28 BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY 10 | 12 | 2008

Evolution in a fl ash

Michael Roscoe gets hold of the UK’s fi rst Elinchrom BXRi fl ash head – and is

mighty impressed with it

The recent Photokina conference in Cologne, Germany saw a raft of new lighting gear unveiled from all the main manufactur-ers. One of the most eagerly an-ticipated announcements came from Elinchrom – a new BXRi range that will (eventually) re-place the popular Style FX and BX series.

The new BXRi monobloc offers either a 250J or 500J power ratings and is available to buy in a choice of three (two head) head kits. I tested the Elinchrom BXRi 500/500 Kit, which comprises of two 500J heads, a couple of light stands, two small softboxes and an EL-Skyport Transmitter. This kit comes in two incredibly small bags that might, at fi rst, make customers think some-thing’s been forgotten.

A smart looking (fl ash head) shoulder bag, resembling a violin case and featuring two reinforced

side panels, unzips to reveal a cavernous interior accommodat-ing two BXRi heads with all the necessary cables and two, folded down, compact 66x66cm soft-boxes. The light stands are packed in the second, soft bag. The whole kit could be easy slung over both shoulders and carried on location, or stowed away very neatly at home or in the studio.

It’s a set-upSetting up the 500/500 kit is quick after you have mastered the art of erecting the softboxes (practice makes perfect). The light stands feel sturdy and fea-ture a level-lock at each section to make adjusting the height rapid and trouble free. The stand delivers a useful 88cm minimum and 235cm maximum height and features an integrated fi xed spigot to fi t the fl ash head and fi x it into place.

The softboxes are no-frills de-vices, fi ddly to construct at fi rst but again, easy with practice. The mounting ring has the stand-ard Elinchrom fitting, simply slotted onto the front of the BXRi head and locked into place. Once attached, the softbox is located into a square position, as its col-lar won’t allow it to rotate. The interior of the softbox has a re-fl ective silver lining and comes with a single, front, diffusing screen fi xed into place with Vel-cro. The whole set-up can be achieved in less than a couple of minutes.

The BX 500 Ri looks similar to previous models, with a rounded body comparable to the FX and BX heads. A closer in-spection reveals some important features. The first noteworthy aspect is its plastic outer casing, which feels sturdy enough but helps keep the kit light enough to carry around. It’s also cheap to replace and safer than metal, as it won’t conduct electricity if the case somehow makes contact with a live wire inside.

But the main innovation is a fan on the underside of the unit which helps keep the head cool. Elinchrom calls it an ‘automatic temperature-controlled ventila-tion’ system, which means that the fan only comes on if it is nec-essary. This certainly helps keep the noise down to a minimum and actually, I found it only pro-duces a moderate hum even after sustained use.

Operating issueThe BXRi head controls are all located on a panel at its rear. Their layout and appearance is very similar to other Elinchrom fl ash heads, using familiar icons such as the eye (cell), fl ash (test button) and musical note (fl ash power). These straightforward controls mean Elinchrom users and newcomers alike can read-ily negotiate and control the lighting.

The head automatically dumps the power when it is turned down and the output setting is dis-played on a screen that can be adjusted with two relevant arrow keys located below it. The other set of up and down arrow keys, positioned adjacent to the screen, are used to adjust the basic mod-elling lamp (brightness) setting. If you only want a simple fl ash head with all the fundamental requirements then this head will certainly satisfy your needs.

But the BXRi is far from a basic lighting product, incorporat-ing a packed feature list headed

by Elinchrom’s built in EL-Skyport system. This advanced radio remote control enables you to adjust the power settings as well as trigger the fl ash from a device which is mounted onto a camera’s hot shoe.

Setting up and activating the heads is achieved with same controls on the back of the head but accessed by pressing the up/down arrows at the same time. The display then shows an r.0, 1 or 2, which, once selected, enables the system to be switched on or off, or put into speed mode. The lighting can be programmed into four groups and eight frequencies, which is espe-cially useful for photographers working in busy studios who need to avoid triggering other lighting set ups.

One of the most useful func-tions is the facility to adjust the

LIGHTING I

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10 | 12 | 2008 BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY 29

Far left: Gaining

precise control of

the fl ash head’s

exposures is easy to

achieve thanks to

the EL-Skyport

system. Users can

quickly control and

alter the output of

individual lights

from the bundled

hot shoe-mounted

unit. This sitter was

lit using a front,

sidelight and two

refl ectors.

Left: The BRXi

heads with the

bundled softboxes

were used as the

sidelights in this

portrait shot. The

light cast from fl ash

heads is punchy

when positioned

close to a sitter but

it can be easily

diffused further by

fi tting an optional

defl ector.

power and the modelling lamp setting, either individually or si-multaneously, from the hot shoe mounted EL-Skyport Transmitter. Again, you need to press up/down arrow keys (on the back of the head) at the same time and push the modelling lamp icon to get access to the group settings. I programmed the heads on the group 1 and 2 modes and adjusted the switch on the trigger accordingly to en-able individual remote control, then selected the ‘All’ option on the trigger unit to control both heads simultaneously.

Extra opportunitiesFor most the wireless facilities would more than justify the price of the BXRi but it seems Elinchrom wanted to leave no stone unturned. The kit is simply packed with new features. A new

Visual Flash Confirmation option, for example, turns the model-ling lamp off while the fl ash is recharging, while the ability to alter the duration of the audible ready beep setting, between 70-490m/s, ensures you can differ-entiate between heads.

Users who buy both the 250J and 500J heads can alter the modelling lamps so that they are in proportion to the power set-ting, and there is also an option to set the power setting, so that it can be adjusted in either 5/10s or whole f-stop increments as well as the standard 1/10s set-ting. And, if that’s not enough, there’s even a pre-fl ash recogni-tion system, for use with a fl ashgun, which measures how many fl ashes a fl ashgun outputs so that the fl ash head won’t be triggered prematurely.

Operating these advanced

settings should become second nature after a bit of practice but you can get confused about what setting you’ve programmed. The Master re-set function can there-fore come in handy – hold down the up/down arrow keys when turning the power on to return the equipment to its original factory settings.

Performance prowess I used the BXRi 500/500 Kit over a week and quickly became comfortable with it for both model and product set-ups. The back control panel is logically laid out and feels very intuitive. Power can be adjusted swiftly in 1/10s increments by press-ing and holding the arrow keys, making the option to change it 5/10th or whole f-stop jumps seem superfl uous.

The 500J head offers a power

‘The new BXRi 500 head is a triumph.’

range delivering five different f-stop choices, producing an impressively consistent colour temperature performance with a small shift of only 200°K from min to max power. Recycling times are very swift, which is in part thanks to its (compara-tively low) 500J power rating. The near-instant 0.36 to 1.45 min/max (230V) performance is very impressive.

The quality of light is reasonably punchy for softbox illumination, and the single front diffusing screen inevitably produces a slight hotspot. It is worth noting that the light can be easily sof-tened further by investing in some very inexpensive defl ectors that fi t into a hole usually used for an umbrella. Using a defl ector also means the power cut be cut down, so wide aperture settings can be attained.

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30 BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY 10 | 12 | 2008

LIGHTING I

51-250

Above: The BXRi 500 heads are ideal for portraits and still lifes, delivering ample power for most tabletop set-ups. This product shot was lit using a BXRi head with its softbox and a trace screen.

Elinchrom BXRi results

BXRi 500 heads were tested using a softbox attachment (with the di�using screen removed) giving the following �ash readings with the light meter* set at ISO100 with a shutter speed of 1/125s.

Light meter readingsMeter reading distance Power setting 1 metre F11/f45 (Max/Min settings)

Color temperature The color temperature output was also measured with the �ash head positioned 0.5m from a Broncolor FCC (Flash-Color-Chronoscope) meter.

Power output Kelvin output Min output: 5350KMid output: 5450KMax output: 5550K

*Minolta Auto Meter IV F

ConclusionsThe new BXRi 500 head is a tri-umph. Photographers with a spe-cifi c list of requirements will fi nd that this model ticks all the right boxes. But the beauty of the BXRi head is that these extra utilities don’t get in the way or slow down operation if they’re not needed. It is easy to reset the settings and start again and stick to all the basic controls if that’s what you want. But it is worth spending time to get familiar and really exploit the capa-bilities of the fl ash head. Elinchrom have set their stall out to dominate this end of the (value) fl ash head market. They’ve ensured that BXRi matches many of the functionality of their nearest competitor models so features like the pre-fl ash recog-nition facilities have been included although they may never be used due to the integrated wireless sys-tem. They’ve even included two sync leads that are more than likely to gather dust thanks to the reli-able performance of the EL-Skyport facility. But it’s certainly reassuring to know that they are there (along with the extra features) if you really need them.

There can be little doubt that the integrated EL-Skyport system is one of the biggest selling points for the BXRi heads. The compact size of the hotshoe mounted transceiver means it won’t get in the way and its straightforward layout means fl ash settings can be quickly ad-justed. You will soon �nd that shooting times are speeded up as the fl ash head power can be altered without having to move from your camera, which is especially useful when the heads are located in lofty, high up positions that are out of arms’ reach. The EL-Skyport system delivers reliable fl ash triggering up to range of 50 metres indoors and there is the possibility to spend a couple of hundred pounds extra and invest in the EL-Skyport Computer Remote / trigger set so that the lighting can be controlled from a computer.

Overall, there can be little criti-cism. Its maximum 500J rating might put o� some professionals who want more power but that’s about it. I like the fact that it comes with two softboxes as opposed to an umbrella or dish attachments because they are easy to control, especially in confi ned working en-vironments and they produce less light spill. The 66cm softboxes are reasonably unsophisticated light-shapers that may not appeal to some professional users but you could pay a little extra and swap them for a more advanced model such as new Rotalux di�user.

What is really noticeable is

Elinchrom’s real attention to detail. The head has a number of notable attributes such as the user replace-able �ash tube and other neat touches such as a rubberised han-dle with built-in fuse storage, instead of those small plastic fuse bags that can been seen hanging down on previous models. Overall, Elinchrom has set a new standard

for an a�ordable kit that certainly over delivers with it diverse feature set. The BXRi will appeal to a very broad range of photographers and its small size means it is an ideal solution to use away from the studio. It is priced to appeal to the budget conscious buyer but it will equally appeal to canny professionals that can see a bargain. BJP

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