Profoto B1 500 AirTTL Battery Powered Monolight Flash - Bundle with Profoto Air Remote TTL-C Transmitter for Canon

2017-06-29T10:01:11

Absolutely awesome!!! My biggest regret is not buying this 3 years ago when it was released.

CHRIS L.

2017-05-25T09:32:27

I love shooting on location and I've carried a bag full of speed lights with me for years. It's amazing to have the power of a studio strobe, out in the field...and with high speed sync! I'm still working on getting TTL to give me exactly what I'm looking for but I've had great luck with choosing Manual, then dialing up the power to where I need it to be. You'll love this light!

Angie C.

2017-05-12T08:49:15

I got a recommendation for getting this light by a friend who does food photography for a living. I had a 250w studio light with softbox before and couldn't for the life of me get it to work. I got this light hoping to see some improvements, set it up with the profoto beauty dish white, and just placed the light in a position that I liked. Set my settings on the camera and clicked. That was all that was needed to get a drastic improvement. Love this light, and have been recommending it to others as well. I have not tried any other high end lights, but since this is portable and light I find it hard that there is something that beats it. Attached photos of my before and after, the photos have been white balanced.

Johan M.

2017-05-11T12:32:23

I have five B1s and three AirTTL remotes. For location work, ya can't beat 'em. They're self-contained and VERY portable. They're heavy, but I'd argue that comes with the territory when lugging monolights & batteries. What I don't like about these - nor agree with - are the exorbitant costs for must-have accessories like extra batteries and chargers. Also, the B1s are not as "indestructible" as some claim. One of mine is chipped on the housing where the battery cleat slides in, so the battery no longer clicks into place (I have to gaf tape it every time). This particular light was not dropped, banged, or bumped, to my knowledge, so the damage is surprising - but all the lights are susceptible to that same damage, as the plastic lip in that area is very thin. This seems like a design flaw. Another B1 (and this one is totally on me, but …) fell over in a rain shoot and totally (and literally) blew up. This is something I've done before with speedlights without incident ... ALL my gear, including the B1s, were wrapped & sealed save for one small & undetected slit (about the size of a pea) near the stand adapter. It was on its side for a very short time. Evidently the right drip of water managed to find its way through that slit, into the housing, and onto the circuit board. It blew like a cannon. 'Scared the cr@p out of everyone on the set (lol - but we kept shooting). Profoto, somewhat understandably, refused to service it, citing they could not guarantee its long-term functionality. So now I have a $2k paperweight – and maybe a few spare parts. Like I said, that one's on me. But be warned these lights have ZERO tolerance for moisture. A minor niggle is that the plastic-on-plastic tilt/lock is not fluid, which makes micro adjustments to the head angle difficult. I wish there were metal parts and bearings here. A bigger niggle is that the lights will heat up and cut off. This has happened to me several times on location shooting while in the sun. In my experiences, the thermal cutoff has been more from environmental conditions than shooting. The black housing is a heat sponge. Taking as few as 3 to 5 frames per minute, they've overheated in the sun on several occasions - and just cut off. I've learned to shade mine on location in the sun to keep them cooler, but that’s kind of a PITA. There is also HSS limitation with power only as low as "7". There are many times I'd like to power them down lower than that using HSS. The last firmware update brought that limitation down from “8” so fingers crossed we can get a couple more stops out it down the road. I've also not had as much luck with TTL as others, but I tend to use less traditional lighting treatments so I stick with manual and a light meter. The lights sync very well. I've very few frames per week where the flash(es) did not fire. They recycle quickly and I've found the color temperature to be consistent with burst shooting (there's some debate on the latter). The control panel is intuitive and simple. Thumbs up. The overall ergo design is great. They're easy to grasp & set up. That’s what I like most about these lights. For location work, they’re fast and easy to work with (except on sunny summer Texas days when I have to take measure to shade them). For me, the portability and quick n' easy set up override the aforementioned shortcomings. The batteries charge quickly and hold their charge when not in use. I get more pops at full power than Profoto estimates - probably a little over 300 frames. The cases are nice, but with 5 lights (6 counting my B2), I've abandoned those in favor of one carryall (Tenba Cinelux). Rain photo attached (last frame before the light blew). 3 B1s in this shot, and the AirTTL remote was under plastic.

KAY B.

2017-04-25T08:32:42

Ive been eying this setup for a while now and finally decided to pick it up. No regrets at all. The amount of time it takes to get up and start shooting is nothing compared to my old setup of an Einstein + Vagabond. Plus I get access to all of profotos modifiers.

SEAN M.

2017-03-17T12:11:29

Great light. This now gives me three B1's and two TTL-n's. I'm ready for my next wedding.

VICTOR J.

2017-03-14T16:45:57

So far I'm loving this light. Everything that I thought it would be. Definitely would recommend them. Looking to add a second one to my kit soon. The ttl is amazing. The air remote is awesome

JIMMIE C.