Today, Elinchrom announced two new monolights — the ELC 125 and ELC 500. Both designed to give photographers beautiful consistent light whenever and wherever they need it. The Elinchrom ELCs give us photographers tons of features to make creating the images we want quick and intuitive. From TTL (with Manual Lock to quickly set up and lock down exposure) to HSS, as well as the ability to dial down either unit to 7ws for those times when we want a super shallow depth of filed, the Elinchrom ELCs don’t get in the way of our creativity.
About the ELCs
The ELCs have a Quick-Lock system that has been newly developed and allows direct access to the huge selection of Elinchrom modifiers. Thus, if you are already an Elinchrom user, these will fit nicely into your kit. Or it might be an ideal place to start your Elinchrom studio.
For my test, I worked with the Rotalux Indirect Octa (59”) and Elinchrom 39″ Rotalux Deep Octabox. Both mounted quickly and securely to the ELCs, and combined with TTL using the Skyport system, I was able to work through a series of shots in no time.
Elinchrom loaned me the 125/500 kit and I immediately thought this would be the perfect lightweight location portrait set-up. I called up an actor friend, Andreas, and we decided to play this out. He posed as a “rock star” and I (the photographer) had just a little time to work with him. A short amount of time and a quick setup was all we had.
Using the Skyport remote, it was easy to get an accurate exposure and then go from normal sync to HSS (High-Speed Sync), allowing me to darken the ambient light coming through the windows for some shots. This is a simple way to change the feel of a portrait and add variety quickly when working on a tight schedule.
Elinchrom ELC and Skyport
While working with a heavily backlit subject can be tricky for TTL metering, the ELC and Skyport did a fantastic job, and by using TTL to establish an exposure and then switching to manual (Manual-lock), it made set-up quick even with the difficult backlit scene. Although it was pretty bright in my studio, the ELCs’ daylight balanced modeling lamp came in handy when positioning my lights, and you can see the same in the video above.
The back of the ELC units have a large bright screen with simple intuitive controls. And these include some of my favorite features. For starters, when you adjust the power setting, the flash duration is shown. This is was extremely useful when setting up the classic “rock star jump shot” with Andreas. As you can see above! On top of that, when you set your group, you can have the Elinchrom logo change color. Thus, it becomes simple to see with a quick glance what group your units are in.
Like other Elinchrom lights, the number showing the power is consistent throughout the line. Therefore, a setting of 2 is the same amount of watt-seconds whether you are using a 125ws unit or a 500ws unit. This is great when trying to balance lights.
What makes it so special?
It is clear that Elinchrom has designed the ELC lights not just to be affordable. But also to last under rigorous use. The Smart Pro-Active Cooling system that adapts to your shooting style, airflow design, as well as the overall build quality of the units, make me think the Elinchrom ELC would be a great addition to any studio or location shooter’s kit.
The main reason we, as photographers, choose to use flash is the measure of control it gives us. This control, along with consistently great color and build quality, makes the ELCs last and allow a photographer to work without having to think about their equipment. This is the ultimate freedom.
