New Elinchrom Ranger heads have zooming bulb! (and other eli news)

I'm not arguing with you, Frank. It's going to be handy, but I still stand by my statement - a lot of photogs will rarely touch the zoom control (that does not mean that a few won't make very good use of it ).

100% correct.
I've seen the new heads and I travel with them a lot and I can't wait to replace my old heads, I can fit three in the space I now have two I guess.

J.A.F. Doorhof wrote in post #10968627
Sorry to be blunt and DON'T get this the wrong way, but a LOT of photographers don't know how to use it, for me it's something that I WILL use,

I don't think you come under the heading of "a lot of photographers".

J.A.F. Doorhof wrote in post #10968649
100% correct.
I've seen the new heads and I travel with them a lot and I can't wait to replace my old heads, I can fit three in the space I now have two I guess.

oh wow they are small! that's awesome to know!

Yeah that makes the wacky handle a little more acceptable. Frank can you take a couple of detailed shots of the head before you leave? Maybe hold and old head next to it?

Major thing i see helping is the use of different speedrings. Bulb too far inset? Well that won't be too much a problem anymore.

ed. wrote in post #10968867
oh wow they are small! that's awesome to know!

Looking at the photos, the small size is kinda obvious. I mean, unless they decided to enlarge the Elinchrom mount!

I can't because someone stole my 5DMKII plus I'm home now.
The size is really a bit smaller and more attractive I think

While it still looks like something Tonka would throw together (after someone hit the molds with an big-a**ugly stick), if you look at the roughly 22 sec mark of Frank's video, the lamp is very short & stuby -- if you ignore the handle. If you're lucky maybe the handle is removable and doesn't contain any antennas or such.

http://www.frankdoorho​f.com/site/?p=370#more​-370

That said, the older head isn't exactly enormous (using the swivel gear as scale). Personally, for packing, I'd prefer the more linear or tubular design (handle at rear and in-line with body of light) of the older versions, but YMWV.

http://www.elinchrom.c​om/products.php?p_id=6​4#content

Conner999 wrote in post #10969277
...
That said, the older head isn't exactly enormous (using the swivel gear as scale). Personally, for packing, I'd prefer the more linear or tubular design (handle at rear and in-line with body of light) of the older versions...

Right you are, Rob. If that handle isn't easily removable, a fair amount of Pelican case real estate may be wasted:

Man, who approved the look of that thing? Looks even worse when you compare them side-by-side.

Someone's nephew/son/wife's idiot cousin designed it like it was intended to double as an entrenching tool. The older one does look dated, but I could live with dated given the alternative from an aesthetics and packing view point - lighter or not. Packing aside, yeah it's only the looks of the light, but one could also say the same for the older one. Hell, you want more zoom than you know what to do with? Look into a pigtail to run a Profoto 7B head off your Ranger (no idea if possible) and buy a Profoto-Eli adapter.

Durability of the new design aside, put your hand over the handle and it's "ok, kinda weird, but small, etc". Pull hand away and the bile starts to rise. Removable handle would be nice, but I'd give at least even odds it won't be that simple.

tetrode wrote in post #10969514
Right you are, Rob. If that handle isn't easily removable, a fair amount of Pelican case real estate may be wasted:

It does make you wonder why they would bother to make the casing that much smaller, if they're just gonna whack a great big handle on it anyway! If they left the casing larger, it would have better cooling, no? I mean, it's not like two of the new heads stack on top of each other or anything.

Anyway, I'll wait until I see one in the flesh. Then I'll make up my mind.

It's possible the handle, if metal, might function as a heat sink (now that casing is plastic), but still...

Conner999 wrote in post #10969753
It's possible the handle, if metal, might function as a heat sink (now that casing is plastic), but still...

Doubtful. A heat sink is most effective when it's directly next to the components they are protecting. It wouldn't be distanced like that with so little surface area if it were a heat sink.

Agree, doubtful - and likely plastic anyway. Only excuse I could think of.. ;>

Honestly? I think they were just trying to make them look like Quadra heads! Someone at Elinchrom thinks that Quadra is the hot new thing, so everything will now look similar. I mean, does anyone remember the Ranger Quanta??