Elinchrom BX 500

[frank]

www.fotoflits.nl asked me to do a review on the BX500 from Elinchrom.
In this thread you can read an ongoing review on these new strobes from Elinchrom.



Look and feel
The look and feel of the new BX units is one of recognition and new, the new casings are a mix of the RX and FX series but they look a bit more modern with the rounded edges, as color Elinchrom has opted for a deep gray tone, almost black which in my opinion looks very nice.
The units are like the other units from Elinchrom reasonable compact and lightweight, they will travel very easily.
At the bottom of the new BX there is a cooler which is automaticly adjusted according to the need of the strobe.
This is a big plus for some people who don't like to hear the cooler constant, with the smart fan it's only there when it's needed.

options, specs
Let's see what the new units have in stock.
And I must admit it's the first time I had to look in the manual with an Elinchrom strobe, there is so much possible it's wise to first study the manual before using them in a real situation.

First off the BX have a build in skyport receiver.
The skyport is Elinchroms system to trigger strobes, you can set the same channels and groups as with the normal skyports, like the RX system you can raise and lower the output of the strobe by the Skyport remote.
This alone will give the BX strobes a BIG plus compared to the D-lite and FX series.

But there is more:
* Red eye pre-flash managment system
* Multiformat (use it all over the world)
* VFC (Visual Flash confirmation)
* VSS
 
With the red-eye pre-flash there are more than enough options to make the unit work with almost everything you will throw at it, I have writen down almost because I don't use this option myself to be honest. The multiformat option is especially useful when you want to use the BX all over the world, for most people this is not an option to buy it alone, but it can be for some.
VFC is an option to let the lights go down before the strobe is ready to be used again, I also never use that because I listen to the beep (which can also be turned off of course), but I know a few photographers who will like this option, especially when you don't have the strobe in sight for example on location, with the powering down of the modellight you can verify that the strobe indeed fired.

The modelling lights are of course adjustable as free, porpotional and off, and when lowering the power there is an auto powerdump, which makes it not necessary to trigger the strobe after doing adjustments (although that speeds up the process, waiting for the auto dump is sometimes longer than just triggering the strobe and measure again).
New is also the adjustment to 50% power porpotional, this makes it possible to use 500W units and 250W units in the mix but with a good visual guide with the modelling lights.

You can now also set the strobe to Variable F stop steps, for me the settings of 1/10th is perfect but if you want it another way, now there is an option.

something smart, something new
It's always nice to see that when a new strobe is introduced that there are new things and especially things that make you go, "oh that's nice".
With the BX there are plenty of those, I really really like the build in skyport system, but also the new handgrip is very clever with a storage option for the fuse.
I never blew a fuse on my Elinchroms but I know when I do I will always have to search for replacements, with the BX this is now in the grip.

Also the new smart fan is a nice addition, some people will like this more than others.
For me I don't really care to be honest, there is music playing in the studio and I don't mind the coolers on the strobes.
When you are working in a small studio without music I think this option will make you very happy.

SPEED
REMEMBER :
This part is very specific for highspeed jumps etc.
In normal situations the flashduration is not that important.
Also remember that this is for STUDIO work, outside the limiting factor is the ambiant light.

We are used that Elinchrom strobes recycle fast, but most of all they are stable every pop with correct exposure and color.
A big problem however is always flashduration.
When you want to freeze action like wind or jumps you need speed.
Normally the cheap brands will give you anything between 1/400 to 1/800 which is too slow for freezing even a small jump.
The BX250 has a flashduration of 1/2762 and the 500Ri 1/1558
The 250 is indeed a very fast strobe, and when you want to freeze action it can be a perfect choice for users with DSLRs working on ISO100.
For me I have to go to the 500Ri due to the MF I'm using (working on ISO50 and loosing almost a stop in most cases due to bellows focus), normally for freezing action I'm using a Ranger RX with an A head which gives me app 1/5500 which freezes more than enough for me.

This weekend we will do some small tests with jumps with the BX500 and see how they hold up.
I think the 500 will do very nicely but again if you really want freeze action look at the 250 or the RX rangers (totally different price range).

Elinchrom ?
A few years ago the choice for Elinchrom was often one done due to the wonderful modifiers, Elinchrom in my opinion still has one of the most beautiful stuff out there (still looking for a good used Fresnel from them ) but the heads were often a bit out of reach for the hobby photographer.
Now with the D-lites this all changed and a lot of photographers are now opting for Elinchrom instead of the cheaper brands, which in my opinion is a very good thing, the D-lites are still for their money a very good buy. Now that Elinchrom released the BX Ri I strongly believe that they made a step forwards in reaching every photographer possible.
As mentioned before the inclusion of the Skyports is just wonderful and a big plus for everyone who ever worked with it knows, remote control of the strobes makes our lives so much easier.

In the following days/weeks I will update the review with pictures and user experience.
Any questions you want to know, just ask.


BXri and RX
A lot of questions were mailed to me why one should go for the RX with the BXri now on the market.
There are some differences of course.
1. The cpu in the RX is different, it's faster and it's possible to use the skyport USB option
2. The capacitor pack is even more heavyduty
3. The flashduration is shorter on the RX
4. There is a 1200Ws version available
5. The RX units have a 6 fstop range instead of the 5 fstops on the BXri

I think Elinchrom made a PERFECT addition to their line up with the BXri and I strongly believe it's a strobe that's hard to beat by the competition.
Congrats to Elinchrom.

ADDED
One of the other nice things about the BXri is that the flashtube is USER REPLACEBLE.

[Wills]

I look forward to reading your jump tests with the new heads.

[frank]

As promised some shots from today, today was actually a workshop I but because of the test with the BX we threw in a bit of jump photography
To be honest I was a bit afraid for this test.
For me the freeze action is really important and most of the time I use the lowerpowered RX (600/300) or the A heads on the Rangers.
With the old FX and the D-lites I don't get a good freeze action moment.

I can say the BX performed great, but I can type a whole lot of letters, or just show some results, let's do the last.

The full frame

And two crops on critical parts of the picture:



The face is often not so hard to get sharp, but the hands are more difficult because they move arround very fast.
As you can see here the BX performed great, there is a small blur visable but that's normal and is more the afterglow of the tube than the speed.
The details are sharp and that's what counts.

The rest of the day the BX series performed great, although I have problems with one head which will not trigger correctly and only give a small sound as if there is a short, after two time triggering the strobe it performs great. The other BX did not miss a shot so this is probarbly a problem which is not the fault of the system but of one head.
The smart fan works flawless, during a normal session the strobes are hardly pushed, during the workshops they are REALLY pushed and sometimes the fan was working on a louder setting than normal, during the breaks however the whole system was very quiet.
Something I think a lot of photographers will appriciate, as mentioned before I don't mind hearing the fans, but some people do.

At the moment my conclusion of the BX is that it's a wonderful set and seeing price/quality an absolute winner.
The 500W is a nice figure for people wanting a bit more power, and for people not needing 500W you can opt for the even faster 250Ws units.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
They will stay in our studio for demos and own use.








A few more from today, all shot with the standard BX set.

[Wills]

I can live with that Frank, the BX is on my list.

[Wills]

Frank what power levels were the BX heads on?

[frank]

full power for fastest speed

[frank]

One week in our studio is about maybe a month or two in a hobby setting.
At the moment I use the BX as main strobes meaning they really get used a lot, just to test out the durability.
As of yet I did not find any problem with them, I only have a defective flashtube in one but that's not the fault of the unit itself, it's now being replaced.

Skyport works the same as with the RX, so you can set everything like channel/group etc.

[Anders Arvidsson]

Good to hear that they work well without firmware glitches etc. I read somewhere that the noise level was substantially higher (when the fan was activated) than the RX, but that was based on someone listening to them in a quiet store and maybe without the possibility to compare them in parallel. Your extensive usage gives a better understanding of how they behave in practice, and noise level doesn’t seem to be a problem.

Since you use them on maximum power (for shortest flash duration) to freeze action, I guess that a 250/250 set would be most reasonable for my use (quite small studios), not only because of shorter duration in datasheet, but also because it is easier to use maximum power without ND filter. (I have however never come across any measurement done on power – duration dependence.) Flash duration aside, in my experience it’s harder to get low enough power than high enough power, but I guess it’s human nature to even so consider the most powerful option possible .

[frank]

It very much depends on what you shoot.
I can drop down to ISO25 and with MF I need already at least some power to get a reasonable DOF.
So for me personally I need as much power as I can get.

If you shoot with a DSLR starting at ISO200 you will probarbly have more than enough with a 100W strobe.
Using a DSLR with ISO100 250W is for a studio a nice powerrating.

Size of the studio is not that important, you normally light from the same distances in large or small studios to keep the same quality of light.

[Anders Arvidsson]

Good point, about ISO and MF, I should have mentioned that I was talking about DSLR, normally using ISO 100 but 200 would be acceptable when maximum flash power isn’t high enough. 

My English is a bit too limited to articulate my usage precise enough. By small studio, I was mostly thinking of the area to be lit. My reason to consider 500 Ws was occasional shooting of e.g. martial art on location at sports club, but I figure 250 Ws and higher ISO might be a better solution for those few moments considering that 250 Ws would be more than enough for most of my use today. I guess that should be enough for smaller group shots too if necessary? 

[frank]

Should be enough indeed

[zaldum]

Frank, great news you finally tested the new BX, i´m after a pair of 250´s and have two questions. I´m currently using rx600 outside with the explorer XT battery but i´ve read that the BX´s wont work with it (because of the variable wattage). I´m sure old BX don´t work, can you confirm on the new ones??

Also, how often does the fans kick in? Only if you fire them constanly for a while? or does they kick in often even if they are turned on but not being fired?
And the last one, what Watts is the modeling lamp?? I remember it said 100w in the specs for both 500 and 250w, just to confirm it.

Thx Frank!! 

Anders, i´m also using a DSLR with rx600 and i very very rarely use them at max power, i think the 250´s are a much better option because of flash duration and even more important, lower min power.

[frank]

Hi,
The fans depend on alot of factors.
When the studio is warm they kick in slightly earlier as by freezing cold.
But even than when in rest they are very quiet.

As far as I know the modelling lamps are 100W.

On the Explorer I don't know I don't have one here available at the moment to test it, sorry.

[roger767]

What kind of options are there when using the BX500 on location Ive read that the Tronix Explorer doesn't work with these new strobes.

[frank]

Like most strobes, power outlets, generators etc.