Elinchrom - D-Lite RX4 or BRX 500

UaeExile

UaeExile

Suspended / Banned
Messages
2,469
Name
Adam
Edit My Images
Yes
Looking at the kit versions of each of these. Mainly using for portraits, family shots etc. Will start with a two light set up but probably add at least one more fairly quickly.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these?

Thanks
 
I've used both, what would you like to know?

I'm actually not seeing too much difference between the RX and BRX head these days, yes the BRX has some advantages such as a slightly better flash duration, slightly better construction but unless you can get them for the same price I don't see any reason to pay a premium for the BRX head.

It used to be the case that the D-lite was built like something out of a kinder egg but they've fixed most of that so unless they're using magic pixie dust on the BRX they should have comparable lifespans. Assuming I've not overlooked anything and you do intend to get more lights in the future I'd recommend you consider the D-lite 2 as in a small-medium environment a 400-500w might be overkill.
 
simonbarker said:
I've used both, what would you like to know?

I'm actually not seeing too much difference between the RX and BRX head these days, yes the BRX has some advantages such as a slightly better flash duration, slightly better construction but unless you can get them for the same price I don't see any reason to pay a premium for the BRX head.

It used to be the case that the D-lite was built like something out of a kinder egg but they've fixed most of that so unless they're using magic pixie dust on the BRX they should have comparable lifespans. Assuming I've not overlooked anything and you do intend to get more lights in the future I'd recommend you consider the D-lite 2 as in a small-medium environment a 400-500w might be overkill.
Click to expand...

^^^ This.

In performance terms, the only real difference between D-Lites and the similar power BRX models is faster flash durations. Very important if that's what you need, but not generally for home portraiture. My personal favourite is the BRX-250 with a nice amount of power, faster durations and tight colour control (though you're unlikely to notice that, either) :thumbs:

How much power do you need? BRX-500 will give you close to f/22 in a 100cm softbox at 1.0m, ISO100.
 
^^^ even the 100w Dlight One is fine for a small room - and allows you to shoot wider if you wanted to
 
I've both.
Both perform well. What/how you shoot will dictate if either is more suitable.
D lite good for close up shoots over a few hours.
BRX500 better for all day shoots as the D-lites will overheat and cut out when pushed hard. Just swap it with a spare head and the other will be fine when it cools down. The BRX's can still overheat on long hard shoots.
500 is useful for lighting large groups in large rooms. but can be too much power in tight spaces.
BRX500 has a stronger locking mechanism which can take a greater range of elinchrom soft boxes/modifiers.

In your specified situation I'd go for the cheaper d-lites and spend the money on an extra head for when things go pear shaped.
Always have a backup plan!
 
Deadlock said:
I've both.
Both perform well. What/how you shoot will dictate if either is more suitable.
D lite good for close up shoots over a few hours.
BRX500 better for all day shoots as the D-lites will overheat and cut out when pushed hard. Just swap it with a spare head and the other will be fine when it cools down. The BRX's can still overheat on long hard shoots.
500 is useful for lighting large groups in large rooms. but can be too much power in tight spaces.
BRX500 has a stronger locking mechanism which can take a greater range of elinchrom soft boxes/modifiers.

In your specified situation I'd go for the cheaper d-lites and spend the money on an extra head for when things go pear shaped.
Always have a backup plan!
Click to expand...

Most of the heat comes from the modelling lamp. Can be a problem if it's on full, inside a softbox and pointing downwards - not an unusual situation. If overheating is an issue, turning it down or off should sort it.
 
Deadlock said:
I've both.
Both perform well. What/how you shoot will dictate if either is more suitable.
D lite good for close up shoots over a few hours.
BRX500 better for all day shoots as the D-lites will overheat and cut out when pushed hard. Just swap it with a spare head and the other will be fine when it cools down. The BRX's can still overheat on long hard shoots.
500 is useful for lighting large groups in large rooms. but can be too much power in tight spaces.
BRX500 has a stronger locking mechanism which can take a greater range of elinchrom soft boxes/modifiers.

In your specified situation I'd go for the cheaper d-lites and spend the money on an extra head for when things go pear shaped.
Always have a backup plan!
Click to expand...

Just on this, can you say a bit more about the conditions where you got overheating? Red hot day, modelling light on full, small enclosed modifier like a snoot maybe? These are fan-cooled D-Lites, not the really old ones? Thanks.
 
Hi Richard,
D-Lite 4IT. fan cooled. probably 2 or 3 years old now.
Softbox or in a lastolite backdrop.
It can happen under very heavy use and there are things you can do to minimise/prevent their occurrence.

Very heavy use = 4 days of 1500 shots per day.
No breaks
Room > 20C
Radiators on.
No airflow from open window.
Under such circumstances, I would have perhaps 1-2 cut outs during the 4 day session.

In order to prevent this issue from occurring you can...
Switch off the modelling light.
turn off radiators.
Open window to create airflow
Take a tea break, turn off the lights and place them by an open window, soon after the fans kick in.

So I do specify in my documentation to such clients, that I require the ability to open a window at least.
 
Deadlock said:
Hi Richard,
D-Lite 4IT. fan cooled. probably 2 or 3 years old now.
Softbox or in a lastolite backdrop.
It can happen under very heavy use and there are things you can do to minimise/prevent their occurrence.

Very heavy use = 4 days of 1500 shots per day.
No breaks
Room > 20C
Radiators on.
No airflow from open window.
Under such circumstances, I would have perhaps 1-2 cut outs during the 4 day session.

In order to prevent this issue from occurring you can...
Switch off the modelling light.
turn off radiators.
Open window to create airflow
Take a tea break, turn off the lights and place them by an open window, soon after the fans kick in.

So I do specify in my documentation to such clients, that I require the ability to open a window at least.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that DL. Sounds like hard work!

I just tried to get the D-Lites I have here to overheat, but failed. RX-2 and RX-4, brand new (don't know if they're exactly the same as yours inside) with the kit 66cm softboxes, pointed down and modelling lamps on full. I left them on for an hour to get properly heat-soaked through, and the fans kicked in a couple of times for a few seconds only.

Then I fired them both continuously as fast as the RX-4 would allow, every 1.3 seconds or so. The fans soon came on and stayed on, but they just kept on firing. I gave up after 500 flashes as I think they'd have gone on all night.

Edit: I'll try and find out if the cooling has been uprated on these new models. Thanks again.
Edit 2: Yes, I'm told that D-Lite RX models have a "larger case with better cooling" compared to D-Lite IT, so that might just be the difference between tripping the over-heat protection and not. Also, flash durations are a bit faster.
 
Last edited:
I have been working with Elinchrom studio heads just lately and the shoots are normally 1000 images per shoot.

yesterday one of the 500s had to be turned off due to smoke pouring out of it.

My question is how long will these heads last at high power, shooting 2000+ images a week.
 
I've had a capacitor blow (smoke being a sign). They generally hold up well but like anything things can break. If you saw that in all the heads I'd maybe be more worried.

But sounds like it's just one of those things and any head you but can have issues. What heads were they? The bxri?
 
Yup a call to the flash centre and a service is the answer.
 
You also need to add postage to and from TFC I think so it can be expensive but you do get a unit back that should be pretty much close to new,.

If you look at the price of the capacitors they use,. the capasitors themselves are really not very cheap1
 
We have had 2 start smoking as we are using them at near full power and taking a 1000 stills per shoot, personally I dont think the 500s are up to the job week in week out :(
 
thewhoosh said:
We have had 2 start smoking as we are using them at near full power and taking a 1000 stills per shoot, personally I dont think the 500s are up to the job week in week out :(
Click to expand...

TBH, I don't think those BRXi heads owe you much! I doubt that many brands would put their hand on heart and say yes, our mono-light heads will do 1000 full-power pops at a time, week in week out, and guarantee them for long. That's a massive workload at full power. There are probably quite a few users taking that number of images per shoot, but they'll not be at full power - 1/4 power or less more likely with 500Ws, and that makes a big difference to heat build-up in a compact mono-light.

For that kind of use, I'd be looking at separates - studio floor packs with separate heads.
 
Last edited:
thewhoosh said:
We have had 2 start smoking as we are using them at near full power and taking a 1000 stills per shoot, personally I dont think the 500s are up to the job week in week out :(
Click to expand...

To be fair there isn't a great deal of kit that can take that kind of load continuously and those BXRI's are going to be something like 4-8 years old already?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top