review: Profoto A1 flash For more details about the photographs and camera settings: neilvn.com/tan... For more reviews, go to the Tangents blog: neilvn.com/tan... #profoto #profotoflash #flashphotography #offcameraflash
I found Neil while checking this flash unit out. I have to say, I'm glad I did. Really impressed with his quiet yet informative style. Also, the model is stunning, having a natural beauty about her. Thank you for sharing you're expertise.
I have three Nikon flashes SB800 and two SB900's. I just picked up the Profoto A1 because I am tired of missed shots due to the Nikon SB flashes and I'm highly considering selling my other SB Nikon flashes because this strobe is awesome! Worth every penny. No more missed shots! Great Review Neil!!!!
Gab yes! Actually when it comes to the power output I know it’s better and more consistent. The most important thing to me is no more misfires with the A1. I can also slave my SB900’s to the A1 via the SU4 setting. Hope this helps
@@voederbietels yes sir If you put your Nikon Flash on optical slave Su4 then when the Nikon flash sees the light from any flash it will trigger the flashes
I received my A1 yesterday. I love your tip with using the bounce card with the black side. It yet works great and provides a much softer flattering light.
Nice job on the portraits and good direction. I have the A1’s and I enjoy using them. Easy to change settings and reliable. I never used the black card as a bounce flag- great tip.
That was a good demonstration of the Profoto A1 as your information was simple, complete and you outlined it well as you do in all your videos. I think a key aspect of this light is it's integration into the existing Profoto system as illustrated by your example toward the end of the video (12:40) which in my case will be a great benefit. Thanks for posting this video.
thank-you for the honest review. nice to see a review that doesn't feel like a profoto sponsored advert. seeing how the battery attaches to the front of the flash makes one wonder .....will profoto make a larger extended capacity battery.
Mark Ewels Wedding Photography 1 hour ago Hi Neil I'm a UK based wedding photography and first time user of Protofo products when I recently purchased four A1's. I've a few observations that I'd like to share with you.... - I don't think I was fully aware when I purchased that the A1 doesn't function the same as speedlights. So no full power, half power, quarter power etc so I need to adapt my thinking to the Profoto power range of 2 to 10 with 10 being full power, 9 being half power etc. So I really need to get used to this (I'm sure I will). - When using an A1 on camera to act as a trigger to other A1's the on camera display illustrates the power adjustment to the off camera A1's and not the actual power level itself which I would prefer. - Frustratingly an on camera A1 does not appear to work with Nikon's auto ISO set up (not on my D850 or D750) whereas my Nikon SB910 works just fine - When using 'back button' focus on my D850 and D750 the AF assist when on the 'auto' setting on the A1 does not work I would also very much like to interact with other A1 users to share our experiences but although Profoto's Facebook page (and Profoto USA) shows a 'Community' page I don't appear to be able to join it. I hope my comments don't come across as negative because generally speaking I am finding the A1 to be quality product and I'm hoping that the minor issues I've pointed out are largely addressed with future firmware updates. Many thanks Mark
Mark .. than you for the thoughtful reply. First of all, I would LOVE it if you reposted this verbatim on my blog itself, so that it becomes part of the discussion there. You bring up some strong points. To answer some of what you mention: - the way the Profoto flashes show the power output (from level 2 to 10, with level 9 being half power) ... this is standard with Profoto, and I think with other studio lights as well? So if you are used to it, it is easy enough. - that is a valid observation - it would have been ideal if you could see the other flashes' output levels too. That said, the Profoto Air remotes don't show it either. - I don't use auto ISO, and it isn't a feature that would make a lot of sense to me with flash? What would be a typical scenario for you where you'd use it? Thank you, Neil vN
Thank you Neil... I've posted on your blog as requested...I'm a documentary style wedding photographer and rightly or wrongly I shoot most of my weddings in aperture priority in auto ISO except when using off camera flash....so for example if I was in a low light setting taking a photo of the couple signing the marriage register I would use my on camera SB910 in TTL with auto ISO and exposure comp of the flash as required.
Excellent review Neil. I have 3 Canon 600EX-RTs, and they have the built in transmitter, as you probably already know. But, I am guessing the don't have the power to use outside like you showed in your video... Philip
The Profoto A1 is only about 1/2 a stop more powerful than the 600EX. So essentially there isn't anything I showed in the video (aside from using it as a trigger for another Profoto), that you can't already do.
Amazing as always! What light stand are you using? If that had been me, my lights would have blown over like 3 times without a bunch of sandbags and it doesn’t look like you’re using any
thanks for the video but if you're bouncing or modifying the lights with the umbrella, what's the point of buying this? my 600ex-rt will do the same job no? i thought their biggest selling point is the round head which they're claiming to produce better quality light no? i know better cycle time, and stuffs with the battery but those alone not enough to upgrade to this right? also taking into account that the power out is not powerful than 600 ex-rt and twice as expensive.
For me there are two really strong points about the A1 that I mention in the review - the recycling time is incredible fast. I haven't used another speedlight that can be hammered that hard. The other strong point for me would be how the A1 fits in with the other Profoto flashes. So for a first-time buyer, the A1 might not be the best value for money ... but if you are already a Profoto user, the A1 makes a lot of sense.
As mentioned in the video - it fits in seamlessly within the Profoto ecosystem. So current Profoto users will especially love it. Someone who needs a flash as a first time buyer, will have a harder time justifying it, as you said.
you have a dutch name.) i love your work. is this flash powerfull in sunlight? (on camera and off ) in day it is for fill light. thnak you for your time
To match the brightness of sunlight, you'd need to be at a specific distance, dependent on your choice of aperture and ISO. So control your distance, and you will have enough power from your flash to match sunlight.
Thanks Niel, I really enjoyed your review and mini tutorial. I love the Profoto gear, but I see a lot of negative comments on the product e.g. poor value for money, old technology, overpriced etc. What are your core reasons for using Profoto?
My first Profoto flash was the 600R, and then when I got my studio, I bought a few Profoto D1 flashes ... from there it just made sense to stay within the eco-system. If I had to do it all over again, I would - the Profoto gear just feels and looks like quality. Their operation is straight-forward, and their flashes just work, giving me very little problems.
Thank you Neil for the review. Price aside, this flash does seem appealing. Do you happen to know if an on camera A1 can be used to trigger an off camera A1? It seems like you would be able to but I haven't seen anything to confirm this...
Thanks Neil. After I submitted that I realized that my question wasn't clear. When using the A1 on camera as a trigger for the off camera A1, does it disable the on camera flash? i.e, can I have both flashes fire? (I'm thinking reception lighting here..)
Yup! You can have both fire. You can't have one in TTL and the other in manual though .... unless you assign the B1 to group E and keep that as a manual flash, since the A1 can't control. (The A1 only controls groups A-D).
Great review Neil and beautiful photos - May I know what a City is here where you made the photos - it looks like Europe or U.S.A ? - I appreciate to know the name of the city or the country - it looks like having a lot of good places where to shoot photos .
The bracket that I use with the umbrella in the outdoor sequence, is the Manfrotto Snap Tilthead. Here is the Amazon affiliate link to it: neilvn.com/tangents/recommends/manfrotto-snap-tilthead/
Hello Neil. I’m shawn thank you for share this video with us. Maybe I ask a question ; when is the time that profoto make this a1 flashgun for Sony system? We like very very much n been waiting for 2 years by now. Hmmm what a disappointed. Thank you Shawn
For the price of the A1, $1000, you can buy 2 Nikon speed lights that give away little to the ProFoto in quality or ease of use. it's a nice piece of kit, but extremely overpriced. I know you get easy-to-use menus and magnetic modifiers, but I can't justify $1000 for this, when everything else is half the cost.
You do need to factor in that the A1 also acts as a transmitter. Consider how you would trigger those 2 Nikon speedlights, and be able to switch between TTL and manual.
I just think about how many Yongnuo TTL speedlights even with build-in triggers as well I could buy for the prize of one A1 or two original Nikon speedlights :))
Another great review, Neil. And in my opinion the honest one from all the more or less crappy, Profoto-sponsored reviews here on youtube (I can‘t hear the word „game changer“ anymore). The A1 is still a 1000€ Flash and therefore - on first sight - highly overpriced. I bought one just because - as you mentioned - it fits perfectly to other Profoto OCF-Flashes and therefore also to the two B1 and two B2 I am using. I am doing sports photography and sometimes missing an additional on-camera flash to have a little fill-light right towards my subject, but also want trigger and control my other OCF-Flashes as easy as possible. And this little thing does the trick! When started I‘ve jused other brands (chinese stuff) in combination with several Nikon‘s SB910 and had hard times to make this different brands and systems work together with Phottix-Triggers. Tons of batteries to check/charge, cables hanging around everywhere and limited reliability. That was a mess! Jep, Profoto is very expensive - but is does, what is was designed for - it works reliable and delivers the results I‘m looking for. The performance justifies the price. All the best from Germany!
A speed light for $999?! Thank you, but no thank you! You can literally buy 3 x Godox AD200 lights for $299 each and be happy as a happy camper. I am not even mentioning the power output!!!
Thanks for getting back to me. I just discovered your channel a few days ago...congrats on wonderful work and content. I've got a mix of lights 2X Profoto pro b7packs .. Godox Ad600.. Godox ad360 and a few Godox speed lights also an older Balcar b3 2400 pack . Mostly I just use the Profoto and the ad600 for studio. For location shooting I like something light and easy..I've been using the Godox speed lights but I find they go into overheat protection mode after 20 or 30 shots, especially in HSS...the ad360 is not much better. I've taken to shooting with nd filters again or just available light..What I'm really looking for is a on camera fill flash that doesn't overheat with good recycle times..hence I'm looking at the SB-5000 or the Profoto A1 Actually I've booked a rental A1 for a shoot on Wednesday but very interested to hear your thoughts...Apologies for the long winded reply :) PS Nikon
You are straddling all this with some Profoto and some Godox. It makes it even less of an easy decision. That said, the Profoto A1 is superb for shooting flash at a faster pace. For example, with events like Bar Mitzvahs and Jewish weddings, you have a hectic tempo with the Hora. Then your flash needs to keep up. The Profoto A1 easily does that. Much better than the Nikon and Canon speedlights I have used. And over-heating / (possible thermal shut-down), doesn't seem to be a problem.
I drives me nuts that these pros shoot with their lens hoods reversed! The Profoto video with Haiyin Lin is the same. Do they not know why the lens hood is there? Granted, the photos are great, but it's just so amateurish shooting without the lens hood in the proper position. Or, no lens good at all. Pay attention to the details!
I normally do. A lens hood is excellent protection against dings. I have no idea why I didn't do it here. (Except for the last sequence with the Sigma 50mm lens.)
You are forgiven. It's also used to keep out unwanted stray light. As you say, it has saved more than one of my lenses from damage. Beautiful photos Neil.
