Profoto Users advice please

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Eddie1

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Ed
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Profoto Users advice please

I'm using the standard flash white balance setting on my Canon Camera when using Profoto lights but am finding the temperature too warm,
does anyone else have this issue ?
If so what are you doing about it ? making a preset custom white balance in your camera ? and if so to what Kelvin ?

Thanks
Ed
 
What shutterspeed are you using?
 
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Depends on which equipment you're using, the heads are supposed to be around 5600k so if you have to start somewhere start there. It'll change based on what colour domes and modifiers you're using and if you're using normal or a freeze mode.

So to be sure get your settings, take a test shot with a grey card then measure it to see what your actual colour temperature is.
 
I would agree that profoto is a little cooler in colour temperature. It's something I like about them actually. That said, I find the flash white balance too warm in general. I'd use a custom white balance which you can set in camera or tweak it in PP.
 
^ wot 'e said. Shoot a grey card / macbeth chart if you're concerned.
 
•


I ALWAYS leave the setting Auto WB and use
a grey card or the colour checker.

The colour of Profoto is darn constant from one
model to the other and make no problem when
mixing them.
 
mike weeks said:
What is the point of a grey card when using Auto WB?
Click to expand...




Because it is the less complicated option as it hold no
importance —and never too far from the correct values
when shooting RAW— for jpg shooters, it is a different
thing. In fact, WB is the less critical tweak prior to SR
when shooting RAW.

The only thing that really counts is a reference taken in
the shooting condition: a grey card or the colour checker.
 
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Kodiak Qc said:
Because it is the less complicated option as it hold no
importance —and never too far from the correct values
when shooting RAW— for jpg shooters, it is a different
thing. In fact, WB is the less critical tweak prior to SR
when shooting RAW.

The only thing that really counts is a reference taken in
the shooting condition: a grey card or the colour checker.
Click to expand...

Canon shooter?
 
Eddie1 said:
Profoto Users advice please

I'm using the standard flash white balance setting on my Canon Camera when using Profoto lights but am finding the temperature too warm,
does anyone else have this issue ?
If so what are you doing about it ? making a preset custom white balance in your camera ? and if so to what Kelvin ?

Thanks
Ed
Click to expand...

Are you sure you actually have a warm colour problem? The only way to be certain is with a calibrated computer screen and a white balance reference card.

Whatever the problem, it is not the camera or the flash*. But it could be the modifier/softbox, or the environment if that has a lot of warm tones. Or if you are using a longer shutter speed to balance with indoor light, which will usually introduce a warm cast from the room lights.

If you shoot Raw and post process, then the camera's WB setting makes no difference and most people don't worry too much about it at the shooting stage, then correct in PP. If it's important to get it right in-camera and the pre-sets (eg flash, daylight etc) aren't working well enough, then you need to do a custom white balance with a reference card. A sheet of white paper will get things very close - see handbook.

*Unlikely to be the flash, but some Profoto heads like the D1 with a very wide power range can get noticeably warm at minimum output.
 
Shooting on canon 1dx and using profoto D1s and B2 at minimum power
The issue more obvious with the D1 than the B2
 
mike weeks said:
Canon shooter?
Click to expand...


This is pretty much irrelevant!

Things to know, remember, and never forget…
  • RAW has no colour space
  • the setup for WB is just an indication to treat
    eventually produce jpg… nothing to do with RAW
  • once in the converter, the WB selection takes all its
    meaning as it is used to produce the image on screen
 
mike weeks said:
Absolutely relevant as it works differently
Click to expand...

Yes, they do… as all cameras do but that is for jpg publication.
The RAWs, what ever the maker, have no colour space.
 
Eddie1 said:
Shooting on canon 1dx and using profoto D1s and B2 at minimum power
The issue more obvious with the D1 than the B2
Click to expand...

I'd guess that what you're seeing is the D1 getting warmer at low power, compared to the B2 that is more neutral throughout the power range in standard mode (though significantly blue in fast mode).

The D1 has a very wide power range for a basic monolight with one capacitor bank, which is great, but the light inevitably gets warmer as all voltage-controlled flash does at low power. Elinchroms tend not to suffer so much, but that's only because they don't turn down as low, so I'd say advantage Profoto on that score. The B2 is IGBT-controlled which is opposite in some ways, tending towards blue at low power outputs though modern IGBT units like the B2 have some clever ways of reducing that.

Some simple tests will confirm this, but a fact of life with studio working when colour is critical, is to be aware of how it can change and work around things by using similar flash units in same-brand modifiers* and at similar power settings if needs be.

*Edit: not necessarily a guarantee in my experience ;)
 
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Eddie1 said:
Shooting on canon 1dx and using profoto D1s and B2 at minimum power
The issue more obvious with the D1 than the B2
Click to expand...

If the B2 is in freeze mode you might find big colour temperature shifts but the D1 should be fairly consistent?
 
simonbarker said:
If the B2 is in freeze mode you might find big colour temperature shifts
Click to expand...

For sure - but very fast flash durations.

but the D1 should be fairly consistent?
Click to expand...

Depends a bit on the model, but the D1 1000 goes notably warm at min power, less so on the smaller versions. It's the 7-stops range, that is two stops more than some. Inevitable really, they don't have the cunning colour control of the new IGBT units that, in standard mode, fire the main flash followed by very short burst of HSS to moderate the colour. Effective flash durations are very hard to measure ;)

A few manufacturers are using IGBT control in this way, or some variation of it, to combat blue at low outputs.
 
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