Also to note: Profoto B10/B10X batteries are compatible with the B20/B30--confirmed by Profoto.
Edit: Added a screenshot of the B-series flashes next to each other. They're in the order of B10X, B20, B10X Plus, B30.
Seeing the size difference, I don't think I'll upgrade from my multiple B10Xs as I usually bring 4-5 of them along with 2-3x Z9s to weddings/larger events. Now if they offered the ability to remove the rondel in the front to expose the flash tube to the sides? Then it would be a no-brainer as then I could use it for my Broncolor paras (I'm using Elinchrom Threes for those now).
This release seems timed with (the free) Bild Expo in NYC next week where you can demo the product—am almost tempted to fly into town. Profoto is also promoting their pack system (what I currently use) where the dealio is a Pro-11 ($18K @ B&H) with two heads thrown in ($6K value). I hesitate to call this a good value in lighting but it's the best you will ever see from Profoto. I do have the Pro-line fixtures for this pack but not the rich uncle.
You know that you’re old when you remember buying a new Profoto Acute Alfa 1200ws kit with two flash heads for under $2k. I currently own a Pro 7B and Acute2 1200ws kits along with a Compact 300ws unit that simply will not die. The good news is that it’s all performed as it’s supposed to, the bad is I’d likely have a coronary event if I had to replace it.
Summary of some things in the video in addition to my comment above:
- B20/B30 has a rubberized back part (the part that juts out where the battery attaches) for gripping, but the front part is the same as the B10/B10X for rigidity.
- Front rondel cannot be removed. Front diffusion plate can be removed (for flash tube replacement). Can attach a dome to replace the front diffusion plate if one wants to spread the light 180 degrees. Just won't be an exposed flash tube.
- Very nice handle attachment (if you need it on the go handheld).
- B30 is a little too long to fit sideways in the Profoto Core Backpack S. Can fit two of them vertically though.
- LED is brighter but doesn't seem significantly brighter.
Video shows Chris Fain demonstrating/answering questions if you're curious.
No idea why these companies can't name their products intuitively. B250 / B500. Hell, I'd even take B25 / B50. But B20 & 30? WTF. Zero relationship to output power. Obviously, coming from the B10x, it's not the first time. And Profoto is hardly the only company doing stuff like this. But why make your lineup so confusing?
Seems like a solid update for people into these things otherwise
rico wrote:
This release seems timed with (the free) Bild Expo in NYC next week where you can demo the product—am almost tempted to fly into town. Profoto is also promoting their pack system (what I currently use) where the dealio is a Pro-11 ($18K @ B&H) with two heads thrown in ($6K value). I hesitate to call this a good value in lighting but it's the best you will ever see from Profoto. I do have the Pro-line fixtures for this pack but not the rich uncle.
Just in time for the Delta and United to change their fare pricing for solo passengers. So it's even cheaper to get to NYC.
Has anyone tried out the new models? I was thinking about consolidating some of my older Profoto gear and getting a couple of the newer b20/b30s. Kind of surprised they made them larger but I guess they needed to so that they could handle the larger modifiers. I like the handle option but I wish it was something that just clicked into place and could be removed when packing. You have to use tools to take the base apart and between that and the larger size it just won't fit in the bags that I have my current strobes in. It seems like something that Profoto could easily have done.
Preface: I have never touched a profoto flash, and would very much like to some day. I know folks like their gear. Maybe I'm just jealous.
That said, I'll be the negative Nancy for a minute. I know their equipment is geared towards professionals and studios...but dammit, I will never get over the profoto pricing, especially from what I can tell, they are mostly if not entirely made in china just like godox and westcott. I know of many successful pros who have sold all their profoto gear and moved to Westcott (and a handful that have moved to Godox).
The new Westcott FJ250 is $399 not on sale. Same weight (0.1lb lighter actually) with double the shots per charge (800+ or 1600 with their promax battery vs profoto's listed 400).
It's just, a hard sell I find unless you are already in the profoto ecosystem and making a considerable amount of money with the gear. Otherwise, I don't see much if any point in buying profoto, unless you fall into the small (if any) ability that profoto gives over Westcott.
BigBabyMoses06 wrote:
Preface: I have never touched a profoto flash, and would very much like to some day. I know folks like their gear. Maybe I'm just jealous.
That said, I'll be the negative Nancy for a minute. I know their equipment is geared towards professionals and studios...but dammit, I will never get over the profoto pricing, especially from what I can tell, they are mostly if not entirely made in china just like godox and westcott. I know of many successful pros who have sold all their profoto gear and moved to Westcott (and a handful that have moved to Godox).
The new Westcott FJ250 is $399 not on sale. Same weight (0.1lb lighter actually) with double the shots per charge (800+ or 1600 with their promax battery vs profoto's listed 400).
It's just, a hard sell I find unless you are already in the profoto ecosystem and making a considerable amount of money with the gear. Otherwise, I don't see much if any point in buying profoto, unless you fall into the small (if any) ability that profoto gives over Westcott.
If I was starting from scratch I'd definitely consider something else. I have two of the Godox 1200 packs and they're great. They have a simple menu system, work with an ac adapter and have been reliable so far. I've actually considered switching but I do like the Profoto Ecosystem. The mount has always worked well for me. The menus are really simple and easy to operate and personally I prefer buttons to touch screens. . If I'm working with someone that has never used Profoto they can operate without any instruction. Most people prefer the exposed flashtube of other models but the Profoto design does allow it to be more compact. The Godox 300 is the exception. The ecosystem offers great modifiers and an easy gel system for color matching. It all comes with the Profoto tax but overall their gear has been really reliable for me and just works. I also travel for some shoots and Profoto gear tends to be more available to rent so I can either leave my gear at home or add to what I need for larger shoots. I also know that I can get Profoto gear repaired. In the past they were terrible to deal with but the past few years I've had great service. Most people I know with Godox consider it disposable and I'm not sure how Westcott's service is. I'd probably be more likely to look at Westcott if it wasn't for the full touchscreen. Definitely a personal preference though.
stuuke wrote:
If I was starting from scratch I'd definitely consider something else. I have two of the Godox 1200 packs and they're great. They have a simple menu system, work with an ac adapter and have been reliable so far. I've actually considered switching but I do like that the Profoto Ecosystem. The mount has always worked well for me. The menus are really simple and easy to operate and personally I prefer buttons to touch screens. . Most people prefer the exposed flashtube of other models but the Profoto design does allow it to be more compact. The Godox 300 is the exception. The ecosystem offers great modifiers and an easy gel system for color matching. It all comes with the Profoto tax but overall their gear has been really reliable for me and just works. I also travel for some shoots and Profoto gear tends to be more available to rent so I can either leave my gear at home or add to what I need for larger shoots. I also know that I can get Profoto gear repaired. In the past they were terrible to deal with but the past few years I've had great service. Most people I know with Godox consider it disposable and I'm not sure how Westcott's service is. ...Show more →
Appreciate that!
I'm migrating to Westcott right now. I tried to rent a bunch of Godox equipment from aperturent (rental company) for a big shoot I had coming up and had a poor experience, so I rented Westcott from Lensrentals (which was an exceptional experience). Thus, now jumping ship to Westcott. I really enjoy that you can use the same battery for their 3 main flashes (250, 400, and 800). Lensrentals also offers Profoto rentals I see.
They have US based support and an active group on facebook. I'm sure it's like most, with good and bad experiences from users. Hopefully I will not need to test their support lol.
Summary of some things in the video in addition to my comment above:
- B20/B30 has a rubberized back part (the part that juts out where the battery attaches) for gripping, but the front part is the same as the B10/B10X for rigidity.
- Front rondel cannot be removed. Front diffusion plate can be removed (for flash tube replacement). Can attach a dome to replace the front diffusion plate if one wants to spread the light 180 degrees. Just won't be an exposed flash tube.
- Very nice handle attachment (if you need it on the go handheld).
- B30 is a little too long to fit sideways in the Profoto Core Backpack S. Can fit two of them vertically though.
- LED is brighter but doesn't seem significantly brighter.
Video shows Chris Fain demonstrating/answering questions if you're curious. ...Show more →
MazeRunner wrote:
Not yet. I don't need the quicker refresh, stronger LED. That and they made it bigger so that's always a no for me.
I actually don't mind the B20 being larger since it fits in the same spot in my bag as the B10 Plus and I like that it can hold the larger modifiers. I wish they could have kept the B30 the same same size as the Plus.
I got a chance to try out some B30 rentals recently, and they are pretty nice. I do like how substantial they feel compared to my B10s, but part of that is just because my B10s all rattle a bit from some broken bits of plastic inside now lol.
I'm kind of shocked out how little there is out there on the new strobes. I know the price is high and they didn't change much but I don't even see the typical Profoto fanboys posting about them.
stuuke wrote:
I'm kind of shocked out how little there is out there on the new strobes. I know the price is high and they didn't change much but I don't even see the typical Profoto fanboys posting about them.
I wonder if it's the economy combined with their competitors offering strobes that have features or form factors they don't have. I decided that it doesn't make sense anymore to use profoto for my personal lighting kit, so selling off my remaining B10s and D2 500 and switching back to Godox. For jobs where I have a rental budget, I'll always use Profoto, but for smaller headshot gigs or personal work Godox makes way more sense. I initially justified owning profoto because I figured I could rent it to clients but in practice I'd rather just use a rental houses strobes and not worry about my own gear getting busted up on a job.
I'd initially switched to Profoto because I was experiencing issues with misfires with the mk1 Ad600 and AD200, but it sounds like the mk2 strobes are a lot better. Hoping this truly is the case. I honestly just miss using the AD200s. They're such great little strobes, and the mk2 Pro seems awesome. I also want to get the ring light attachment for it.
The non user replaceable flash tubes in the B10s were a bummer for me, as I like to save money servicing my own gear. The B30 is nice, but I could buy 4-6 strobes for one of them. The B10 and B10X flash tubes are about $189 I believe and aren't available directly from Profoto, so you either pay for Profoto to replace the tube for you plus the cost of the tube, or you trust the quality of an ebay tube that may not have the same longevity. The B30 isn't that much of an upgrade from the B10s having used them a bit, and it seems silly to pay that much just to have the option of replacing the flash tube yourself.
stuuke wrote:
I know the price is high and they didn't change much but I don't even see the typical Profoto fanboys posting about them
The typical fanboys already left the building when Profoto deleted the Acute line, all their fixtures, and three quarters of their modifiers. Nothing left of the company except a couple of witless salesmen trying to defend how you don't need a bare bulb to fill a Profoto BD.
I think Profoto is paying the price for their marketing and engineering groups failing to understand the market. They continue to trade on their reputation and offer little new in innovation or pricing. I’ll keep my Profoto equipment until it breaks and then possibly buy used. It all still works great!
I agree. I love using Profoto but the latest B20 and B30 strobes are what the B10/B10X should have been in the first place. The latest Pro profoto triggers are heavier, larger, don’t offer much more usability than the previous Air triggers, and do not seem to improve misfire rate.
When Godox first came out, long term durability and reliability was a concern for me, but they’ve impressed me with constantly innovating rather than just copying competitors. Things like the Ad200 Pro II don’t have a Profoto equivalent in form factor and power. The V480 speedlite is great. And I’m a big fan of the new color changing group lighting on the mk2 strobes so you don’t have to lower the light to see if it’s set correctly. The Ad1200 can be had for half the price of a used Profoto Pro-B4 pack etc.
I just sold off my remaining B10s and am just going to pick up a few Ad200 pro mk2s and Ad600s with the proceeds. Crazy thing is I just dug up one of my old Godox triggers from storage and it turned on after sitting for a couple years with the old batteries in it.
story_teller wrote:
I think Profoto is paying the price for their marketing and engineering groups failing to understand the market. They continue to trade on their reputation and offer little new in innovation or pricing. I’ll keep my Profoto equipment until it breaks and then possibly buy used. It all still works great!
