $ 499.

As its name alludes to, the CPLOR 300 Pro offers 300W/s of power with nine stops of control, a minimum flash duration between 1/220 and 1/11490, a recycle time between 0.01 and 1.5 seconds depending on the power level and a 2,600Ah battery that can fire off up to 320 max-power flashes on a single charge. The light also features a bi-color 12W LED modeling light, TTL metering, high-speed sync up to 1/8000th of a second and a 328-foot range when used with Flashpoint’s R2 Pro Mark II trigger.

The XPLOR 300 Pro measures in at 19cm (7.48”) long, and 10cm (3.94”) in diameter, and weighs just 1.25kg (2.76lbs). It comes with a Bowens S-Type bracket, but Flashpoint also offers a number of adapters for mounting lighting modifiers from Broncolor, Elinchrom and Profoto.

Below is an overview video of the Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro from Adorama:

As is the case for many of Flashpoint and Godox products, the XPLOR 300 Pro is meant to be a direct competitor to Profoto’s more expensive 250W/s B10 monolight, which retails for $ 1,695—more than three times the price. You won’t get all of the extra controls or fine-tuning the B10 offers, but for less than 1/3rd the price, Flashpoint drives a hard bargain.

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The Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro is currently available to purchase at Adorama for $ 499 and comes with the monolight, a single rechargeable Li-Ion battery, the flashtube, a charger with a power adapter, a basic reflector, a protective cap and a case to carry it all in. While the light is also sold as the Godox AD 300 Pro, the Flashpoint unit carries a two-year warranty when purchased in the United States through Adorama.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adorama releases non-TTL Flashpoint XPLOR 600 Pro HSS studio flash head

16 Jan

Adorama has announced the availability of a new studio flash head from its own Flashpoint range. Designed for photographers who don’t want TTL control, the XPLOR 600 Pro HSS offers 600WS of power with wireless triggering.

With the standard reflector fitted the head has a guide number of 87m / 285ft @ ISO 100. Users can expect 360 full power bursts from a single charge of the head’s 2.6Ah lithium ion battery pack. An optional AC adapter is available, but even when powered by the battery recycle-times are between 0.01 and 0.9 seconds. The head uses a 2.4GHz wireless system making the XPLOR 600 Pro HHS compatible with the Godox X radio triggers, which are available for all the main camera brands.

Wireless control works across 32 channels and x-compatible flashes can be separated into five groups. Two optical slave modes are offered, with all settings dealt with on the large side-mounted LCD panel. The HSS in the name refers to the head’s ability to sync with shutter speeds of up to 1/8000sec, and the output can be varied across 9 stops to 1/256th in 25 steps. A battery and charger are included in the kit, along with a standard reflector in the Bowens S mount.

The head is the non-TTL version of the XPLOR 600 Pro TTL, and is priced $ 749 against the $ 899 charged for the TTL model. It is also a version of the Godox AD600 Pro head that has TTL. For more information see the Adorama website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Flashpoint Ring Li-On Ringflash Review

16 Aug

Adorama has been on a roll with its rechargeable lithium-ion battery powered flash units. Not long ago, they debuted the FlashPoint Zoom Speedlight, and now they have upped the ante with a monster 400ws ringflash. I recently got my hands on this ringflash and ran it through some tests to see how it would perform. Read on for some specs and details!

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

Ring Li-on flash with Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens attached.

What’s in the Box

The first thing you’ll notice about this ringflash is its size, as indicated by the large box it arrives in. Included in the box are:

  • (1) FlashPoint Ring Li-On 400ws Ringflash with a Guide Number of 82
  • (1) Snap-on diffuser ring
  • (1) PC cable
  • (1) Rechargeable battery
  • (1) Battery charger
  • (1) Fully adjustable camera bracket with 1/4″ x 20 screw mount

With the rechargeable battery, the flash weighs in at 3.1 pounds (1.4kg), and has dimensions of 8.9 x 9.1 x 2.8″. Due to its size, I found it was very difficult to use this flash in handheld mode, without using the included bracket to hold it in place with my camera, or on a tripod. As a result, the final product ends up weighing quite a bit. Even though it is fully transportable, I would not consider this setup to be the most compact and travel-friendly, especially since the flash doesn’t come with a carrying case. However, the easily affixed umbrella bracket and tripod mounting included with the flash make it a breeze to use this flash in a hands-free studio setup.

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

The flash can be triggered via the included PC cable with a 3.5mm jack, or remotely from a distance of 150+ feet away using the Flashpoint Commander set (sold separately). This means that the Flashpoint Ring Li-on Ringflash can be triggered by any camera that has a PC socket, adapter in a hot shoe, or connection to the wireless Flashpoint Commander system. The only possible limitation is  lens size. If you opt to shoot through the Ring Li-on flash, it must be done with a lens no larger than 3.5 inches in diameter, otherwise it won’t fit through the middle opening in the flash.

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

Features

Despite its somewhat cumbersome size, one of the Ring Li-on’s best features is the 11.1V Lithium-ion cell battery with a 4500mAh capacity. This powerful battery can run the flash through about 450 full-power discharges, before needing a recharge. Additionally, the powerful battery also allows for the flash to perform with a solid guide number of 82 (feet at ISO 100), which is very rare among portable ringflashes.

Flash output is very easily controlled via an intuitive, illuminated rear selection dial that clearly indicates battery levels, LED model/video lamp power, and flash modes of Manual, 2 Slave, and Stroboscopic. The flash’s power is adjustable in 1/3 stop increments from full power down to 1/128th power with a recycling time of between 0.5 seconds and 2.8 seconds on a fully charged battery. Flash duration averages between 1/300 to 1/20000 seconds depending on the power of the output.

Another great feature of the Ring Li-on flash is the ability to emit constant 440 lux LED lighting with three level output settings for use as a modeling light or a video light, and it will even power-off automatically after a set period of time to conserve battery power.

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

Ring Li-on Flash in Practice

For those of you unfamiliar with ringflashes, they tend to be favored among fashion and portrait photographers thanks to the ringed catchlights that are produced in the subject’s eyes. Macro photography shooters may also find ringflashes appealing since they produce virtually shadow-free lighting with even illumination. You may also have seen ringflashes used by medical and dental professionals, again because of the even lighting produced.

In the portrait below, the Ring Li-on flash produces a look with very balanced lighting that is very soft on the shadows. The subject is evenly exposed, and we see the signature ring-shaped catchlight in his eyes.

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

The Ring Li-on flash also performs superbly when paired with a macro lens, although I strongly advise using the provided bracket to help stabilize your rig. Below, the Ring Li-on flash was used to photograph a family heirloom ring. Little to no shadow is detectable, and the ringflash’s catchlight is reflected in the pearl. In the final example, the Ring Li-on is used to take a macro photo of a succulent plant, thus providing even lighting with just a hint of a shadow even in this layered plant.

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

Adorama Flashpoint Ring Li-on ring flash

Your Turn

What’s your take on ringflashes? How do you incorporate them into your photography work, if at all?

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The post Flashpoint Ring Li-On Ringflash Review by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Review: Flashpoint Zoom Li-on Flash

10 May

01 Packaging

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: you’ve fallen in love with Speedlight flash photography, but you gripe at having to lug around lots of odds and ends for your remote triggers, not to mention boxes of backup AA batteries. Isn’t it time for flashes to catch up with DSLRs and be powered by rechargeable batteries, and have more discrete wireless triggers? It turns out that these features DO exist, but not with Speedlights made by major camera manufacturers.

Announced by Adorama earlier this year, the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on TTL Flash is a new and affordable system that has the key feature of being powered by a rechargeable Lithium Ion Polymer battery. This battery promises to power your flash longer than any other hot shoe mount Speedlight on the market, and it does so while keeping the flash unit at a relatively compact size. When paired with the Flashpoint Commander Transmitter and Receiver set, you have an intuitive, compact way of using the flash off-camera. Sound appealing? Read on for more specs and details.

What’s in the Boxes

02 In the Box

To be clear, the flash unit and the commander (transmitter and receiver) are two separate items that are sold separately. You don’t need to have the Commander set to use the flash unit on its own.

The Zoom Li-on unit, made specific for either Canon or Nikon, arrives in a nicely packaged box containing:

  • (1) Flashpoint Zoom Li-On TTL flash unit
  • (1) Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack
  • (1) Battery charger with cable
  • (1) Protective case for flash with a mini-stand unit

The Flashpoint Commander set arrives with a rather large transmitter (it’s about the size of a Pocket Wizard), and a much smaller receiver (about the size of a thumb drive). The transmitter runs on a pair of AA batteries.

Best Flash Feature: The Battery

Boasting more power than any AA battery, the lithium ion battery is the standout feature of the Zoom Li-on unit. It packs 11.1 volts and 200mAh, and a fully charged battery delivers up to 350 full power shots, with a recycle time of less than 1.5 seconds. You’ll need 2.5 hours to fully charge the battery, but it will function just fine on partial charges. On the unit’s display, there is also a battery icon in the upper right corner that will indicate how much power your battery has left. For longer shoots, it’s recommended that you purchase an extra backup battery, since the flash unit can’t be powered by any other means.

04 Charging

Other Flash Features: Comparable to Most Major Speedlights

Besides the rechargeable battery, the Zoom Li-on flash has all of the other functionality present in other Speedlights today. These features include standard TTL mode, Manual mode, Exposure Compensation, Front and Rear Curtain Sync, Laser Autofocus Assist, High-Speed Sync, group control, and Slave and Master optics, to name a few. This flash also has complete IR TTL control connectivity with Canon and Nikon flashes, meaning you don’t necessarily need to convert your entire Speedlight system. Other triggering modes for the flash include hotshoe, radio controller, 2.5mm sync port, and optical slave.

The flash head has a built-in wide angle diffuser and white bounce card. It also rotates 180 degrees in any direction and tilts over 90 degrees. It can also automatically or manually zoom from 24-105mm. Basically, if you’re familiar with the Nikon SB-900 or Canon 580EXII, the Zoom Li-on flash is similar in size and layout of its controls. Thanks to my familiarity with Canon Speedlites, I was able to unbox the unit and set it up intuitively without referring to the included instruction manual.

Flashpoint Commander Set: All About Convenience

The accompanying Flashpoint Commander set enters a crowded market full of all kinds of remote trigger options, but their main advantages are, an affordable price point and lots of power, packed into relatively small units. Using this set, you can view and change your flash output and trigger your flash remotely from 150+ feet away. There are also 16 channels and 16 groups of control so that you can handle multiple units of remote lighting. The newest version of the transmitter also comes with a 3.5mm sync port, allowing for a direct cable connection to the PC socket of your camera.

03 Details

The transmitter is slightly larger than a single Pocket Wizard Plus III and it sits nicely in your camera’s hot shoe mount. Unlike most other trigger systems, the receiver looks nothing like the transmitter, consisting of a flat unit that simply plugs into the side of the Zoom Li-on flash. After syncing channels and groups via manual switches on the transmitter and receiver, that’s all you need to do to set it up.

Two complaints: you’ll need slim fingernails or a tool to hit the switches on the channel sections of both units, and the group dials are a little too easy to turn, opening up room for possible syncing mistakes. On the whole, this Commander set is impressively compact and easy to set up, although you’ll want to keep an extra eye out for the tiny receiver as it seems very easy to misplace.

05 Umbrella

Flashpoint Zoom Li-On Flash and Commander Set in Practice

To test out the flash unit, I worked put it through three separate scenarios: table top food photography, on-the-fly event photography, and a posed portrait session.

For the food photography session below, the Zoom Li-On flash was paired with the transmitter and receiver and handheld to camera left. Shot in manual mode with no diffuser, the outcome was a soft, natural light that I’d expect from any speedlight.

07 Example Food

The on-the-fly event photography scenario was a quick red carpet photo op with Laila Ali. Fired in ETTL mode on-camera, the Zoom Li-on’s smooth rotating head feature plus fast recycle time came in extremely handy, and I was able to pull off the desired shots without turning to my Canon 580EXII, which I had mounted to a second body just in case.

06 Example Laila

Finally, the portrait session combined the Zoom Li-on flash, acting as the master, and a Canon 580EXII flash off-camera as the slave. Both flash units synced seamlessly, and thanks to similar control layouts, it was easy to figure out that the master/slave function on both units activates the same way (holding down the Zoom button).

08 Example KA

Overall, I declare the Zoom Li-on Flash a winner and a new staple to my camera bag thanks to its power, reliability, and the cost (and weight) savings of not having to haul tons of spare AA batteries. Are you inclined to give this flash a shot?

You can find the Flashpoint Zoom Li-on Flash at Adorama or on Amazon.com.

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Adorama launches Flashpoint Ring Li-On 400ws ringflash

14 Mar

Adorama has launched a 400ws ring flash which uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Part of the Flashpoint brand, it features a circular flash tube with an aperture capable of accommodating a lens barrel with a diameter of up to 3.5in/95mm. With a guide number of 82ft/25m the ring is powerful enough not only for macro work, but also headshots and full-length portraits. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adorama Flashpoint Budget Studio Monolight Review

06 Jun

Flashpoint-Budget-2.jpg

Offered in 160W ($ 70) or 300W ($ 100) power intensities, Adorama’s Budget Studio Monolights are geared toward studio photographers who are just starting out and are constrained by modest budgets. At a fraction of the price of professional heads, can the Flashpoint Budget Studio lights do the job? Find out in our review

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Budget lighting: Flashpoint 180 Monolight review

01 Apr

Flashpoint-Monlight180-1.jpg

Adorama’s Flashpoint 180 Monolight is a battery-powered 180-watt strobe designed for on-location shooting in the middle of nowhere. The kit comes with everything needed to provide adequate fill light for scenes or soft key-light for portraits, minus the stand, which must be purchased separately. Despite its budget price tag, does the 180 Monolight have what it takes for professional use? Find out in our review

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Review of the Flashpoint Remote Flash Trigger Kit

18 Dec

www.WeeklyPhotoTips.com www.ThePhotographyPodcast.com We had the pleasure of getting our hands on the Flashpoint Remote Flash Trigger Kit and started falling in love as we were unpacking it. Once we began actually using the flash trigger kit the love was complete. Head over to the blog and learn more about what we liked, why we liked it, see sample images, and links to where you can get it (with free shipping). See you over there! www.WeeklyPhotoTips.com www.ThePhotographyPodcast.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

 
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Flashpoint PZ Softbox & Octabox: Product Reviews: Adorama Photography TV

07 Nov

AdoramaTV presents The Flashpoint PZ Softbox & Octabox. This week Mark will show us the Flashpoint PZ series 24″ x 36″ Softbox and 60″ x 60″ Octabox. The patented easy set-up and tear down zipper which is easier to assemble & disassemble. All softboxes come with baffle, rescessed front and carry bag. Speed rings are sold separately and available for most strobes. For more information about the Flashpoint PZ Softbox and Octabox, as well as related articles and videos about studio lighting, go here: www.adorama.com Send your questions to: AskMark@Adorama.com
Video Rating: 5 / 5

Knowing and understanding basic lighting rules helps you to create better images. Improve your photography techniques with this free video presented by a professional photographer. Expert: Julia Dean Contact: www.juliadean.com Bio: Julia Dean is a photographer, educator, and the founder of the Julia Dean Photo Workshops. Filmmaker: Max Cusimano Series Description: The secret to getting professional looking photographs is understanding your camera and equipment well. Expand your photography techniques with help from a professional photographer in this free video series.
Video Rating: 5 / 5

 
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