When I add a piece of photo gear to my kit, I always make sure to put it through the paces prior to use on a commissioned photoshoot. The Elinchrom ELB 1200 HS To Roll Kit is a little different though - instead of an addition to my kit, it will be a replacement for my Ranger RX Speed AS. Elinchrom was offering a trade in deal, making it more enticing to upgrade, so I bit the bullet. But before saying goodbye to my Ranger kit, I wanted to offer some initial thoughts into why I upgraded and to see how they stacked up.
Why upgrade?
There are a variety of reasons for upgrading my Ranger RX to the ELB 1200 but the main two reasons are weight and built-in radio. The new ELB 1200 is almost half the weight of the older unit - 4.3 kg vs 8.0 kg! When photographing architecture and interiors, most of the supplemental lighting that I do involves carrying the light around while I trigger my camera remotely with a Cam Ranger unit - so you can imagine how excited my back is to be moving on from the Ranger RX. The main reason for the drop in weight is the switch from lead to lithium for the battery. The Ranger RX battery weighs 4 kg and the new lithium battery for the ELB 1200 comes in at 1.1 kg. There is a slight drop in the number of total flashes from 250 at full power on the Ranger RX to 215 on the ELB 1200 using the “Air” battery. An alternative “HD” battery is available for the ELB 1200 weighing 1.5 kg which boosts the full power output to 400 flashes. The “Air” battery gets its name as I believe it is the largest lithium battery that you can bring on a flight in your carry on baggage. Elinchrom states on their site that two "Air" batteries can be packed in your carry-on luggage.
The other big reason to upgrade is the built-in radio. The Ranger RX required a transceiver to be plugged into the power pack in order to trigger the unit via radio remote. In theory, this isn’t that big of a deal but it ended up being one my biggest frustrations because the connection could sometimes be a little finicky - it is never fun when a client is on a photoshoot and the flash refuses to fire. In addition to the ELB 1200 having a built-in radio, the unit is configured to take further advantage of the their new remote - the Skyport Transmitter Plus HS. With the old Ranger RX, I could trigger and control the power of the unit via the Plus HS but the power settings would not be displayed on the remote. Now with the ELB 1200, the power of the unit is displayed on the radio transmitter. And as I mentioned earlier, my use of the Ranger RX involved lighting on the run and that meant I always had to be really careful to not bang the transceiver - just one less thing to worry about while on a photoshoot.
Some of the other benefits include the new LED modeling light, ability to switch between asymmetrical and symmetrical power for the two power ports, and a built-in handle. I’m looking forward to the new modeling light for two reasons: first, it is equivalent to a 250w tungsten bulb so it is VERY bright for a battery powered modeling light which should work perfectly for the light painting I like to do for interior photography and second, the light also has a silent mode switch intended for using the modeling light as a video light. I’m not currently a video shooter but it is always nice to have the option available. An additional upgrade is the ability to switch the two power ports between symmetric and asymmetric: providing further customization and more options into the lighting setups that can be achieved with this lighting pack. The Ranger Speed AS being replaced was permanently asymmetrical (hence the 'AS' in the name) which meant the two ports on the unit provided power in a 66:33 ratio. The new ELB 1200 allows the same 66:33 ratio and adds a 50:50 alternative. At the moment, I only have one head so I’ll have to provide an update to this review when a second head is acquired. Lastly, the handle. It may seem like a minor aside but the old unit did not have a handle and the only way to really move it around was by holding the strap. A simple design addition but I find the handle significantly improves mobility.
Hi-Sync
This is not the first kit Elinchrom has released to have the option of an HS (Hi-Sync) head: the ELB 400 battery powered strobe was Elinchrom's first lighting pack to provide a Hi-Sync option. So, what is hi-sync? According to Elinchrom:
Hi-Sync is the exclusive Elinchrom technology to go beyond the X-Sync of your DSLR camera. You can easily set up and trigger your DSLR camera up to 1/8000s shutter speed. This allows you to freeze motion, overpower the sun, darken background and use wide aperture.
I'm not going to go into the details of flash synchronization, for a deep dive check out this link from Fstoppers titled - Demystifying Hi-Speed Sync. Instead, I wanted to see how the HS Head performed at different shutter speeds and power settings, as well as how it compared to the other Elinchrom units in my arsenal.
Although the Ranger RX “S” head (one being traded in) was not specifically designed for Hi-Sync, the head’s relatively slow flash duration allowed for it to work with Hi-Sync. So I wanted to compare just how much better the new ELB 1200 HS head was at Hi-Sync. And while I was at it, might as well throw some other Elinchrom heads in the mix to show their HS capability. Heads tested include the ELB 1200 HS head, Ranger RX S head, Ranger Quadra Pro head, and the ELC 500 Pro HD monolight. Elinchrom states the ELC 500 is not compatible with HS so I just wanted to throw it in there for a baseline, to show what happens when Hi-Sync is not an option. For more information regarding compatibility with Hi-Sync, check out this table from Elinchrom. It should be noted that based on that link, of the heads tested below only the HS Head is marked green, i.e., recommended for Hi-Sync. The Ranger RX S Head and the Quadra Pro Head are both marked yellow - "Not Optimized for Hi-Sync. High shutter speeds might produce unexpected results depending on the flash unit, power levels, camera model and sensor size." And the last head tested; the ELC 500 Pro Head, is as expected marked red - "Not compatible with Hi-Sync."