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Thread: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

  1. #11
    Scott Davis
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Another thing to consider is that should you need an accessory for them you don't own, either at home or on the road, most rental houses carry Profotos. Einsteins, not so much.

  2. #12
    Unwitting Thread Killer Ari's Avatar
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Thanks, Scott, it's a very important consideration; plus the used market is flooded with old, but usable, Profoto accessories.

  3. #13
    Christopher Barrett's Avatar
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    I've had Profoto D1's since 09, I think. I bought 10 initially but only carry 6 nowadays. They've been all over the country and to South Korea and back. During the first year, three had to go in for repair, 1 after falling from 20 feet. These came with a 2 year warranty and I never paid for a repair. After those initial fixes they haven't had to go back in since. So mine at least seem to be incredibly durable. Profoto used to make great software for controlling the heads from a laptop. They stopped supporting that and wrote new software which is utterly unusable.

    I think I'm going to move to the Broncolor Siros, as you can control those from an iPad.

    I have a colleague who swears by White Lightning and every time they break, they fix them for free. Either way, I'd buy new and make sure your units have a good warranty.

    -CB
    Last edited by Christopher Barrett; 28-Aug-2016 at 07:01.

  4. #14

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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    I was going to mention what Scott said, so I'll second it. If you need to rent more lights or modifiers, Profoto gear is available in rental houses all over the world. I've never seen an Einstein in a rental catalog.

    Also any assistant you may hire is already going to be familiar with Profoto.

    I'm constantly impressed by the quality of light from the profoto heads and modifiers. And if you want to add more lights for a cheap price, you can sometimes find the old Compact monolights for sale at bargain prices. They're still great lights. Obviously marketing has something to do with it, but I still think that Profoto is a standard for many pros and rental houses for a reason.

    To be fair I've never used the Einsteins. Back in my newspaper days I used a few White Lightnings for portraits and to light high school gyms for basketball games. They were ok, but the light quality always seemed a bit rough or harsh for some reason. I also had one blow while shooting a portrait once. It started smoking and then sparks started shooting out of the flash. So I gave up on them after that. But I know the Einsteins are a different design, so that comparison might not be relevant.

  5. #15
    Unwitting Thread Killer Ari's Avatar
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Quote Originally Posted by Christopher Barrett View Post
    I've had Profoto D1's since 09, I think. I bought 10 initially but only carry 6 nowadays. They've been all over the country and to South Korea and back. During the first year, three had to go in for repair, 1 after falling from 20 feet. These came with a 2 year warranty and I never paid for a repair. After those initial fixes they haven't had to go back in since. So mine at least seem to be incredibly durable. Profoto used to make great software for controlling the heads from a laptop. They stopped supporting that and wrote new software which is utterly unusable.

    I think I'm going to move to the Broncolor Siros, as you can control those from an iPad.

    I have a colleague who swears by Alien Bees and every time they break, they fix them for free. Either way, I'd buy new and make sure your units have a good warranty.

    -CB
    Christopher, thanks; I'd prefer to buy new, but I can't afford to. A good used kit will have to do. I've been impressed with the good build quality of the Profotos; like the FLM tripods I sell, excellent build quality will carry the day and last much longer than less expensive alternatives. So whatever I get, it will be Profoto.
    Also, remote control capability isn't a priority of mine, I just want to be able to use wireless triggers; the extent of my flash needs is limited to portraits of 1-5 people, and some still life. Two lights should be sufficient.

    Quote Originally Posted by Noah A View Post
    I was going to mention what Scott said, so I'll second it. If you need to rent more lights or modifiers, Profoto gear is available in rental houses all over the world. I've never seen an Einstein in a rental catalog.

    Also any assistant you may hire is already going to be familiar with Profoto.

    I'm constantly impressed by the quality of light from the profoto heads and modifiers. And if you want to add more lights for a cheap price, you can sometimes find the old Compact monolights for sale at bargain prices. They're still great lights. Obviously marketing has something to do with it, but I still think that Profoto is a standard for many pros and rental houses for a reason.

    To be fair I've never used the Einsteins. Back in my newspaper days I used a few White Lightnings for portraits and to light high school gyms for basketball games. They were ok, but the light quality always seemed a bit rough or harsh for some reason. I also had one blow while shooting a portrait once. It started smoking and then sparks started shooting out of the flash. So I gave up on them after that. But I know the Einsteins are a different design, so that comparison might not be relevant.
    Thanks, Noah. The Einsteins do seem tempting because of the price and features; I'd guess they are a cut above ABs and White Lightnings, but still a notch below Profoto or Elinchrom.
    PCB might have excellent customer service, and offer quick repairs, but that doesn't help when you need a head to work now.
    Much easier to rent a flash head or power pack when they're so ubiquitous.

  6. #16
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    I always try for the most bang for the buck.

    Buff products use the old Balcor light modifier mounting system. Which is handy if you have a pile of those. I did. The old Balcor tube cover also fit, but PCB suppliers a HD tube cover as OE.

    More than one low cost supplier also uses Balcor mount. 'Fotodiox Universal Barn door Barndoor Kit' fits. A large variety of modifiers other than OE available.

    Comparing Alien Bees to Einsteins is mead to champagne. Different generation product.

    As for color shift, the Einstein has 2 settings, speed or constant color. Pick one. Below is lifted direct from their website.

    "Two distinct operation modes are available from the rear panel: the Constant Color mode and the Action mode. In Constant Color mode, the emitted color temperature is held constant at 5600ºK (+/- 50ºK at any power setting or input voltage). The flash duration ranges from 1/540 second (t.1) at full power to 1/1700 second (t.1) at half power to 1/9,000 second (t.1) at the lowest power setting. In Action mode, the flash duration is minimized for maximum action stopping capability where absolute color consistency is secondary to motion freezing. At half power in Action mode, the flash duration is approximately 1/2000 second (t.1) and the color temperature is approximately 5750º K. In this mode, the color temperature rises as power is reduced."

    When I shoot digital, I am often using Einstein at 10% or less power, which gives a very fast flash.
    Tin Can

  7. #17

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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ari View Post
    ... So whatever I get, it will be Profoto...
    Excellent!

  8. #18
    Unwitting Thread Killer Ari's Avatar
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Randy, it was hard deciding between the two, but I can go back on my decision later on, if I need to.
    The specs for the Einstein are indeed admirable, but the real-world experience of some online users made me opt for the workhorse Profotos.

  9. #19

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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Quote Originally Posted by Ari View Post
    Randy, it was hard deciding between the two, but I can go back on my decision later on, if I need to.
    The specs for the Einstein are indeed admirable, but the real-world experience of some online users made me opt for the workhorse Profotos.
    Ari, Stone owns a set of used Profotos and he told me that he is very happy with them. You might pm him.

  10. #20
    Unwitting Thread Killer Ari's Avatar
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    Re: Monolights: Profoto or Einstein?

    Thanks, Alan.

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