The Phoblographer is back with another RFi softbox review, this time of the rectangular Softbox RFi 3×4′ and the Softbox RFi 3′ Octa.

Reviewer Abram Goglanian assembles the two light modifiers, mounts them on his D1 Air Kit, and then takes several different test images using still life setups of cameras, lenses, and a nice cold glass of beer.

He particularly enjoyed working with the softgrids and was “impressed with how much light [it] can cut,” which allowed him to move from f/8 to f/2.8 “without even moving the light.”

He concludes, “I came away from this test wishing I had more time to spend with the gear, as I quite enjoyed working with the whole setup. Profoto has really created a great set of light modifiers to go with their already impressive lighting kits.”

Read the full review and see the images on The Phoblographer.

All images and quotes in this post are used with permission and ©The Phoblographer, all rights reserved; story is ©Profoto. Please respect and support photographers’ rights. Feel free to link to this blog post, but please do not replicate or repost elsewhere without written permission.

© 2012 R.J. Kern

R.J. Kern is an award-winning wedding photographer who took his trip to Burning Man as a chance to put some new gear through its paces.

It’s “all about simplifying photography gear without sacrificing quality,” he writes. Among his  “go-to weapons of choice” is the Profoto D1 Air 250.

He writes, “Good light is good light. In the lighting world, reliability is king. But when my Alien Bees crashed to a dusty playa floor due to wind at Burning Man, they were dead. Profotos take the beating.”

Read the full post for more details and to see the rest of the images. See his Minneapolis wedding photography at kern-photo.com and be sure to check out his photographer’s resource section to find more tips and articles. (more…)

thephoblographer.com

Abram Goglanian of The Phoblographer got his hands on some of our newest softboxes and has written up and a nice review on their ergonomics, build quality, and ease of use.

For the review, Abram assembles the 3×4 Softbox and 3’ Octa, mounts them on RFi Speedrings, inserts Softgrids, and gets them ready to shoot on his D1 Airs.

One quick quote? “Everything screams high quality to me.”

Read the full review on The Phoblographer. See some of Abram’s work on his site. (more…)

Here it is, the world’s first independent review of the world’s fastest battery generator. It is the good people at S1 Group in Toronto, Canada who got hold of a Pro-B4 unit and decided to put it to the test by comparing it to its predecessor: the Pro-B3. Here is s short summary:

“It’s built tough and weather resistant, and is capable of banging out the shots all day. Oh I did I say it was fast? Yes it has the fastest recycle of any battery pack we have tested. (Recycle time is twice as fast as the Profoto B3 battery pack, which was the defacto standard up until now.)”

Read the rest of the interview here.

shutterbug.com

Steve Bedell of Shutterbug Magazine published a review on the Profoto D1 Air and 1.5×3 HR Softbox entitled “A Unique Light & Light Modifier.”

His first impression? “…it just looks plain cool!”

After some initial tests, Steve sets up the softbox and starts shooting. It immediately strikes him that the softbox’s asymmetrical design would work well for portraiture, where light fall-off below the face and hands is desirable.

He writes:

“I used this uniquely shaped box on several sessions and the more I used it, the more I liked it. It’s a valuable tool for portrait and commercial photographers because it allows for a fast light drop-off without resorting to vignetting or blocking the light with cardboard or other devices. The narrow shape gave me great control in making a perfect fit between my subject and the light.”

To see images and read the full review, head over to the post on Shutterbug. See more of Steve’s work on his site. (more…)