Full disclosure: I am an advanced photographer, but not a pro. I live in beautiful Quebec city and I have been shooting for the last 20+ years, mainly products, events, sports and weddings. I buy and sell photo gear on eBay since 1999 full time (seller ID: Fullphoto) and I add to my gear every now and then when I see something I like passing by. I purchased an Elinchrom set a few years ago for resale and I ended up parting with my “previous brand” setup to keep it. I really enjoy the flash consistency and colour quality for my work since I joined Elinchrom. The durability is also pretty awesome. Along the way, I added many modifiers and accessories and now own five heads from the RX series.
A couple of years ago, I was asked to shoot outdoor and needed a battery powered flash or two. I purchased a set of AD200 (Godox) and I was doing OK with them until a few weeks ago. I met a photographer friend who purchased a few Elinchrom ONE heads and he seemed extremely happy with them. Looking at the specs and reviews, I wasn’t sure the 150WS would meet my needs since the AD200 were already a stretch for me in that regard.
There was a local photo show last weekend in my area and I was hired to lend a hand in the Canadian Elinchrom distributor’s booth. Law of attraction gave me the opportunity to test, play and show Elinchrom strobes from the new series: two FIVE and two THREE heads with different modifiers in a small studio with Cosplay characters. Perfect opportunity to experiment!
Needless to say that I fell in love with the THREE heads and, I must admit, a little bit with the FIVE too. Should I sell my Godox and pay the premium? The fact that I already have many Elinchrom modifiers sure helps me consider the extra investment, but there are also many other factors. Light quality and consistency, beautiful and intuitive display, recycling time, extra power, advanced features, build quality, weather sealing, design, repair center in Toronto, two years’ warranty…
The fact that you can use the flash on internal battery or plugged to an USB-C charger or powerbank anywhere anytime also makes it very attractive. I read some reviews on the ONE head and it received excellent ratings. It has been tested in many different setups (indoor and outdoor) and most mentioned that the power was enough most of the time… But now that the THREE is released, it is getting very hard, at least for me, to say no 😊.
I realize that there are cheaper options if you want battery strobes, but there are also much more expensive options that will not give you much more than this neat Elinchrom system. Among the reviews and videos I watched on YouTube, I came across a professional photographer that put together a list of very pertinent questions that I think are helpful when choosing a studio lighting setup. Here they are:
- What sort of photography do you want to be shooting five years from now?
- How many lights do you really need?
- How much location work do you think you will shoot?
- What budget can you actually stretch to?
- Are cameras and lenses budgets more important than your lighting budget?
- What can you do with the light, what is the choice of modifiers?
In my case, even if I did not have the modifiers already, these questions are pointing me towards Elinchrom. I will most likely sacrifice a couple prime lenses that I don’t use to finance better lighting since it will allow me to enhance my work in different ways.
I definitely enjoyed and felt at home with the THREE and the FIVE heads from Elinchrom. Sure enough they will be part of my next adventure…
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About the Author – Eric Garant
Eric Garant was born and raised in the Quebec City area. His interest in photography was triggered in 1988 when he needed to shoot 35mm slides for a class. He started working as a part time camera salesclerk and spent all his income on film and processing. After working 6 years as a radio station copywriter, Eric left to become self-employed (entrepreneurship flows in my blood). He “accidentally” started buying and selling photo gear on eBay for extra cash and surprise: He was making a living out of it! He never had to send a resume again. Eric met many photographers through this business and started to assist them on different assignments – he could improve his photography skills while getting paid 😊. Photography now represents a good chunk of his income. The more you learn, the more confident you get; the better the results and word of mouth takes over. He really enjoys pressing the shutter on his two Fujifilm XH2’s and about 12 lenses.
