Looking for D-lite 4 IT users to test their lights for me

I am shopping around for inexpensive studio heads with good shot to shot power and color consistency. As I can not find information about power consistency online, I am hoping some D-lite users would be willing to test their equipment and post the results.

Ideally one would set their camera in manual, and test the highest and lowest power level each at about 5-10 shots at timed intervals from each shot. Then see how many stops the power level deviates between the series of shots. Testing either with a light meter or by pointing at a flat slightly out of focus surface and calculating in post should work well I would think. Also testing the amount of time between each.

I would guess off hand that the amount of variance will change with power level, and spacing between photos.

Look forward to any results people can come up with.

so you want to make sure that each image is going to have the same meter reading? Elinchrom is one of the better strobes for this, from everything I've read.

hawk911 wrote in post #15227280
so you want to make sure that each image is going to have the same meter reading? Elinchrom is one of the better strobes for this, from everything I've read.

Yes, this is what I want. I am looking for each image to have as close to the same exposure as possible. Currently speed lights seem to have generally a bit too much variance between exposures, which causes some more work for the type of images I wish to use it for.

just about any light run from AC current is going to be better than a speedlight. You have a somewhat variable power source that can fluctuate depending on how fast you activate the flash.

did you try searching on strobe power consistency?

elinchrom consistency

hawk911 wrote in post #15227453
did you try searching on strobe power consistency?

elinchrom consistency

I have.

I have read that thread, and it did not provide any real insight into the information I am looking for, unfortunately. The only things stated are off the cuff remarks that seem a bit too much like guesstimations for my tastes

I wouldn't sweat it. The DLite4's consistency is so close it's not worth worrying about, and I'm pretty anal. I've got 2 of them, along with a BXRi500, Ranger and Quadra Packs.

windpig wrote in post #15227714
I wouldn't sweat it. The DLite4's consistency is so close it's not worth worrying about, and I'm pretty anal. I've got 2 of them, along with a BXRi500, Ranger and Quadra Packs.

I am looking for test results. I am not asking a vague 'is it good' question, but rather looking for some actual data about its performance.

TheLostVertex wrote in post #15227404
Yes, this is what I want. I am looking for each image to have as close to the same exposure as possible. Currently speed lights seem to have generally a bit too much variance between exposures, which causes some more work for the type of images I wish to use it for.

This answers your question perfectly and is one of the first posts in the thread you were linked.

TMR Design wrote in post #11989676
I've owned Elinchrom's from D-Lite's to the RX's and have never found any of them to have no more than 1/10 or possibly 2/10 stop variation, and if there was a 2/10 stop variation it was 1 out of every 20 or so. Most often, Elicnhrom's don't show more than 1/10 stop variation, and this applies to all power levels. The Elinchrom's don't exhibit greater variation at low power.

If you're experiencing anything more than that then you might have a defective strobe.

TheLostVertex wrote in post #15228657
I am looking for test results. I am not asking a vague 'is it good' question, but rather looking for some actual data about its performance.

I understood your question, and vague is a pretty generalized word. The problem with what you're trying to do if you had the light to test yourself, is that you may not get perfect exposure when going from one power setting to another based on the fact that lenses are necessarily perfect with aperture changes.

I did something similar, but not over the complete power range, when I was calibrating my meter and bodies. This is when I realized how fruitless measurbating this sort of stuff was to the extent you want to do it.

Csae wrote in post #15229144
This answers your question perfectly and is one of the first posts in the thread you were linked.

It does not. He does not state this is from actual testing, so I can only assume it is a winged guess unless I am told otherwise. Guesses have very variable accuracy and are not sufficient to my purposes.

windpig wrote in post #15229353
I understood your question, and vague is a pretty generalized word. The problem with what you're trying to do if you had the light to test yourself, is that you may not get perfect exposure when going from one power setting to another based on the fact that lenses are necessarily perfect with aperture changes.

I did something similar, but not over the complete power range, when I was calibrating my meter and bodies. This is when I realized how fruitless measurbating this sort of stuff was to the extent you want to do it.

This is true, however I shoot with locked apertures when I need shot to shot accuracy. Even then, lights will generally vary the exposure more than the electronic apertures in modern canon lenses.

And it may be fruitless for your purposes, however I do need as consistent lighting as I can afford to get.

Hmm, I may be up for this if I get some time. What are you shooting?

So you ASSUME he didn't test or didn't test it correctly and just gave some random numericals....

Ok.

Why are you encouraging him windpig?

Just for the record, i did go out and test it myself, but i will assume that you will assume that i somehow ****ed it up, so i won't bother posting the results. I was however surprised to see that i did indeed get 2/10ths variation on my 580EX.

Hi Case