Elinchrom Quadras, anyone using them?

ding76uk

ding76uk

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I have been looking at these lihts for a while, and wondered if anyone here had them, and whether they are as good as people say. Also would it be posible to use these in conjunction with studio lighting if I got those afterwards in terms of colour temp etc.

I really like the idea of these, and TBH would like the alien bees and vagabond for a cheaper alternative, but I need a flash duration of more than 600th of a second at min power, which I have heard is possible with the b400.

What are my options? In an ideal world I need to be able to use them in the studio as well as outdoors, but that flash duration is something I canno budge on (I shoot skateboarding). I love the Quadras, mainly for the portablitiy and it is becoming hard to resist, but is there something better for my needs that I have overlooked?
 
For the sheer portability I'm not sure anything else comes close! I too have been looking at these for a while. You could also think along the lines of studio ring flash, great on camera but no reason that they can't be used off camera. Not quite as small as the quadra's but you have more range to choose from and some serious w/s options too..
 
I've been using the Quadras for the last six months, and really can't recommend them enough. I bought the two head A kit and the adaptors to take the other Elinchrom modifiers. It's not the cheapest system, but then you do get what you pay for. If you're taking them on location, I'd get rid of the hard case and get a soft camera type bag. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a S/H shoulder bag, a Crumpler 750 Daily XXL, which will take all the kit and standard reflectors, with room for other stuff too (unfortunately it's bright red, but hey..).
Using the Skyport is very easy and something which I didn't think i'd use much as I've PW's, but the ability to change the power of the lights from the camera has been very useful. Especially when you've got yourself in some bizarre contorted position and don't want to have to move to change settings etc.
If I had the opportunity to make improvements it would be that the cables supplied are too short and I'd prefer symmetric power. I've now got Ranger RX Speed lights as well because I need more power and it's symmetrical.
There's no reason why you can't use these in the studio either, especially if you get the adaptors for the rest o the Elinchrom light modifiers.
If you need any more advice, just shout :)
 
For skateboarding you really need a t.1 duration of 1/1000th to keep things really sharp. Watch out for the specs of these things because they regularly quote the t.5 durations. The rough, dirty method to calc is t.1 = t.5 x 3. It's also worth noting that the durations increase as you decrease the power on these packs.
As for the quadras, I have a friend who uses a set - she seems to really like them, but does sometimes complain that they aren't powerful enough. I use a ranger and it's great, but if you're only using 1 head, you pretty much have to shoot it at full power to keep the duration fast enough.

oh yea, perhaps check out the new AB einsteins, I've been hearing good things about them.
 
Those of you shooting Quadras with Nikon bodies, do they support Nikon's high speed FP sync modes for shutter speeds beyond 1/250th?
 
I know there are some "studio strobes" which can support it, although I'm not sure which (that's what's really delayed my decision on which to get). I've heard that there are some other brand (Metz and Sigma I think) speedlights that will also support FP sync.

I'm pretty sure I saw a Joe McNally vid where he was using full size Rangers with a portable power pack in combination with SB-800/SB-900s on high speed sync, although it was a few months ago so my memory may be failing. :D
 
ruvor said:
oh yea, perhaps check out the new AB einsteins, I've been hearing good things about them.
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Yeah, problem is getting them over here as Aus only ships, not USA, so shipping would be a nightmare price. AB 400 has been used a lot in skate situations, as throughout the range they have fast enough duration.

That is the only thing that worries me about quadras is the amount of light they put out. I don't want to spend a load of money and then find they do not have the power i need.
 
ding76uk said:
That is the only thing that worries me about quadras is the amount of light they put out. I don't want to spend a load of money and then find they do not have the power i need.
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Sounds like you need the Ranger RX Speed, 1100 w/s of power through one light or 550 w/s through two. If you need to overpower the sun at miday, you'd struggle with the Quadras.
 
Kaouthia said:
Those of you shooting Quadras with Nikon bodies, do they support Nikon's high speed FP sync modes for shutter speeds beyond 1/250th?
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FP sync is a flash gun function, where the flash strobes at very high speed (like 50kHz) to effectively become continuous light for the duration of the focal plane shutter cycle.

I'm not aware of any studio type flash that can do that. It also reduces power quite substantially.
 
treeman said:
Sounds like you need the Ranger RX Speed, 1100 w/s of power through one light or 550 w/s through two. If you need to overpower the sun at miday, you'd struggle with the Quadras.
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Mark

How low can the RX go in output ? was using some 400RX's and just couldn't get them low enough - readout read "2.0"
 
spxxxx said:
Mark

How low can the RX go in output ? was using some 400RX's and just couldn't get them low enough - readout read "2.0"
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From memory it's 17 W/S (about the same as 1/4 power on a speedlight, I guess :shrug:), I think the Quadra goes lower (8 W/S ??). I've run into the same problem a few times especially when you want to use the 85mm 1.4 wide open. I've used just the modelling light as the source on those occasions, but it's not ideal. I've bought a job lot of lighting gels off ebay, inc some ND gels, and think I'll try those on the lights in future.
I used to be really annoyed by the Quadra being asymmetrical so when I bought the Ranger RX I got the Symmetrical ones. As luck would have it, on the last few jobs, a 2:1 ratio would have been ideal :bonk:

P.s If you're looking to buy, go to Robert White, cheaper than the Flash Centre, even though RW buy them from TFC :)
 
It's a good point about minimum power. I have a pair of the litle Elinchrom D-Lite 200 (which go down to 12ws) and more often than not for regular portraits and a medium sized softbox I'm on the lower end of the power scale, sometimes on minimum. I also use hot-shoe guns with them occasionally and they are usually around 1/4 power (gives fast recycle :thumbs: ). For simple portraiture that works well for me.

I would much rather have more control than sheer power - the D-Lites go up and down in very accurate 1/10th stop increments so you can put the light exactly where you want it, instead of shifting it back and forth just the get the exposure balance right. And if you want more power, raising the ISO a stop is the equivalent of doubling the Ws output. Putting that another way, using a 400ws flash with ISO100 gives the same exposure as 1600ws at ISO800.

On the other hand, I've used them to light interiors and needed every drop of power they've got. As a rule of thumb, from most folks' experience on here, I would say you need at least 400ws to have any chance at all against bright sun and even then you need to be close, or use a small directional reflector. Thomas Whitehouse has posted some good stuff on this.

And fighting the sun is one occasion where increasing the ISO or lowering the f/number won't help at all ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
I would much rather have more control than sheer power - the D-Lites go up and down in very accurate 1/10th stop increments so you can put the light exactly where you want it, instead of shifting it back and forth just the get the exposure balance right. And if you want more power, raising the ISO a stop is the equivalent of doubling the Ws output. Putting that another way, using a 400ws flash with ISO100 gives the same exposure as 1600ws at ISO800.
Click to expand...

bad maths day ;)
 
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