Review: ORLIT RoveLight RT 610 TTL Monolight with On Board Power (Sony)

The ORLIT RoveLight RT 610 TTL Monolight gives you a whole lot in an affordable package.

Adorama’s ORLIT RoveLight RT 610 TTL Monolight is quite a powerful package. With 600 watt seconds of power, it’s going to give you more than enough light output to light a wedding hall and for most portraiture gigs. Attach a very big umbrella to it and it will obviously deliver enough power. But then consider how simple it is to use. Adorama has been refining this over the years with their Flashpoint brand and while it is more or less a variation of a GODOX light, the difference is that you can get quicker service often from Adorama right here in the US. While you’re not getting the Profoto name or build quality, I can almost guarantee you that photographers who use this light won’t be able to tell the difference between the light output from the ORLIT and a Profoto’s.

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Flash Review: Profoto A1 (Canon Version Using Sony Air TTL Trigger)

The Profoto A1 is what many photographers have wanted for a while. But is it the perfect tool?

When the Profoto A1 was announced, I was very curious. Granted, I love lights that are as small as speedlites, but also thoroughly enjoy the power a full blown monolight provides. I was reminded of that even more so on a recent Sony Press trip. In many ways, and for the wedding photography crowd, the Profoto A1 could be the absolute most perfect light ever made. It offers a lot of color consistency, has a fast recycle time, works best with fast lenses, is small, and can integrate with whatever supported camera system you have when used wirelessly. It isn’t bad for location shoots either. Then, you consider just how fantastic the battery life is and how critical that is to wedding photographers, and you realize you have a perfect product for a working pro.

But at the same time, you’ll need to justify the price. And if you’re a location portrait shooter, you’ll really need to remember to bring your fast lenses with you. In many cases I saw, F2.8 zooms just won’t cut it.

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Review: Godox Xpro-N TTL Wireless Flash Trigger (Nikon DSLRs)

The Godox Xpro-N TTL Wireless Flash Trigger is a fantastic option with one big, glaring problem.

It’s no secret at this point that Godox makes some fantastic products, so when the Godox Xpro-N TTL Wireless Flash Trigger came in for review I was really optimistic. The small China based company has been producing flashes and triggers that have been putting the Japanese to shame at a much more affordable price point. With the new Godox Xpro-N TTL Wireless Flash Trigger, they’re upping their game even more. this trigger is designed for use with Nikon DSLRs and lets you use a flash like the Godox TT685s designed for Sony and get TTL with it. Again, you’re using a Nikon camera and transmitter with a Sony specific flash and getting TTL. Crazy, right? It may seem that way, but it works out very well!

Unfortunately, there’s also one really big problem that isn’t specific to it, but more to the system.

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Review: ANGLER Parasail Parabolic Umbrella

Very few photographic umbrellas have had me confused like the ANGLER Parasail Parabolic umbrella–but after working with this umbrella, its nuances started to become a bit more clear. I mean, look at the thing. It doesn’t look like any sort of umbrella. It’s shaped more like a Roman Centurion’s shield and has the relative rectangular design of a softbox. In a world where light modifiers seem to be changing, innovating and overlapping, the target audience for the ANGLER Parasail Parabolic umbrella seems to be those that sometimes need an umbrella and sometimes need a softbox. With its convertible design to be a very soft silver reflection type or a thick opaque white shoot through configuration, the ANGLER Parasail Parabolic umbrella’s best feature is its versatility due to being suspended on a rod and its easy ability to turn one way or another.

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Review: Profoto B1X (Sony TTL Version)

If you’re a working photographer that uses studio lighting, then chances are that you’ve been considering a light like the Profoto B1X since first hearing about it. Profoto lights are already at the top of the game and all the studios use them, and what makes the Profoto B1X so special is the added versatility over the original Profoto B1 monolights. For example, the modelling light has 50% more power for video users. Then there’s the ability to do high speed sync at up to 1/8,000 and with a flash duration of 1/19,000. That’s pretty insane! And then you have to remember Profoto’s color consistency assurance, their Air Remote TTL system, and the solid build quality. I can go on and on about Profoto and how great their lights are and how little extra post-production work you’ll need to do because of how good they are, but the truth is that some folks still have no problems with extra long post-production that I sometimes find to be unnecessary.

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Review: Fujifilm EF-X500 Flash (Fujifilm X Series)

The Fujifilm EF-X500 flash may be an option for photographers who want and need to use a flash when documenting and doing photojournalistic work; but it absolutely baffles me that a camera company with a fantastic medium format camera system hasn’t started to work with some sort of third party lighting manufacturer like Profoto to get some sort of integration into their system. To be fair, this isn’t Fujifilm alone. Canon’s radio system is crippled. Nikon’s isn’t what it used to be. Sony’s flash system is laughable. Olympus and Panasonic have never had such a great option. Pentax? Don’t even get me started.

But Fujifilm–a company with such a decorated history and an entry in the medium format camera system, doesn’t have a solid flash system. The Fujifilm EF-X500 is the company’s answer and attempt at this market but in many ways the company failed out of the gate. But in other ways, they’re not doing such a terrible job and I’m just being extra critical and venting via my own blog.

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These Are The Speedlights We Recommend For Lighting Up Your Party Photography

As you have noticed lately, we have been exploring the arena of party and event photography, specifically the gear and tools needed to get great results in that genre. So far we have covered cameras and lenses, the two most critical aspects of a party or event photography kit.

Today we change our focus from the image capturing gear to another incredibly important piece to a party and event photography kit – the lighting. Specifically, we will be looking at our top speedlight recommendations, a list that will cover high-end (expensive) options as well as more budget-friendly options that also get the job done.

Ready to shed some light on your event photography kit? Let’s get this party started… Continue reading…

Review: Interfit Honey Badger Monolight (NSFW)

Today, Interfit is announcing their new Interfit Honey Badger Monolight that is designed to function as an affordable option for someone that needs both a monolight and a constant light. In fact, we’re talking about a $299 price point with a softbox included. Now, the Interfit Honey Badger doesn’t have a built in battery–which would put it over the top. But if you’re right by a power source it shouldn’t be that difficult to work with. Instead, the Interfit Honey Badger will appeal most to the photographers who work in a given studio location that doesn’t really change vs those who do location work. To add extra value to the Interfit Honey Badger the light can be controlled with their transmitter wirelessly and also act as a constant light. It doesn’t offer TTL output and only has a flash duration of 1/900th; but if you’re shooting in a studio then you’re doing everything you can to control the light output as it is.

So let’s dive into this review.

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