Are you a product photographer looking to create long and perfectly even highlights with soft edges? In that case a StripLight might be the tool for you!

British photographer Matt Seed recently tried shooting a beautiful guitar with a Profoto StripLight M, as part of an in-depth review for Professional Photographer UK.

“You couldn’t get these results with any other light,” writes Matt. “Manufacturers tend to make a ‘striplight’ version of a softbox, which has a similar shape, but you’ll never get that absolutely pristine, straight light. Plus the precise barn door control down to a centimetre, you can’t get that on a softbox.”

Read the rest of Matt’s review here.

On November 1, Profoto released a new line of softboxes, compatible with all major flash brands, ranging all the way from high-end studio strobes to speedlights. It might not come as a big surprise that Nikonians’ Academy Director Mike Hagen was especially curious about the latter: the RFi speedring adapter for Nikon/Canon. If you want to hear Mike’s opinion about the Nikon/Canon speedring adaptor, click here.

Here is a little teaser:

“For me though, the best feature of the new RFi equipment is the brand-new RFi Speedring for Nikon and Canon speedlights. Using this means the entire line of RFi equipment is fully compatable with flashes like the Nikon SB-910 and SB-700. [...] Placing my small strobes in top-of-the-line light shapers is a dream come true and I’m pleased that Profoto now has given small strobe photographers full access to their equipment.”

Lee Morris of Fstoppers recently posted a video review of the Profoto D1 Air Monolight. He applauds the monolight’s newest feature, the Air Remote, saying, “This was huge for me because I shoot a lot of weddings. A lot of times I’ll have a light all the way up in the balcony firing up at the ceiling, and I want to be able to change this without walking over to the light myself or yelling at an assistant to change the light up or down.”

Another positive point for Morris was the D1’s simplicity. It’s intuitive features make it easy to use right out of the box and because it’s a monolight, Morris says, “The size factor is fantastic. I can throw it in a bag and the only thing I have to worry about is a power cord. That makes things really really simple and easy to travel with.”

He goes on to say the D1 is “the best monoblock I have personally ever used” and that it’s “the best I’ve found currently on the market.”

Thanks, Lee! See more reviews on Fstoppers and check out some of Lee’s photography here.

Nikonians on Profoto

Last week, Profoto released its latest addition to the D1 Studio Kit line. The new kit is called D1 Studio Kit 3 Heads, and as the names suggests, it includes 3 D1 monolights, 2 softboxes, 2 speedrings, 1 grid, 1 Air Remote, 3 stands and power cables. The D1 monolights are available in 250, 500 and 1,000 Ws versions, and everything comes packed in high quality trolley bag. If you are eager to know more, you will find a longer post on the new kit here.

Not long after that, the large and passionate Nikon fan organization Nikonians posted a review of the D1 Studio Kit 3 Heads. In this review, Nikonians Academy director Mike Hagen proves the reliability of the kit by taking it straight to an important shoot just two hours after he unpacked it for the very first time. Here is what Mike writes:

For more than four decades, Profoto has been manufacturing some of the highest quality lighting equipment known to the professional photography market. I had always heard that their gear was top-notch but it wasn’t until I actually tested Profoto’s newest product, the Profoto D1 Studio 3 Head Kit, that I really came to appreciate what fine lighting equipment can do for a photographer.

Read the rest of the review here. And thanks for the kind words, Mike!

Profoto Arts Monthly has published an in-depth review of the Profoto D4 Air written by Matt Beardsley. The introduction to the piece includes the following paragraph:

“The Profoto D4 Air, then, is an awesome combination of both Profoto’s latest in-pack full asymmetry and sophisticated on-camera control. It is a versatile tool for fine-tuned light, offering quick-control and the flexibility of a wide range of power. It is both easy to use and thoroughly capable and, as we proved through nearly two months of hard testing, a robust pack, ready for the day-to-day beating of professional studio and location photography.”

In the review, Beardsley goes into considerable detail, from the D4 Air’s rubber feet to it’s controls. A series of test shoots were done to accurately review the unit, and the author carefully documents how it performed. He also does an admirable job describing how the D4 Air fits into the Profoto line and its market position.

Beardsley concludes his review with the following:

“Profoto’s innovative D4 Air is a sophisticated strobe pack with the power, flexibility, and performance to delivery well-lit photography in the studio or on location. It has amazing asymmetry and dial-down range as well as a few useful digital tricks. The pack is only hindered by a high price point and a little extra bulk. Highly recommended!”

Read Photo Arts Monthly’s complete review of the Profoto D4 Air here.