Western Power Meets Eastern Power - The Fujifilm EF-X-500 Stun Gun

Those of you who know me as an old cynic may wonder where that character trait began...I can tell you frankly. I was a trusting and kindly soul until the day I took up flash photography - once I read my first advertisements for electronic flashes the world turned dark.

It was not always thus. I had been shooting flash bulbs up until the late 1960's and they seemed to have a pretty predictable light output. The backs of the cardboard cartons containing M3, Press 25 or AG1 bulbs had charts that listed distances and apertures and the only thing you had to note was the size of the reflector in the flash gun. You fired them off and got what you expected - and occasionally you got a surprise as one went off in your parka pocket.

The first Honeywell, Braun, and Vivitar electronic flash lights all had exposure charts or calculating dials on their outer cases with guide numbers for the various films...and they were all inflated. You did well to open up anywhere from half to one-and-a-half stops from the chart. If the film you were using was rated in a similarly optimistic fashion ( Looking at you, Fujifilm...) you were better off setting a brush fire and photographing by the light of the dancing flames.

Sooooo...

Have things improved? Is the new EF X-500 flash more powerful than the EF 42? Is it powerful enough? How does it stack up against a studio strobe unit measured in watt/seconds? Or joules?
And why do they all have different measurements when they talk about their flashes? Is it the old pea and shell game like the hifi industry advertisements during the Wattage Wars?

These questions should yield to science...and I am a graduate of the Suckitansee Technical School. I own studio flashes, several EF 42's, and a bran-new EF X-500. I can also rustle up a Minolta Flash meter and a studio assistant at short notice.

The basic test rig was a dark section of the studio back yard - open ground so that the pattern of light from the various flash tubes was minimally affected by surface reflections. Of course there were different reflectors around the tubes - these are noted in the results. The flashes were fired directly downrange and the results noted on the Minolta - it was not affected by ambient light.
The neighbours were probably ropable at all the flashing, but after the lightning storms of a few weeks ago they should be used to it. I have done worse things in that back yard.

Here's the digested results. The range was 10 metres, the ISO set on the Minolta at 200 ( basic sensitivity for an X-Trans sensor ) and we fired enough times in each division to get a consistent result.

The units of measurement are in metric gerbils ( MG ). As none of the other tech sources could agree a standard I made my own - they give as good a comparison as anything.

a. Elinchrom EL250 run flat chat

    bare tube                      40 MG

    18cm reflector              57 MG

     21cm reflector             80 MG

b. Elinchrom EL500 run flat chat

    bare tube                       57 MG
   
    18cm reflector               80 MG

    21cm reflector              113 MG

c. Fujifilm EF42 1/1 manual

    bare tube                         40 MG

    W/A panel                       28 MG

     Mag Mod Scoop            20 MG

     Mag Mod Dome            30 MG

d. Fujifilm EF X-500

    bare tube                          40 MG

    W/A panel                        28 MG

     box diffuser                     28 MG

As you can see, there is not a great deal more power being ultimately pumped out of the EF X-500 compared to the EF 42, but it is coming out with a lot more options for control, and with a lot better recycling time. I would be willing to bet on a similar battery consumption for both.

The other interesting measurement concerns the mag Mod accessories. They are essentially for use in a reflective environment - where they do extremely well, I might add. Wasting their output in open air is pointless, apart from the slight broadening of the illuminated surface.

In summary, if you can do the job you envisage with an Elinchrom 250, you can do it with the EF X-500. If you need more grunt, you need the EL500 or modern equivalent.

And no, I did not dig out my box of flashbulbs with the Edison bases and fire one off. But I will one day, and we'll see how many metric gerbils it puts out.

Grateful thanks to Igor, my faithful assistant, who coped with the humidity, darkness, and dodgy science.          

The Working Life Of the Fujifilm EF X-500

No, I don't mean how long it will continue to work - goodness, if you treat a flash right you can get decades out of it. Exercise it regularly and don't drop it off a cliff...

I mean... how does the performance of the new Fujifilm EF X-500 stack up in a working situation - where you have to use it to satisfy the client...rather than your desire to fiddle with new gear. Let's go out on different jobs:

1. The Event.

The party, ball, graduation, awards ceremony, etc. The grip and grin, speeches at 8:00, 2000-shot corporate gig where you stay sober and everyone else doesn't. The you-get-paid-if-anyone-buys-a-picture job.

Well, you are going to need to shoot those 2000 shots consistently - well-exposed if you can, but at least all the same. The last thing in the world that you want to do is sit there pushing sliders on a computer later. If they are going to be similar poses and groups you can probably trust the TTL to give you a good run off the faces and clothing - formal males suits are going to have similar reflectance and even the ball gowns tend to be alike. If you are going to do the Mardi Gras resign yourself to having the exposure system overwhelmed every now and then.

The TTL can be skewed, however, if needed...say a situation with high-reflectance stage costumes in a great many of the shots. Dive into the page button and then the +/_ exposure compensation button. twist the control wheel for up to 5 stops plus or minus output. This is vastly better than the Fujifilm EF-42 flash that only allowed + or - 1.5 stops. The fact that the X-500 does in in one dial turn vs the the 8 button presses and 20 seconds waiting time of the older flash is really significant.

Likewise the recycling time - I count 2.5 seconds on fresh batteries from a full manual dump to recharged. The EF-42 could barely manage in 6-8 seconds. Some events are very much run and gun and if your flash is not ready almost instantly for a follow-up shot, you either have to talk like a parrot to keep the subjects still for that 8 seconds or lose them entirely.

2. The Wedding.

This is like a corporate event but with a CEO in a white dress ready to explode if anything goes awry. You can multiply the pressure as much as you like - pressure to shoot far too many pictures, to be everywhere at the same time, and to do things as fast as possible. Plus the pressure to have multiple sets of equipment ready to go at a moment's notice. In that respect the new flash is a bit more expensive than the old one, but weddings are not the time to skimp.

Will you get a chance to use the multiple flash capability of the X-500? You have three groups at your disposal from the main X-500 control panel - they can be manual, TTL, or a percentage TTL that you can alter as you go on. The big group, the bridal waltz, the speeches, the formals - they all lend themselves to the studio-lighting approach of multiple groups.

As a wedding pro you will have also worked out how flash modifiers and stands can be used in these situations. You do get a flash foot with the EF X-500, of course, but you need to match it to some suitable stands. You also need an assistant, but then you knew that after your first wedding...

3. The Grande Portraite.

Funny how the mighty all want to look good, but grant portrait photographers tiny little windows of opportunity to actually do the job...Time is money is power is prestige...

Well, if you are going to play their game, play it fast. Main and fill and as many flattering shots as you can suggest in your 15 minutes with His Moneyship or Her Publicityship. The Mag Mod flash attachments may well help, as will the facility for multiple groups of lights. The fact that these are speed-lights with no extra battery packs is a blessing - less to haul in and out. The rapidity of recharge and of control changes is also vital when you are dealing with people who have decided that they have so much money and power that they need not be patient...

4. The School/ Santa/ Sports Carnival Portraits.

These are easy - just work out your main/fill multiple group setup in advance, sandbag the stands down, and take your medication. It will all be over in 6-8 hours. The fact that you can expect about 600 full-bore TTL shots out of a set of lithium batteries us a good thing - it will go down to about 150 with regular alkalines. If you plan to do your Santa photos from an armoured emplacement you may be able to arrange for a 6V power feed and the auxiliary plug of the Ef X-500 will allow you to shoot an unlimited number.

Note: there is a thermal protection circuit in the Ef X-500 that will shut it down if you have been shooting far too much far too fast. It will come on again when the temperature goes down.

5. The Advertising Business.

Well, as the sky is the limit for ideas, ( but rarely paid at stratospheric prices...), you can use a brace of EF X-500's for a lot of stuff. They have the sort of manual power control that dials down to 1/512th of full power, so that they can be used for tiny little multiple flashes. If your camera will do it, you can shoot multiple shots in a fraction of a second for stroboscopic effects. You can stop peak action at high shutter speeds - again if you are using the X-T2 or X-Pro2.

On a good day you can get a picture at 1/4000 of a second and capture a frame of art directors midway between changing their minds.

6. The Science Lab.

Here's where those tiny slices of light are the most use - scientists are always trying to take pictures of little specimens or delicate surfaces that wash out under stronger light. Three of them with TTL/ group are controllable and precise and a lot less of an impost on the department's budget than trying to do the same thing with studio flashes or portable battery and head kits.

Field workers can break these a lot less than they could a suitcase full of heads and batteries. And electricity in the sticks is more likely to be available in AA form than mains power.

7. The Real Estate Business

Hello 3:00 AM again...well, if you need to light up an interior there is nothing better than three speed lights and some Mag Mod Domes. The EF X-500 so equipped and hidden round corners and behind furniture is the answer for making pokey dark interiors look livable. You can group control them to balance the result and you can put dedicated gels into the mag Mod holders to try to match whatever the dawn or dusk is trying to do.

Try everything. If the images don't work there is always tomorrow and the owner of the place won't mind keeping everything off the tabletops for another day...

B2 Or Not 2B - That Is The Question With Profoto

There's nothing quite like a B2 arriving at night...

So last night we had a Profoto B2 plus pilot here at the shop for a demonstration of the new system. Over 50 photographers attended the session and the mission commander...Saul...gave us all a briefing about what it is and what it is going to cost.

The pilot - Stefan Gosatti - had taken the new equipment for a spin at a red-carpet affair, on a fashion shoot, and out to do twilight coverage of a sports event. He had examples on screen and printed out to show what the coverage and power of this new unit can do.

The flash is the even-more-portable off-camera flash solution from Profoto. They make a great battery-powered monohead called the B1 that can fire out 500 watt/seconds from an on-board lithium-ion battery. Heart-stoppingly short flash duration and takes all the big Profoto light shapers.

The new B2 is a battery pack system that supports the use of two small portable heads - much smaller in overall size than the B1 heads. Surprisingly, they have been moulded to still take the large Profoto light shapers....but the makers have also provided a new range of lighter-weight shapers and modifiers to match the portability.

Make no mistake - this is a pack system that you can carry round on your belt or shoulder all day but is capable of firing 250 watt/seconds - divide it between two heads as you like. It dials down to an incredibly small amount of light as well so it would be suitable for lab as well as studio use.

Okay - how did Stefan fire it? He used a Profoto Air TTL with his camera - Profoto can supply the Air TTL controllers for both Nikon or Canon DSLR cameras. If he had chosen the Profot Air without the TTL provision it could have been used on any brand of camera - I'm sure he would have been fine because he knows what light can do and how to set it for his results, but even he said that it was helpful in fast-moving situations to have the TTL to help out.

Note: we suspect other camera manufacturer's TTL system requirements will also be addressed in the coming months with Profoto Air TTL versions - don't know which ones but we'll find out eventually.

The heads have standard 1/2" light stand mounts or can be unscrewed from these for even smaller specialised applications. they are small enough to mount above the DSLR on an arm - this is the deal for he gunadrun event photographer. One head on 250watt/seconds is about 10 times the light of a speed light so you can work brighter in darker spaces...

The Profoto light modifiers for the new B2 are deliberately lighter than the studio ones - there is a new range of grid sets, barn doors, soft boxes, and beauty dishes. the soft boxes have been designed with integral diffusers and rods for very fast set-up.

Stefan found that he got nearly 200 shots from each battery charge - had he turned the power down on the lights the number of flashes would have been very much greater. Note that the charger will fill up the battery in an hour - and you can get a car charger as well if you need to top-up between jobs on the road.

My conclusion as a staff member lounging behind the counter was that the new flash is a clear winner in this class of photography. This in spite of my brand loyalty. It will become the standard of the industry for portable shooters.