Action and on-site photographers will soon have a new option for bringing along powerful lighting without the bulk — even if that action is jumping off of a cliff. On Monday, Elinchrom announced the Elb 1200, a re-imagined light for action photography.
Elinchrom says the Elb 1200 is revolutionary because it allows photographers to carry powerful packs to more locations because of the compact size. To prove it, the company set up a team to shoot a base jumper and paraglider. The shoot required a few tries and a crew of several people, but Elinchrom says the small size of the new Elb 1200 made it possible to get the shots.
Both the battery and three flash head options were redesigned, based on the success of the company’s 2015 Elb 400.
The battery pack weighs just under 10 pounds (4.3 kg) but will power 215 full power flashes. The company says that even the design of the battery case has changed, able to withstand harsh weather and even some bumps and drops. The light also now uses a larger OLED for simpler navigation.
The Elb 1200 has three flash head options: Action, Hi-Sync, and Pro. All three use a rugged aluminum housing and can accommodate a 7-8mm umbrella tube. The new flash heads also use a daylight LED modeling lamp, which allows the light to be used in video applications as well. For still shots, the flash heads offer a recycle time of up to 1.7 seconds in fast mode or three seconds in default. Elinchrom’s Hi-Sync option can be used with shutter speeds up to 1/8000s.
The new lighting kit is expected to be released sometime in mid-2017, though Elinchrome hasn’t yet announced pricing for the Elb 1200.
