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Portable strobes

evgeny

Member
I use Elinchrom Hybrid in outdoors. These are very compact, light and power strobes. 400W is a lot of light. Two generators provide a total 800W output in bright Sun. Each Hybrid 2-lights kit come with a spare battery, which is enough for a busy, long photo session. Two generators and 4 lights allow various lighting setups. I attach Elinchrom Rotalux Octabox to the strobe via an Elinchrom adapter.

I have yet to figure out how to use Elinchrom Hybrid strobes with my Hensel modifiers.

Currently I experiment with Profoto Rfi Octabox and Rfi adapter for Nikon/Canon compact flashes.

Evgeny
 

Masonart4FX

New member
I have found over the past 7 years or so that the Hensel Porty premium plus is the best balance of expense vs. quality, typically you do get what you pay for, but with Hensel products in general I view their portable strobes as the exception as you get more quality and dependability then they cost.

I currently have 2 Portys, a model #4954 Premium Plus 1200ws, and a model #4956 which is the 600ws Lithium Porty, 2 EH Pro P heads (Look like the integra pro plus with the same round silver aluminum housing, just shorter and lighter, and 2 Mini P heads which are great as they are so small with a detachable cable, but still a robust design.

The light is always so perfect and consistant, plus they both work on the same Hensel strobe wizard plus wireless transmitters. Do not get the Porty #4953, it has the exact same specs & name, but will only work with Hensel's 1st generation transmitters that only sync'd at 1/125th sec.

Look at the specs of the Hensel Lithium packs, my L600 will fire 450 full power pops on one charge, it refreshes on full power in 0.9 sec!! The Premium Plus 1200ws refreshes in 2.7 sec., but I rarely if ever need full power so find 1.5 sec. avg. refresh times to be very consistant.

Here is the big kicker for me, I ditched the lead acid batteries when I picked up the Porty Premium Plus, and replaced them with K2 LifePO4 12v cells, now each drawer weighs 4 Pounds instead of 11 !! Same Hensel Charger, but charge holds for several months, they charge up faster and put out 30% more than new Lead cells. Hensel Porty Premium plus with Life04, Lithium Phosphate 12v 10ah K2 Battery - MasonArt Photography --Brian Mason

Finding accessories here in California is the only downside, but for the money, ( under $4,000 ) I find Hensel the Best quality and performance made in a Professional, Powerful & Portable strobe system. To match the specs of the new Porty L1200 with a Mini-Speed head, and the option of Hensel's AC mains unit, you would need to pick up the Broncolor Move 1200, or Profoto's B4,.............and they will cost you $3,000 to $5,000 more initially, then about 75-200% more for each accessory you will ever need.

Broncolor & Profoto have Hensel beat by a mile when it comes to resale value, so if you like to buy gear and sell it every time something new comes out then stay clear of Hensel, because here in the U.S. Hensel's value drops fast once purchased.
 
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johnnygoesdigital

New member
I owned the Hensel L1200 and agree the quality is outstanding. The Airsync was flawless and the battery never let me down. I ultimately sold it because modifiers and other items were never in stock, (U.S.). I purchased the PB vagabond mini and two E640's for speed and remote location work and find it's absolutely the lightest. least expensive, shortest flash duration combo available. Although, doesn't feel as robust, it's a good value for portable lighting.
 

rem

New member
Evgeny, you find original speed-rings from Elinchrom to the Hensel Modifiers!

I have the Hensel 1200L, with one Battery I can make about 180 full power flashes. I lie it very much, but sometimes I would prefer the Model what Masonart said, because on a flatter design, to stow for transport.
rem
 
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