Following the success of the A1, Profoto today has announced the latest addition to their OCF line-up: the Profoto B10. This compact yet powerful battery powered monolight is barely larger than a lens. Yes, that’s right, It can fit easily in your bag right next to that 24-70.
There was a time when as a photographer, if you wanted complete control over the light in your photos, the options were very limited. You could use a really long extension cords or Speedlights, for the most part. The battery-powered revolution has been upon us for a few years now and Profoto continues to lead the way with its Off Camera Flash (OCF) line of portable strobes.
I know what you’re thinking. A speedlight can fit in your bag, too, so what’s the big deal? One of the most common questions I get is “how big of a softbox can I put on my speedlight?” But this is not an issue with the B10.
The B10 is packing 250 watt seconds into a tiny package. That’s roughly the power of five speedlights. So what does that mean? More power means more control and ability to get the shot you want, no matter the situation. Oh, did I mention it takes most all the Profoto light shapers — including, as you might imagine — the full OCF line?
With each new addition to their line, Profoto seems to be streamlining and simplifying the world of professional lighting. The menu in the B10 is clear and simple, and no manual is required to work this light. All the controls are right there on the back and with a push and/or twist of a dial you can set your B10 up to work with your air remotes or set it up as an optical slave with the built in IR.
Speaking of setting up the light, Profoto is launching a smartphone app with the B10 that connects via Bluetooth and allows you to change all the settings, capture images, and connect to Profoto directly.
With the B10’s tiny size, it’s easy to think of it simply as a great location strobe, but Profoto has added a few features to make the B10 a versatile solution for the many types of work images creators do these days.
First off, the battery can be charged while the B10 is in use, meaning that if you leave your B10s plugged, in they effectively become studio strobes. That means no worrying about battery life for those long days in the studio. The B10 gets over 400 full power flashes per charge, but a typical studio day for me might be 1000-plus images so this is a very welcome feature.
I could see myself working in studio with my B10s plugged in, then noticing a beautiful sunset, grabbing a unit off its stand and walking out to the roof. Simple and fast. Same could be true at a wedding. Formal set-ups? Plug it in. Quiet moments with the bride? Have an assistant hold the B10 or throw it on the same tiny stand you’ve been using for your speedlights.
So many of us today shoot a bit of video with our photos and Profoto has responded to this need by replacing the traditional modeling light with a “Constant” light. If you are new to flash lighting, or maybe only used speedlights, most strobes have what is called a “modeling” light, which is designed to help a photographer aim to get a feel for what the strobe will look like when fired. These are typically not very bright or great in color as they are not meant to be used for video.
But the B10 is a “Constant Light” with good color (CRI 90-96) and is pretty bright at 2500 lumens. Beyond that, the B10s Constant light is dimmable from 10-100% and has adjustable color temperature from 3000-6500K.
The long and short of it? Use this on location as a quick fill for video or plug in the B10 and set up a nice interview using your OCF light shapers. This merging of stills and video we are seeing with so many modern cameras has now come to lighting in a cool way.
So specifications aside, what’s the big deal?
When I saw the B10, I immediately thought this would be perfect for photographers who want that studio quality on location but work alone or with a single assistant. I told the guys I wanted to set up a project that would feel like an actual job and see how this thing handled the real world. Being able to carry a true studio powered strobe in my bag wherever. This calls for a road trip!
We decided to head upstate and shoot images that could be used for a local Chamber of Commerce or Parks Department or even a travel magazine. Not knowing exactly what we’d run into but with a brief write-up of the intended shots, I packed two B10s, two A1s, my camera, and lenses in my Think Tank shoulder bag and headed to out to the first location.
We hiked about a mile into the woods near Bear Mountain, with the kit on my shoulder and a small bag with a few modifiers in my hand. I found a great lookout point with dappled light and placed Marisa just out of the main rays of sun, even though I liked the look of light coming through the trees, it was too high in the sky and created less-than-pleasing shadows.
Five minutes later, a Gorilla Pod held my B10 in a nearby tree with a warming gel to create the dappled feel where I wanted it and my second B10 (fitted with a two-foot Octa) created a nice fill light to complete a very natural look.
For the next shot, we wanted to capture the feel of shopping on Main Street, so I had Marisa walk with a few shopping bags while I followed her using the Air-TTL System to capture a perfect exposure with the heavy backlight coming from the sun. In the past, I’ve done shots like this with a speedlight and I can say the fast recycling and power of the B10 made a huge difference.
Finally as the sun was setting, we headed to the docks to get our final shot of the day. Dressed in a simple dress, Marisa stood with her back to the sun as I made some dreamy portraits of her taking advantage of the High Speed Sync (HSS) and shooting at f/1.2 1/8000 of a second! The B10 in a two foot Octa provided plenty of power for me to shoot quickly in the changing light and the Air-TTL did a great job nailing the exposure.
As we were grabbing coffee after the shoot one of the guys asked how many batteries I went though. That was the first time I had thought about it all day. It turns out, we completed the entire assignment on a single battery — even battling daylight. Yes, this is going to be a great location light.
I’ve been shooting Profoto long enough to expect excellence from them and the B10 delivers. I’m curious how the new APP and Constant light features will benefit my work. I guess there’s only one way to find out…
If you need me, I’ll be out shooting.
The Profoto B10 is now available for preorder for on Adorama.com. Accessories for the B10 are also available, including a Li-Ion Battery, a battery charger 3A, a protective cap, a stand adapter, and a case.
The B10 also comes in a duo kit that includes two Li-Ion batteries, two battery charger 3As, two stand adapters, and one Core Backpack S.
