Photokina News: Lighting strikes

Profoto has unveiled what is claims to be the world’s fastest monolight.
The D2 is able to freeze action at up to 1/63,000s, making it faster than most high-end studio packs on the market, says the Swedish photography company.
Thanks to its High Speed Sync (HSS) technology, it also boasts burst speeds of up to 20 per second, along with the ability to sync with camera shutter speeds of up to 1/8000s.
Profoto says the D2 can maintain its remarkably short flash duration across the full energy range.

Profoto D2
Profoto D2
Profoto D2
Profoto D2
“For a photographer, every new day is a new challenge. So for them, speed isn’t one thing – it’s many. That’s why we created the D2 to be remarkably fast in every way,” says Johan Wiberg, Product Manager at Profoto. “But the speed is not a gimmick. We truly believe that more speed allows you to be more creative and consistently take better images regardless of what challenge you face.”
In a statement, the company said: “The D2 can also help to speed up workflow because it’s equipped with patented TTL technology.
You can point-and-shoot and the D2 will automatically adjust its output for perfect exposure.
But manual mode is available at the click of a button, so switching between both modes with settings intact just makes everything move faster.”
The D2 will be available in 500Ws and 1000Ws versions, both of which come with a 10 f-stop energy range and “superior colour consistency over the entire range”.
It can be used with more than 120 light-shaping tools, says Profoto. For high volume production, like packshot photography, there is an optional Quartz flashtube available.
Pricing starts at £995 +VAT.
 
 
Meanwhile, Profoto is announcing that its Air Remote TTL-S wireless radio transmitter will be compatible with selected Sony cameras as of next year.
The remote offers full TTL and HSS capability with Profoto’s D2, B1, and B2 flashes, and will be compatible with Sony’s α7 II, α7R II, α7S II, and the new Sony α99 II.
Bowens International has announced its new range of Generation X flash lighting, which includes the XMT series, an all-in-one battery unit for location lighting, and the XMS for the studio.
It is the first major announcement since the British company was acquired by Aurelius, a European investment firm.
The £1199 500Ws XMT features TTL and high speed sync functionality (up to 1/8000s) compatible with Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras, along with nine stops of flash power adjustment, and flash durations as short as 1/10,309s.
Recycle times have been boosted to 0.01s, and an easy-swap lithium-ion battery provides up to 500 full power flashes per charge, says Bowens, along with rear-curtain sync, sync delay and strobe modes.
 
Bowens XMS 1000
Bowens XMS 1000
The XMS, available in 500, 7 50 and 1000Ws models (all fully controllable via the XMSR 2.4 Ghz radio control and trigger) features multi-voltage operation, and faster recycling times and flash durations than previous Bowens models.
The XMSR model features Bowens’ ‘Sync Offset’ function, “enabling photographers to embrace any brand of camera to shoot at high sync speeds – up to 1/8000s”.
Pricing starts at £799.
 
David Hollingsworth, marketing manager, said they are “the result of many months of very intensive market research and product development… [that] will be the vanguard of our plans for ongoing and regular new-unit roll-outs in coming months and years”.
And in further news, Broncolor says its HS function is now available with its Siros L monolights and Move power packs when combined with the new RFS 2.2 transceiver (‘optimised’ for use with Nikon, Canon or Sony cameras.
“The HS function allows you to use flash at any shutter speed, which means the flash sync is no longer a limitation and allows to shoot with open aperture,” says Broncolor in a statement.
“For example, for photos taken on location with a wide open aperture, it allows you to work with short shutter speeds up to 1/8000s to underexpose the background and let the flashlight work its magic.”