For several years, the Profoto B10 has been my go-to light. Even when Profoto announced newer ones, I never saw the need to upgrade. Indeed, the company built one of the most perfect lights you can get at a good price. But in recent years, Elinchom came under new management. The company previously released the Elinchrom 5 and Elinchrom 1. Both lights were good but came with problems. However, the Elinchrom 3 is the perfect balance between both lights. If you’ve been considering Profoto lights, the Elinchrom 3 is something that will probably hit pause on that purchase.
Table of Contents
The Big Picture
The Elinchrom 3 is, in many ways, the perfect light for photographers who want what Profoto can do, but at a cheaper price point and with better build quality than lights from the big retailer house brands. The Elinchrom 3 has 261 watt seconds, while the Profoto B10 is 250. I previously called the Profoto B10 the best light that I’ve tested. And in many ways, it still is. But Elinchrom gives photographers a bit more power and a more affordable price point. What it lacks is the fact that you have to take the frosted dome off to mount Profoto light shaping tools. It also likes to eat your umbrellas, and it’s very frustrating that I can’t just stick a 6-foot Westcott umbrella in there very easily.
Still, this is the best competitor to a Profoto light that I’ve seen in years. But Elinchrom still has a bit of work to do.
The Elinchrom 3 wins four out of five stars. Want one? Check them out on Amazon.
Pros
- Great light output
- Lightweight
- Simple to use
- Elinchrom’s interface is easier and more intuitive to use than Profoto’s
Cons
- 1/1550 max flash duration in standard mode. Even in action mode, it can’t beat Profoto’s 1/50,000
Gear Used
We tested the Elinchrom 3 with the Canon EOS R5 and the Canon EOS R. Both of those units and the lenses we used, are the Phoblographer’s. The Elinchrom 3 we tested was a loaner unit that we returned.
Ergonomics
The Elinchrom 3 looks and feels like many other lights from the company’s most recent endeavors. The battery unit is contained within the unit, as it was with the Elinchrom 1. On the back of the light is a panel that lets you control it however you need. It also works with Elinchrom’s skyport transmitters; we’re sure that that’s how most photographers will use it. Ultimately, it’s really just a cylinder with a bit of control at the back. And that’s all.
Here’s the Elinchrom 3 next to the B10. The B10 is smaller, doesn’t have a removable frosted dome, and has a removable battery. Otherwise, they’re almost very similar except for Elinchrom’s umbrella adapter and Elinchrom’s USB-C charging format. And unfortunately, I can’t adapt one light stand mount from one light to the other.
Build Quality
The Elinchrom 3 feels good overall. While it doesn’t feel as solid as Profoto’s light, I think that’s because of the different build. There is no removable battery, and that makes it feel like a more plasticky unit. But in real life, the light seemed perfectly fine when we tested it. It’s also still small enough to fit into most backpacks. Our only gripe is that once you need to attach a softbox to it using Profoto mount, you need to remove the frosted dome.
Ease of Use
Most of the menu from the Elinchrom 3 is picture-based. And most photographers that have used lights before will be able to figure it out easily. Some of the deeper menus use text, and those are simple enough to be figured out. In reality, there was nothing with the Elinchrom 3 that I wasn’t able to figure out. But then again, most of my interaction with the light was through my Skyport. I found it a bit difficult to find the second-curtain flash setting. But once that was done, it was as straightforward as ever.
Image Quality
The Elinchrom 3 has beautiful image quality. When using it with the Canon EOS R5 during a few hours on a shoot, it delivered lighting for us that we felt looked beautiful right out of the camera. That ultimately leads to less of a need to edit and fewer images to edit. It’s truly a blessing in so many ways. Everything also worked pretty seamlessly: high-speed sync, second curtain flash, etc. We didn’t test the action mode because we didn’t really need to. Considering that, though, it’s still hard to beat Profoto’s specs on that.
Who Should Buy the Elinchrom 3?
If you already own a Profoto light, I don’t think there is a reason to switch over. Profoto is still more friendly about playing with modifier brands than Elinchrom is. But if you haven’t purchased either, then the Elinchrom 3 is truly the light to get unless you’re shooting a lot of sports. If you’re a portrait photographer, photojournalist, or product photographer, then the Elinchrom 3 is truly the single best light of this type that you can get. If your work requires more versatility the way that mind does, then go for the Profoto B10.
Want one? Check out Amazon for more.
Tech Specs
These specs are taken from the Elinchrom 3 listing.
Elinchrom THREE | Unit |
Energy | 261 Ws/J |
F-Stop 1m, 100 ISO, HP Reflector 26 cm, max power | 64.3 |
F-Stop 1m, 100 ISO, OCF Diffusion Dome, max power | 22 |
Power range | 6 F-Stop / 7 – 261 Ws |
Power increments Manual / TTL | 0.1 F-Stop / 0.3 F-Stop |
Power range display Elinchrom scale / 10 scale | 0.1 – 5.3 (Elinchrom scale) / 4.8 – 10 (10 scale) |
Flash duration t0.1 min/max power (Standard mode) | 1/1550s – 1/255s |
Flash duration t0.1 min/max power (Action mode) | 1/8500s – 1/440s |
Recycling time min/max power | 0.06s / 1.4s |
Flash mode | Manual / TTL / HSS (with Transmitter Pro) |
Action mode | Faster flash duration over the power range |
Flash colour temperature at max power | 5900 K (Action) / 5600 K (HSS)* |
Flash colour stability over the power range, all modes | ±150 K |
Power stability | ±0.5 % |
Auto power dumping | Automatic, real-time |
Fan cooled | Smart proactive cooling |
Input | USB-C |
Protection class | IP20 |
*Please note that the measured colour temperature might vary depending on the accessory, environment, and time of day.