Broncolor Siros- who uses 'em?

Anyone here using the siros from Broncolor? It's on my shortlist and would love to hear any firsthand experiences/ opinions.

Hmmmm, I would have thought more people used these.

RandallB wrote in post #17840162
Hmmmm, I would have thought more people used these.

Have you tried operating one before? Play with one in a store and compare it to other brands before spending your cash on one.

RandallB wrote in post #17840162
Hmmmm, I would have thought more people used these.

'Tis the land of Wrong Nuo, mate, you're shouting in the desert here. I know of pros who use them (other than [or in addition to] the guys on the Broncolor tutorials, that is).

I don't think you can go wrong with them: colour is consistent at all power levels, they have built-in wireless triggering, and they're made Switzerland. I personally don't care much for their app, but I'm old school: I reckon it's neat to have, though: It's a pain to be manually adjusting the power on a monolight placed higher than 2 m above ground.

Now, I dunno how nice they play with Bron's lightformers, though, as most of their reflectors seem to be 'optimised for [their] Pulso' lamps: http://www.bron.ch …09ed725f2694904​61e1b7739a

idkdc wrote in post #17840169
Have you tried operating one before? Play with one in a store and compare it to other brands before spending your cash on one.

That's what I will be doing when the shops open again next week. In the mean time I am doing my normal process of research some of which involves soliciting the experiences- both positive and negative- of my colleagues. In store testing can be somewhat limiting and most sales people have a vested interest in obtaining your $$$$. Showing up with more information is always better than showing up with less.

Alveric wrote in post #17840214
Now, I dunno how nice they play with Bron's lightformers, though, as most of their reflectors seem to be 'optimised for [their] Pulso' lamps: http://www.bron.ch …09ed725f2694904​61e1b7739a

This is what is somewhat vague. Their literature states they are compatible to most modifiers (including the Paras!) but I have never experienced a bron speedring and there seem to be a couple(?)

Cant wait until B3K is open next week.

Yup, talk to Jim Anderson or Walter at B3K. They know their stuff, as they're photographers (at least I know Walter is), rather than just clerks interested in a commission.

From what I can deduct from Bron's website and what the pros who use Broncolor use, I think Bron is more geared towards power packs (and their packs are cream of the crop, hence their prices), and they provide a couple of monolights just to have something to compete in that market.

Thanks,

Yeah, the Siros were released to break into the profoto market. They are mains powered (although a pack battery pack exists). They appear to be the next step up over the Einsteins for what I need. I like the strobe effect and the ability to freeze motion such as liquids, broken glass etc. It is unfortunate as that is adding alot to the budget! Otherwise I would be checking out the Hensels.

Alveric wrote in post #17840222
Yup, talk to Jim Anderson or Walter at B3K. They know their stuff, as they're photographers (at least I know Walter is), rather than just clerks interested in a commission.

From what I can deduct from Bron's website and what the pros who use Broncolor use, I think Bron is more geared towards power packs (and their packs are cream of the crop, hence their prices), and they provide a couple of monolights just to have something to compete in that market.

I don't care much for the Siros control layout on its backpanel. I think/hope the power packs are more intuitive.

RandallB wrote in post #17840231
Thanks,

Yeah, the Siros were released to break into the profoto market. They are mains powered (although a pack battery pack exists). They appear to be the next step up over the Einsteins for what I need. I like the strobe effect and the ability to freeze motion such as liquids, broken glass etc. It is unfortunate as that is adding alot to the budget! Otherwise I would be checking out the Hensels.

Are you sure they're a step up? Unless you have an existing Broncolor system I'm not sure what's attracting you to the Siros over an Einstein.

RandallB wrote in post #17840162
Hmmmm, I would have thought more people used these.

The fact that the whole Siros line is special-order-only at B&H, and there are no user reviews suggests they are not in widespread use, or in demand. There is a lot more information on the web comparing the Einstein to the Profoto B1 and B2, and traditional Broncolor pack and head systems. They can fire at up to 50 times per second, but it's unclear to me if they can do a stroboscopic mode (multiple flashes from a single shutter release trigger event) like you can do with some speedlites, or merely keep up with very fast FPS cameras.

simonbarker wrote in post #17840558
Are you sure they're a step up? Unless you have an existing Broncolor system I'm not sure what's attracting you to the Siros over an Einstein.

Build quality is better. Broncolor have a better reputation for quality. Colour consistency.

PCB made my first few attempts to deal with them difficult. I cant imagine how things would have gone if I had a problem.

We use 3 sets of them at work and I have some experience with them.

They are very well built, good solid units and if you buy a kit you get a really nice travel case and some proper manfrotto stands.

Colour consistency and exposure consistency is fantastic, and I have total trust in how they will perform.
They are also a good looking light.

At this end of the market, Hensel, Profoto and Broncolor are basically as good as it gets.

There are a few things I don't like:
The mounting system for modifiers is a pain. It's like the bowens system, but even more fiddly. It's about as annoying as the Elinchrom system, but is a lot more durable. The Profoto system is simply better and easier to use.


The RF triggers look and feel cheap. If you drop them, they will break. They are also a pain to use. You can't control individual lights from the trigger, only groups, and you can't fire multiple groups, only a single group.
Turning on the modeling lamp requires a long press of a button, of exactly the right duration, or the modeling light turns off again, then on again, then off again until you get frustrated with it.

The units have 2 buttons (modeling light and test) and rotary control knob for setting everything else. It's great for power adjustments, but takes some getting use to for controlling everything else, RF, WiFi, strobe, modeling lamp mode, etc.

The Broncontrol app gets around these problems, and is fantastic, when it works. I placed a light really close to the floor the other day and it dropped it's wifi signal. The app also crashes randomly, or just loses connection to a light. We run it on iOS and Android devices. The lights themselves are also quite sensitive to RF interference.

Ok, thats a lot of things I don't like, all essentially relate to the user interface. It's not a huge deal, but I use Elinchrom for my personal work and the Skyport system while simpler, works better (and also breaks if you drop them). I also have some Phottix Odin triggers for my speedlites, and again, it's a system with an interface that just works and is easy to use.

The Profoto system is better but none of the issues I have with the Broncolor RF and Broncontrol app stop you using the lights or make them hard to use and live with.
Given how well engineered the Siros lights are, the RF and Wifi system should be better. It feels like it was designed by software engineers from the 90s.

However, we have the Broncolors because of what I said at the start, Hensel, Profoto and Broncolor are basically as good as it gets. But here in NZ we don't have a reliable supplier of Hensel and there was until recently very little support for Profoto. But Broncolor have been distributed here for sometime and there are a number of places we can get support from, including renting modifiers and replacement kit etc, as well as access to a lot of knowledge on how the system works.
I think that is more important in choosing what system to buy into.

Thanks for the info!

I love the way the profotos mount but didnt dig the recessed flash tube. People seem to love or hate the broncolor mount!

If it wasnt for the freezing movement I would be going with Hensel. Good solid products but as far as I know they dont do that. It is pretty easy here to hire gear of all types (profoto, bron, elinchrome) so no worries for modfiers.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. That is the type of user experience I am looking for.

Moppie: you mention the Siros's mount is kinda finicky. Is it easy to rotate the lightformers on Bron's lights? I know with Hensel it's a cinch to change a softbox from vertical to horizontal. I'm assuming this shouldn't be a problem with Bron's?

Randall: If you need to freeze movement, as for shooting athletes or doing liquid photography, Hensel has the Expert line, and the price difference isn't that great.