Ever since I moved to my new Studio 311, I have been debating on which route to go for my new lighting system. It's been a couple of months since I tested out my lighting options between the Profoto B1 / D1 and Broncolor Siros, thanks to Sam Tsang of BetaBox Studio for the opportunity. The results after a day of shooting with both systems are that I loved the portability of the battery-powered Profoto B1, but preferred the light quality (colour temperature as well) of the Broncolor Siros. Furthermore, having the BronControl app available on my iOS devices made making adjustments easy. If only I could have the best of both worlds or rather a Broncolor Siros system that was battery operated - well that day is today! Just this morning Broncolor announced their new Siros L heads, a battery-powered monolight that should shake the market up. Did I mention that I want them, like now?
If you check out the video above, you'll see that it's essentially the same Siros system offered in 400J and 800J mono-heads with the added bonus of a battery system that is integrated in the strobe body - yes similar to the Profoto B1, but better. Why better? Well the BronControl app will work on these units and they take up to 75-minutes for a full recharge!
The flash duration of the Siros L is as short as 1/19,000-seconds which is perfect for action work. As for the sizing of the units, they seem to be about the same as the corded Siros type, but I won't know until I get a set to play with. Even if they're slightly bigger, we are still talking about a completely wireless and battery operated studio system that is able to go anywhere!
The biggest issue with anything that is battery powered - be it studio strobe or even a lawnmower - is the battery life. Thankfully, there's nothing to worry about with these as according to Broncolor, the 400L is capable of 440 full-power bursts from a single charge while the more powerful 800L is good for 200 bursts. My go-to location system is the Elinchrom Quadra Hydra, but even at 400w of power I am limited to maybe 300 bursts on a good day, but it's still attached to a power pack on a shoulder strap.
For those interested in the system, the Siros 400L (2-light kit) will retail for $5,995 (CAD) according to Amplis Foto. Canadian pricing and details are sure to come out shortly from Broncolor Canada, if not shoot them an email info@bron.ca and order your kit today!