Elinchrom Style RX 600 On Location

[atomware]

Hi Everyone,

I am in the market for some strobes, and have decided on the Elinchrom product range, however, I need to be able to take my lights out on location. I don't have the budget for Broncolor or Profoto yet.

So my question is, considering that these will be used in Australia (240V), what options (Elinchrom or aftermarket) are available to power the RX 600 heads?

Secondary to that question, are there any battery packs for the Bx500Ri?

Thanks :)

[Cathpah]

Hi Everyone,

I am in the market for some strobes, and have decided on the Elinchrom product range, however, I need to be able to take my lights out on location. I don't have the budget for Broncolor or Profoto yet.

So my question is, considering that these will be used in Australia (240V), what options (Elinchrom or aftermarket) are available to power the RX 600 heads?

Secondary to that question, are there any battery packs for the Bx500Ri?

Thanks :)

I do believe the Tronix Explorer XT is your ticket. The vagabond II would also be a choice, but given you're in OZ, I don't think the shipping would be very cheap, and I don't think the vagabond II would handle the 240v (but I could be wrong). Luckily, the Tronix Explorer XT is made in the Philippines, so you'd receive your unit very quickly. I'm in the US, and I received mine within 5 days of ordering it! (I use mine with 600RX's as well).

If you have more questions about this unit, I highly recommend searching for the tronix on these boards, and you'll find multiple lengthy threads on them.

Lastly, If memory serves me right, you will have trouble finding a power supply for the BXRi's as they are multivoltage. I think a few have had ok luck with the tronix, but definitely no guarantees there.

[TMR Design]

If memory serves, there was a post indicating that the BX250Ri (I believe the user had two of them) worked well with the Explorer XT. I don't believe we've seen anyone using the BX500Ri and Innovatronix has not given us the 'thumbs up' on those strobes.

We do know that D-Lite 2's and D-Lite 4's work well and we know that the RX600's (which used to be called 600RX, lol) work well. Based on the RX600's working we can assume that the RX300 will also work without any problems.

I personally tested the discontinued 400BX and found that one will work fine but adding a second was so unstable that it was unusable.

I've been in close contact with Glen at Innovatronix and updates are in progress for the multi-voltage strobes that were 'glitchy' as well as compatibility with even more brands and models. No release date has been announced for either an upgrade or a new model as of yet.

[Rai33]

You can check here re. Explorer XT/BXRi compatibility http://tronixphotoequipments.blogspot.com/2009/06/advisory-elinchrom-bxri-and-explorer-xt.html

I was recently in the same situation as you (considering RX600 or BXRi 500 with a big external battery pack) and decided to go with the Ranger Quadra's instead.

[atomware]

I would be interested to read as to how you made your decision, and what the factors for and against each setup were, in your eyes. I've been trying to ascertain what the new Ranger and Quadra portable setups are like compared to the RX600, but I'm finding it hard to do a direct comparison based on the info on Elichroms website.

[MR do little]

I would be interested to read as to how you made your decision, and what the factors for and against each setup were, in your eyes. I've been trying to ascertain what the new Ranger and Quadra portable setups are like compared to the RX600, but I'm finding it hard to do a direct comparison based on the info on Elichroms website.

RX600
Power:18-600Ws
Adjustable stops:6
Flashduration:1/2050
Recharge:1 second
Fancoled:Yes
Weight:2,6kg
Triggering:Regular 3,5mm syncport, and proprietary sync port for Skyport


Ranger Quadra with A head
Power:8-400Ws
Adjustable stops:6,6
Flashduration:1/3000 - 1/6000 (depending on how many heads and wich outlet you use)
Recharge:2,2
Fancoled:Not needed
Weight:3 kg
Charge time:2 hours
Triggering:Buildt in Skyport and regular 3,5mm sync port

The obvious diffrences would be 200 Ws and weight and recharge time (this of course depending on what kind of solution you get to power that RX600 on location)

Other diffrences are that the RX600 will take any Elinchrom modifier, the Quadra will require an adapter wich only takes up to 100cm wide/deep modifiers (not even that without a mod it seems)

RX600 will force you to change the power in 1/10 of stop (with skyport), Quadra you have the choice to pick 1/10, 2/10, 3/10, 4/10, 5/10, 1/1.

Power diffrences isnt enough to claim the RX600 could fight the sun and the Q can not, however the RX600 let you use bigger modifiers that eat up more light.

The weight and recharge times is two big reasons imo, the Quadra is buildt for location work, the RX isnt. (not to say the RX cant be used, or cant handle it, just stating the obvious that it requires a outlet)

The Quadra with head, weight just 400g more then the RX600, add the inverter and your most likley up to the double weight of the Q.

Bottomline if your after a light to use on location and dont mind the fact that you need an adapter to use Elinchroms non Q modifier the Ranger Q simply is excellent.

The RX600 is a great compact, and will server you well indoors, and is good compromise for location work if you find a good battery (inverter)

Kindest

[Rudi]

The one other thing to add is that if you intend to use the lights at all times of the day and want to overpower the Aussie sun, neither light will be powerful enough if you want to use modifiers. That is why the Ranger RX is 1100Ws... you need that power on occasion.

[MR do little]

LOL look what youv done to the poor lad, now he realize he have to get all three... :-)

[atomware]

Haha, indeed - too many toys to pick from! :)

Thank you very much Paul and Rudi - I appreciate you taking the time to help and be so comprehensive in your replies.

Paul, that comparison helps a lot. You pointed out a number of things, and I will be able to take these into account when I go back to review the Elinchrom specs.

Rudi you made a good point about overpowering the sun. As you know being a fellow Aussie, the sun can be pretty bright here, and with our upcoming move to QLD I will definitely need something with enough grunt to overpower the sun, with at least a softbox on the head.

If the budget extended to Profoto or Broncolor, there are a number of options that would suit my needs perfectly, but alas, everyone has a budget, and mine is pretty small at the moment.

[Hermes]

The one other thing to add is that if you intend to use the lights at all times of the day and want to overpower the Aussie sun, neither light will be powerful enough if you want to use modifiers. That is why the Ranger RX is 1100Ws... you need that power on occasion.

Haha, indeed - too many toys to pick from! :)

Thank you very much Paul and Rudi - I appreciate you taking the time to help and be so comprehensive in your replies.

Paul, that comparison helps a lot. You pointed out a number of things, and I will be able to take these into account when I go back to review the Elinchrom specs.

Rudi you made a good point about overpowering the sun. As you know being a fellow Aussie, the sun can be pretty bright here, and with our upcoming move to QLD I will definitely need something with enough grunt to overpower the sun, with at least a softbox on the head.

If the budget extended to Profoto or Broncolor, there are a number of options that would suit my needs perfectly, but alas, everyone has a budget, and mine is pretty small at the moment.

The Ranger RX is less than a stop more powerful than an RX600. The extra power will help but it's certainly not a huge difference - there are times when even a Ranger will not be powerful enough to overpower the sun and there will be times (most of the time really) where either one will have plenty of power if you're prepared to put a bit of effort into planning and using a workable time & location.

You can also buy a 1200RX monolight for much less than the cost of a Ranger and run that from a Tronix too if power is a concern.

[Rudi]

Hermes, you obviously do not shoot summer weddings! You simply CANNOT pick a different time with some of the Sydney churches (remember, there are usually only four weekends in a month!), and if people want to have formal portraits done on church property, you'd better be able to do it in the allocated time - even if it is at 1PM on a scorching summer day. And the 1100Ws is nice to have - not always necessary, but nice to have, especially for the larger groups.

[Hermes]

Hermes, you obviously do not shoot summer weddings! You simply CANNOT pick a different time with some of the Sydney churches (remember, there are usually only four weekends in a month!), and if people want to have formal portraits done on church property, you'd better be able to do it in the allocated time - even if it is at 1PM on a scorching summer day. And the 1100Ws is nice to have - not always necessary, but nice to have, especially for the larger groups.

I agree that every little bit of power helps (especially for group shots which you're right in saying I don't shoot outdoors at midday). I just don't want the OP to get the impression that the 600ws of the 600RX is puny whereas the 1100ws of the Ranger is plenty as that just wouldn't be true from my experience - I've taken 2400Ws out with me on location to shoot ONE model in the sun and still found it not to be enough and had to improvise - other times I've shot outdoors using hotshoe flashes and had enough power to do exactly what I wanted. I don't think there's any one power level that will always allow you to shoot however you want in any ambient situation - you can always help your chances by knowing how to deal with the sun in ways other than the 'one club' approach of adding more flash power.

[Rudi]

True enough... :)

[MR do little]

What would the recycling time be with a 600RX on Tronix XT or a 1200RX ?

That "almost" extra stope can make all the diffrence at noone, but your right Hermes either is that powerful compared to the sun. :-)

Kindest

[TMR Design]

A single 600RX at full power on the Tronix gives you about a 2-3 second recycle time. It never exceeds 3 seconds and since I can't measure the exact time it appears to be somewhere between 2 and 3 seconds.

[MR do little]

Thats not to bad, wonder what the 1200RX would take. Thanx Robert.

Kindest

[ben_r_]

Bumping this thread bc Im curious. What about a 1200RX on a Vagabond II? Anyone try such a thing? Will it even work, or would the 1200RX over tax the Vagabond II? Anyone know what the recycle time would be?

[TMR Design]

HI Ben,

There are a few people using multiple 600RX's with a Vagabond II with very good results. I believe John (pepperoni) has used 3 and 4 600RX's with no problem. That's either 1800 or 2400 Watt seconds so there should be no issue at all with a 1200RX or even 2 1200RX's.

If I recall, with 4 600RX's the recycle time was just under 5 seconds.

[Cathpah]

Bumping this thread bc Im curious. What about a 1200RX on a Vagabond II? Anyone try such a thing? Will it even work, or would the 1200RX over tax the Vagabond II? Anyone know what the recycle time would be?

I use 2 600RX's with my Tronix Explorer XT all the time, with no problems whatsoever.

[Mossman6]

Go for it Ben, I know you want that 2nd 600RX :)

[TMR Design]

I use 2 600RX's with my Tronix Explorer XT all the time, with no problems whatsoever.

Yup! I've used 3 600RX's on the Explorer XT and XT SE and all is well.

Either battery (Explorer or Vagabond) will work well with the RX family :)

[charlieharper]

I use 2 600RX's with my Tronix Explorer XT all the time, with no problems whatsoever.
Cough...Bump......

Just purchased two RX600's but am away from home due to work commitments !!

One arrived just before I left, the other after I left :o .........

Seems like the Explorer is the way to go for on-location power, for those of us Downunder, ImageMelbourne sells them shipped (with a bag) for $A575, you can but them direct (shipped, with a bag) for $434 ...........

But to other things....What have you found to be the best method of transporting (two of) them ?

Have you found a Pelican case or similar that seems "made-to-measure' ?

Thanks,

Austen.

[TMR Design]

As much as I love and do plan on going to pack and head next year, I have to say that for the kind of shooting I do, monolights and the Explorer XT is a fantastic combination.

Sometimes I shoot for an entire day in 2 or 3 locations and what I like about having the XT is that I can use my strobe at varying power levels all day long, at times at full power, and at the end of the day I may have fired the strobe 600 to 700 times and I still have power left. That's the one thing that is a serious advantage over the batteries used in packs.

Yesterday was a perfect example. I shot in 3 locations and the charge light never left the green status and recycle time never slowed down a bit even after almost 600 shots and more pops including metering, white balance, etc.

[Rudi]

As much as I love and do plan on going to pack and head next year, I have to say that for the kind of shooting I do, monolights and the Explorer XT is a fantastic combination.

Sometimes I shoot for an entire day in 2 or 3 locations and what I like about having the XT is that I can use my strobe at varying power levels all day long, at times at full power, and at the end of the day I may have fired the strobe 600 to 700 times and I still have power left. That's the one thing that is a serious advantage over the batteries used in packs.

Yesterday was a perfect example. I shot in 3 locations and the charge light never left the green status and recycle time never slowed down a bit even after almost 600 shots and more pops including metering, white balance, etc.

Yeah, but you could easily do that with the Ranger RX at half power (it's an 1100Ws pack, remember?). Easily! Plus you'd have access to more power, faster recycling times (definitely, at the powers you're using now), etc, etc. It's not that I don't like the RX series monolights, I do. I use them myself, in the studio. It's just that they don't hold a candle to the Ranger RX packs and heads for location use. Not even close!

This is not to bag the RX600 plus Explorer XT combination - I'm sure that works well enough. It just doesn't work as elegantly as gear specifically designed for the purpose.

[TMR Design]

All relative and subjective Rudi. I've never needed more power or faster recycle times. The form factor doesn't matter to me. To me, it doesn't make a difference if I have a monolight and a Tronix Explorer or a Ranger head and Ranger pack. In terms of transport it won't make a difference since I already have a hand truck loaded up.

Believe me, I'm not denying that I would like a Ranger but it really wouldn't change much for me.

I'm in no hurry to make the switch and for my money, it goes a lot further investing in other areas of my kit and craft than it will by getting a Ranger to do what I can already do.

I've been on location and wished for many things but I've never wished that I had a Ranger or that life would be better with one.

Sorry to disappoint all the people that love to egg me on about getting a Ranger. Not yet guys. Perhaps next Spring. I'll see.

[Rudi]

Sorry to disappoint all the people that love to egg me on about getting a Ranger.

Wasn't meant that way. And you WILL change your mind once you get a pack and head! You just don't know it yet. :) Take it from someone who used to shoot on location with moonlights and converters, and now uses packs and heads.

[charlieharper]

I hear what you're saying Rudi, but I just couldn't afford to buy a Ranger Pack and two heads :D !!

Now I've got my two RX600's, I need to start getting out there and playing with them.

At this stage I'll be using a (borrowed) Explorer to drive them, while I figure out what to do for portable power.

I'm desperately hoping that PCB's Vagabond-Mini works as advertised, first time, unlike the current VB and the problems he seems to be having with that.

I notice that he's already got a "recall" on the V2 Einsteins, so it must be said that it does appear that he has some sort of quality control issues ........

If the VB-Minis do work as advertised they would be an awesome solution, clip one on each light-stand and then just move the stand where required, no power leads to worry about !!

On a totally unrelated note, I tried fitting my 60" Softlighter II to a RX600, the thinner "removable" shaft couldn't fit better if it was made for it, but the other part of the shaft is too fat to pass through the mounting hole.

When the Softlighter is installed in this manner, there is about six inches or so of "gap" where the edge of the umbrella has not yet aligned with the strobes head.

[TMR Design]

I hear what you're saying Rudi, but I just couldn't afford to buy a Ranger Pack and two heads :D !!

Now I've got my two RX600's, I need to start getting out there and playing with them.

At this stage I'll be using a (borrowed) Explorer to drive them, while I figure out what to do for portable power.

I'm desperately hoping that PCB's Vagabond-Mini works as advertised, first time, unlike the current VB and the problems he seems to be having with that.

I notice that he's already got a "recall" on the V2 Einsteins, so it must be said that it does appear that he has some sort of quality control issues ........

If the VB-Minis do work as advertised they would be an awesome solution, clip one on each light-stand and then just move the stand where required, no power leads to worry about !!

On a totally unrelated note, I tried fitting my 60" Softlighter II to a RX600, the thinner "removable" shaft couldn't fit better if it was made for it, but the other part of the shaft is too fat to pass through the mounting hole.

When the Softlighter is installed in this manner, there is about six inches or so of "gap" where the edge of the umbrella has not yet aligned with the strobes head.

Austen,

Which reflector are you using with the Softlighter? I have the 46" and I've never had a time where I wanted to needed to insert the rod past the point where the 7mm extension meets the 8mm rod.

[TMR Design]

Wasn't meant that way. And you WILL change your mind once you get a pack and head! You just don't know it yet. :) Take it from someone who used to shoot on location with moonlights and converters, and now uses packs and heads.

With gear I tend to be practical and I need to see a serious shift in the amount of location work I do to make me consider making the change. If I was primarily a location shooter than more than likely I would already have a Ranger but since the majority of my work is in my own studio, I can't justify it at all.

I'm sure I would love it and end up saying "I should have done this long ago" but as I said before, I can't possibly come up with a good enough reason to duplicate what I can do right now. I don't sweat over it and I don't curse the gear. I'm in heaven with my 600RX's and Explorer's. I've got an XT and XT SE and I can power as many strobes as I please, and I can do it all day long.

When the time is right, there will be a Ranger in my kit.

[Rudi]

Don't get me wrong, folks, I do understand the other side of the argument. I really do! :)

[pcunite]

I'm in heaven with my 600RX's and Explorer's. I've got an XT and XT SE and I can power as many strobes as I please, and I can do it all day long.


I may have missed it, but do you have an image or example shoot showing your setup? It sounds like you have the XT, stands, and heads on a dolly. You roll to out to the location, setup the stands, and runs cords to them?

[TMR Design]

I rearely, if ever remember or get a chance to get a setup shot but this was one from a shoot I did at the beginning of the Summer. I don't have a shot of the hand truck loaded up but this is the 'set' once set up.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1345/4731146465_8792ff8094_b.jpg

I have an XT SE with me at the location and a spare XT in my car, should I need it. I never have but it's good to know it's there.

[Jannie]

Really consider the California Sunbounce reflectors, check out their website and videos for your bright sun days, amazing work can be done with one 4'x6" and then find the right strobe for the rest.

[pcunite]

I rearely, if ever remember or get a chance to get a setup shot but this was one from a shoot I did at the beginning of the Summer. I don't have a shot of the hand truck loaded up but this is the 'set' once set up.

I have an XT SE with me at the location and a spare XT in my car, should I need it. I never have but it's good to know it's there.

Awesome, thanks. If you ever get a chance to show the dolly, I'm interested. I work without assistance allot and what keeps me from moving to bigger lights is positioning everything to the shoot location.

[TMR Design]

I work without an assistant quite a bit and although I'm not always thrilled with having to do all the work, I don't have a problem with it. As long as the location is accessible to a wheeled cart of some sort then I bring the gear in on a hand truck. If it's not accessible and I have to go by foot then anyone involved with the shoot gets to help out. ;)

Most often, if I scouted the location in advance, and I know I don't have the access I would like, that's when I switch over to the Speedlight kit where the entire kit gets lighter and more compact.

I'm also what I call an 'overpacker'. As long as I have to use the hand truck then it doesn't matter to me what I carry. At that point it's all the same but it's funny because I'll start out by thinking of the modifier(s) and gear I need, and then I inevitably end up creating the list of things I may need or may want, and then there's the 'just in case' gear and by the time I'm done the cart is always full.

This happened to me this past weekend. I knew I was shooting on a windy day and really only needed to bring the 22" and 16" beauty dishes but I kept thinking the wind would die down or that I may end up shooting where the wind was blocked and by the time I had my car packed, I had both beauty dishes, a 69" octa, 39" deep octa and a 14" x 55" strip box.

[Damian75]

Hey Rob just curious what kind of BD is the little 16"

[TMR Design]

Hey Rob just curious what kind of BD is the little 16"

It's a Cheetah dish that's been modified and fitted with an Elinchrom mount. The deflector has also been removed and I use the Elinchrom deflectors instead.

[Damian75]

Rob do they sell the deflectors in a set I can't seem to find them on BH I thought there was a set with the Gold, Silver and Translucent

[TMR Design]

Mark,

I don't know what's going on with Elinchrom deflectors. I know that the silver and gold sets are discontinued and I believe they now only sell a a full set with silver, gold and white translucent and I think they are all the 'maxi'.

When I got mine I got 2 sets of mini silver/gold and the maxi translucent one I got with the 69" Octa.

[Damian75]

Good to know it's not just me I have been thinking about making some.