New Profoto speedlite leaked

HoppyUK

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A new speedlite from Profoto has been leaked. At least Profoto has seen which way the wind is blowing, and the need for a fully integrated total flash lighting system running from speedlites to studio strobes to location kit, all running on the same trigger and control system.

Godox has a rival! Or given the rumoured 999Euros price, maybe not. Hats off to Profoto though (y)

https://www.dpreview.com/news/88554...ight-the-profoto-a1?ref_=pe_1674010_132618830
 
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DemiLion said:
Pretty, clever, but very, very, sodding expensive!
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Certainly not practical to store in my bag because of the shape.
Powerful indeed but since I already have a two heads B1, and
three Nikon speedlights, this novelty will not grab my fancy.
 
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Kodiak Qc said:
Certainly not practical to store in my bag because of the shape.
Powerful indeed but since I already have a two heads B1, and
three Nikon speedlights, this novelty will not grab my fancy.
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But you can't fire your Nikon speedlites off Profoto triggers and you end up with a cludge of mix'n'match bits and pieces and clumsy operational limitations. That's the point.

Since this 'something big' rumour coming from Profoto appeared a couple of weeks ago, like others I was expecting an auto-TTL receiver to pull Canikon speedlites into the Profoto system. But this is a whole lot more interesting. And do I see little LEDs around the front?

ps Kodiak, give it a try and I bet you buy one (or three) ;)
 
HoppyUK said:
ps Kodiak, give it a try and I bet you buy one (or three) ;)
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Some months ago, I replaced my three D1s by
three D2s exactly for that reason. I had to use
the D1s with the PW and the B1s and B2s with
the Profoto remote… not clever.

I never did, and don't think I will, use the Nikons
along side the Profoto system so the PW are now
only for these remote speedlights.
 
So thats three players in the field. Godox, Phottix and now Profoto. Despite the pricetag interesting news.
 
Kodiak Qc said:
Why only three players, Soeren?
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Im not aware of more companies offering a "complete" ecosystem. Most are either speedlightsts or studiostrobes not the full lineup.
 
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Kodiak Qc said:
Alright, that's how you meant it! :cool:
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I might be the odd one here but to me as an amateur thats a big deal. Concentrating on one system, build on it and not loose all the benefits (and money) if moving camera system or.........etc
 
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Yongnuo were one of the first with a complete 622 hotshoe / studio flash integrated system in 2014.

Shame the yn300w never really took off.
 
mike weeks said:
But for the same money you can have 2 AD200s, 2 V860Iis, a trigger of choice, enough money left over for a slap up meal with good wine and still buy spare batteries etc.

Let's think about that, NOT

Mike
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Most rental shops don't stock Godox, they all stock Profoto though. I see this being used as a supplement to the bigger/more powerful heads since they can all be controlled with the remote.
 
soeren said:
Concentrating on one system, build on it and not loose all the benefits
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Some decades ago, I moved from the Minolta XM system
to the Nikon system.

For about a decade, when my three head Speedotron 2400
Black Line rendered its soul, I adopted the Profoto system.

The common denominator here is SYSTEM. No maker is bet-
ter than its system and no photographer should be thinking or
building up outside of them.

I never committed to Nikon, Profoto or any other brands but
to their systems. That's where the safety of any investment is.
 
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Kris said:
Yongnuo were one of the first with a complete 622 hotshoe / studio flash integrated system in 2014.

Shame the yn300w never really took off.
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Didn't know that, was it bad timing?
 
Not sure.

On a whim, I did try and get one in 2015 (I think), but the supplier said that YN appeared to be not making them any more.

AC only was a big disadvantage.

An obviously recessed tube didn't help either.

They've now been superceded by better 'systems'.
 
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soeren said:
I might be the odd one here but to me as an amateur thats a big deal. Concentrating on one system, build on it and not loose all the benefits (and money) if moving camera system or.........etc
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Indeed but do amateurs really start with Profoto? I've met a lot of people who buy Profoto and only one of them I would have described as an amateur.

I agree with all the comments about ecosystem but I can only see this panning out for established professionals and rental houses, which is probably fine, that's where Profoto lives isn't it?
 
howww much?? tbh this could be good if you can put the OCF modifiers on, use at as a more compact version of a b2. However its significantly down on power from the specs and i would want want something close to that power level from a speedlight at that kinda price!
 
kman said:
this could be good if you can put the OCF modifiers
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Yes, right! Good point.

I didn't think of the OCF modifiers compatibility that,
of course, would be a positive argument but without
these possibilities… ~
 
simonbarker said:
Indeed but do amateurs really start with Profoto? I've met a lot of people who buy Profoto and only one of them I would have described as an amateur.

I agree with all the comments about ecosystem but I can only see this panning out for established professionals and rental houses, which is probably fine, that's where Profoto lives isn't it?
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Agree.

mike weeks said:
But for the same money you can have 2 AD200s, 2 V860Iis, a trigger of choice, enough money left over for a slap up meal with good wine and still buy spare batteries etc.

Let's think about that, NOT

Mike
Click to expand...

Yes, but look at it from a Profoto user's point of view, already committed and invested in kit, but wanting to integrate speedlites.

So you either do as Kodiak has done with a bit of a mess of PWs etc, which is not cheap and frankly unacceptably clunky given the other options now available. Or you take a look at Godox but, despite their prices, the big overall cost and general pain of switching just to get some speedlites doesn't sit too well, and those guys just love their Profotos anyway (and who can blame them). In that scenario, these new Profoto speedlites probably look like a bargain.

So I think Profoto will find a lot of very willing buyers among their current users, and it'll perhaps stop a few of them jumping ship, too.
 
simonbarker said:
Indeed but do amateurs really start with Profoto? I've met a lot of people who buy Profoto and only one of them I would have described as an amateur.

I agree with all the comments about ecosystem but I can only see this panning out for established professionals and rental houses, which is probably fine, that's where Profoto lives isn't it?
Click to expand...
Ofcource we don't. Godox is the affordable solution, phottix the somewhat more expensive and Profoto the highend option. What's great about it is they learn from eachother and perhaps start offering competitive products meaning we all in all get better systems in all catagories.
 
soeren said:
Ofcource we don't. Godox is the affordable solution, phottix the somewhat more expensive and Profoto the highend option.
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I don't follow, you said it was a big deal for amateurs but I'm still not clear on why that would be? There is almost no incentive to start with an A1, its main selling point is it fits into the Profoto ecosystem gracefully but you either have to be reasonably successful (or foolish) to have an existing Profoto setup or you're renting. Saying that owning a B1 or B2 and Air TTL is a pretty low barrier so maybe I'm underestimating them and their company vision.

I'm not expecting the magnetic attachments mentioned in the dpreview article to be especially enticing but maybe they'll do something clever to warrant the price a little, even with the Profoto logo tax 1k does seem optimistic for a speedlight.

soeren said:
What's great about it is they learn from eachother and perhaps start offering competitive products meaning we all in all get better systems in all catagories.
Click to expand...

Perhaps mostly in one direction, I'm not really sure how much Profoto has learned from Godox or Phottix. I just don't see a place where Profoto would want to be competitive with Godox, much like Apple they have to be relying on their profit margin for each product rather than drowning the market (although they do that too in their own way).
 
simonbarker said:
I don't follow, you said it was a big deal for amateurs but I'm still not clear on why that would be? There is almost no incentive to start with an A1, its main selling point is it fits into the Profoto ecosystem gracefully but you either have to be reasonably successful (or foolish) to have an existing Profoto setup or you're renting. Saying that owning a B1 or B2 and Air TTL is a pretty low barrier so maybe I'm underestimating them and their company vision.

I'm not expecting the magnetic attachments mentioned in the dpreview article to be especially enticing but maybe they'll do something clever to warrant the price a little, even with the Profoto logo tax 1k does seem optimistic for a speedlight.



Perhaps mostly in one direction, I'm not really sure how much Profoto has learned from Godox or Phottix. I just don't see a place where Profoto would want to be competitive with Godox, much like Apple they have to be relying on their profit margin for each product rather than drowning the market (although they do that too in their own way).
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Just like new tech in cars find it's way from highend to cheaper cars the most clever solutions will find their way through brands. I dont know for sure if Profoto, Photix or Godox will adopt solutions from eachother but if there is a demand for a feature like eg the app thing for controlling Godox flashes in the pro-segment why shouldn't Profoto learn?
https://m.dpreview.com/news/8977969...an-now-control-all-godox-wireless-flash-units
And all over the camera market you see features being adopted across brands.
BTW I saw a video about the AD600 vs a similar Profoto (B2 i think) and they were surpricingly equal with the AD600 shooting more consistent output and overall a little more power where the Profoto was better i color consistency, a big deal for some. So while that may be a breaker for some other pros will see the AD600 as an affordable alternative therefore it's a competitor to profotos offering. To becomes even better Godox might take apart some Profoto units to see if they can be even better in color.
If this new speedlight offers features or design elements that becomes high in demand i bet they'll find their way into other brands e.g. Godox.
 
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soeren said:
Just like new tech in cars find it's way from highend to cheaper cars the most clever solutions will find their way through brands. I dont know for sure if Profoto, Photix or Godox will adopt solutions from eachother but if there is a demand for a feature like eg the app thing for controlling Godox flashes in the pro-segment why shouldn't Profoto learn?
Click to expand...

You are correct in a general sense but that isn't a Godox idea, Broncolor has had an app available for its newer lights for some time and before that you've had USB options from Elinchrom, Profoto etc to let you use a computer to control the lighting remotely. That may seem pedantic but I haven't seen much that Godox offers Profoto, they've done a great job making an ecosystem (if we ignore anything over 1000 Ws) but besides combining existing technologies into super cheap packages what have they achieved that someone else hasn't at a different price point?

Price might be super important for the scrubs like myself but I don't think it's that important to Profoto's main customer base, I'm certainly not seeing a long term benefit for Profoto in a race to the bottom so they won't enter the same territory as companies like Godox as they can't copy their business model. Companies like Godox benefit hugely from taking in what others are inventing though and please don't take this as a criticism of them, they've had some great ideas of their own.

soeren said:
BTW I saw a video about the AD600 vs a similar Profoto (B2 i think) and they were surpricingly equal with the AD600 shooting more consistent output and overall a little more power where the Profoto was better i color consistency, a big deal for some. So while that may be a breaker for some other pros will see the AD600 as an affordable alternative therefore it's a competitor to profotos offering. To becomes even better Godox might take apart some Profoto units to see if they can be even better in color.
Click to expand...

This sounds dismissive and I don't mean it that way but it does not matter which product is better, there are things about the way those companies are run which mean their products are better suited to certain situations, for example if Godox makes the best equipment in the world and I can't rent them what do I care? If I can't rely on product warranties and a reliable repair source then that rules it out for a bunch of professionals. That's changing of course, we now have companies like Lencarta, Essential photo etc offering warranties which aren't worthless on their products but that's a very recent development and doesn't detract from my point performance is not the only consideration.

Consider it from this position, take a reasonably successful company/photographer, if they can justify a Profoto ecosystem (effectively Pro/Pro-B/B/D) then they can justify A1 purchases if there's going to be a return on their investment (be that from needing less equipment as everything works off the Profoto ecosystem or improved reliability/performance etc). My point badly worded is that cost isn't always the most important consideration, i.e. it might be worth paying several times extra in upfront costs if they're going to make more money elsewhere.

soeren said:
If this new speedlight offers features or design elements that becomes high in demand i bet they'll find their way into other brands e.g. Godox.
Click to expand...

No doubt, it's almost guaranteed you'll see speedlights coming out after the A1 copying the round fresnel and modifier attachments.
 
simonbarker said:
You are correct in a general sense but that isn't a Godox idea, Broncolor has had an app available for its newer lights for some time and before that you've had USB options from Elinchrom, Profoto etc to let you use a computer to control the lighting remotely. That may seem pedantic but I haven't seen much that Godox offers Profoto, they've done a great job making an ecosystem (if we ignore anything over 1000 Ws) but besides combining existing technologies into super cheap packages what have they achieved that someone else hasn't at a different price point?

Price might be super important for the scrubs like myself but I don't think it's that important to Profoto's main customer base, I'm certainly not seeing a long term benefit for Profoto in a race to the bottom so they won't enter the same territory as companies like Godox as they can't copy their business model. Companies like Godox benefit hugely from taking in what others are inventing though and please don't take this as a criticism of them, they've had some great ideas of their own.



This sounds dismissive and I don't mean it that way but it does not matter which product is better, there are things about the way those companies are run which mean their products are better suited to certain situations, for example if Godox makes the best equipment in the world and I can't rent them what do I care? If I can't rely on product warranties and a reliable repair source then that rules it out for a bunch of professionals. That's changing of course, we now have companies like Lencarta, Essential photo etc offering warranties which aren't worthless on their products but that's a very recent development and doesn't detract from my point performance is not the only consideration.

Consider it from this position, take a reasonably successful company/photographer, if they can justify a Profoto ecosystem (effectively Pro/Pro-B/B/D) then they can justify A1 purchases if there's going to be a return on their investment (be that from needing less equipment as everything works off the Profoto ecosystem or improved reliability/performance etc). My point badly worded is that cost isn't always the most important consideration, i.e. it might be worth paying several times extra in upfront costs if they're going to make more money elsewhere.



No doubt, it's almost guaranteed you'll see speedlights coming out after the A1 copying the round fresnel and modifier attachments.
Click to expand...
You asked why I find this great for amateurs and now you pretty much answered that question yourself :)
 
Just one thing about amateur photographers...

How many of them have an M9, one ot two D1x2's/D5s, 500mm/600mm/8700mm/200-400mm lenses?

Who says they aren't or won't buy in to ProFoto?

Never underestimate people's stupidity or their abiliy to spend money.
 
it looks kinda cool, and having Air both reciever and transmitter built in is neat....

but £1000 for a speedlight ahahahahahahhahahahaahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaa

good for snappers who love the terry richardson look I guess
 
You still have to buy the lighting system though. And compatible triggers.
 
DemiLion said:
You still have to buy the lighting system though. And compatible triggers.
Click to expand...

Y'dont need all that...

The iPhone has a studio lighting function in post.

I'm not suggesting it'll be any good, but that's what Ben was alluding to
 
TG. said:
£849 Lovely I will have 2, lol
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Huh that's weird, it's cheaper here than in the US. It's $995 which works out to roughly £737 but our price without VAT is £707.

Almost enough to buy the £48 bag but you'll need to save your pennies for the £138 flashbender or the £90 gel holder. Don't really get that pricing on those accessories when the wide and dome lenses are a reasonable £30 each.
 
simonbarker said:
Huh that's weird, it's cheaper here than in the US. It's $995 which works out to roughly £737 but our price without VAT is £707.
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Import duty to USA perhaps? (No idea what duty there might be)

Profoto are a European company remember...
 
Eloise said:
Import duty to USA perhaps? (No idea what duty there might be)

Profoto are a European company remember...
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That's what I thought at first but it's €995 I think which works out to £882 and that's with the exchange rate being terrible at the moment. For whatever weird reason we have it at a bargain price in the UK (ho ho).
 
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