What's better than a Flashpoint Streaklight 180? A Streaklight super powered with the new Flashpoint Blast Pack! Enjoy the teamwork of lithium cells and a solid reliable strobe for your next assignment and beyond. The Flashpoint StreakLight 180 In the drive to produce the ultimate portable high powered strobe for location work without wires, the Flashpoint Streaklight 180 leads the way with spectacular power, precise manual exposure on demand, advantages of advanced engineering and inventive circuitry in a solid, dependable package, energized by the magic of lithium.
Completely adjustable from full power to cover large areas and bounce lighting, down to 1/128 power in 1/3 stop increments (22 steps) displayed on a generous LED panel. When energized by the Flashpoint Blast Pack, it is capable of rapid recycle in full power without overtaxing the components. The 180ws bare bulb tube delivers beautifully even and soft light from its standard stippled parabolic reflector, with or without the two included diffusion disks.
The Lumedyne style standard mount will accept most Lumedyne or Quantum accessories, as well as the full line of Streaklight accessories including beauty dishes, gels, grids, snoots, and an innovative umbrella mount which securely centers the flash for perfect on axis light distribution within an umbrella or brollybox.
Features like smart optical slave sensors, stroboscopic mode, and remote power control with independent group control set this durable hot shoe mounted light apart from rest. The Flashpoint Streaklight 180.
More power to you! Flashpoint Blast Pack. A truly professional portable rechargeable battery pack that makes the quantum leap! More mobile power for your favorite Speedlight or strobe.
The new Flashpoint Blast Pack is the endurance power supply for which professional and semi-pro photographers have been longing.
| Powerful 180ws Guide Number 197 (ft. ISO 100) with standard reflector Super Soft and Even Light from Replaceable Bare Bulb Stable Color Temperature Fast Recycle Times from with Flashpoint BLAST POWER PACK or Quantum Turbo Precise output from 1/128 to Full in 1/3 stop increments |
This review is from: Flashpoint SL-360K1 StreakLight 360 Watt-Seconds Flash with Blast Power Pack By Charles Enfield (State College, PA):
I've coveted the Quantum Q-flash for easily portable location shooting for a long time, but could never bring myself to pay the price. Not only is the Q-flash very expensive, but all the accessories are costly as well. A light, battery pack, and a few modifiers will set you back well over $1000. I saw the Streaklight last weekend and it seemed to have everything I was looking for at a much lower price point. After checking the few reviews I could find online, I bought one with the full complement of accessories.
I'm glad I did. The construction quality of the Streaklight inspires confidence. The hot shoe seems plenty strong enough for the weight of the light and modifiers. The head rotates 335 degrees, tilts from about 15 degrees down to straight up, and locks securely into every position. The weight is a little heavier than my SB-800's when loaded with batteries. (The streaklight requires an external battery pack.) The controls are very simple, and intuitive to operate.
Lighting performance is very good. The output power is ridiculous for a shoe-mount flash. It has a published GN of 262' with the standard reflector and no diffusers (about 4 times the output power of the Q-flash), but mine doesn't quite achieve that output. At full power I'm getting about 235' out of mine (as measured by my Sekonic L-508). Coverage is really even over about 24mm on a 35mm camera. With the umbrella reflector (sold separately) I can evenly light the full coverage of my 16mm lens (the widest full-frame I own) and only lose about 1.3 stops. Outdoors you can overpower direct sunlight, even on very wide scenes. The output power is adjustable to 1/128th by 1/3 stops, and is consistent and predictable at all settings. Color temperature was between 5600 and 5700K, which is a little cooler than my other strobes and shoe-mount flashes, but it's not likely to show in your images if you mix light sources, and it's consistent at different power levels (unlike one of my import studio strobes.)
The PB 960 battery pack has a cheaper feel, but has the virtue of being light and seems to pack plenty of power. After firing hundreds of test shots this weekend, the meter still indicated full power and recycle times were the same as at full charge. The pack has two output ports, and can be used to power two separate lights or recycle a single light more quickly (using an optional cord). Using one port, recycle time at full power was between 5 and 6 seconds. Using two ports it was reduced to 3 seconds. Using two ports at 1/4 power or less (still far brighter than my SB-800's) recycling is nearly instantaneous. Cords are also available for this battery pack to power common OEM speedlights. I've got one on the way.
The streaklight wireless remote is wonderful. Like the flash, the remote is very intuitve to operate. In addition to triggering, it can also adjust the output power, turn flash off, and turn on an AF assist lamp. It works at 433Mhz, has 16 channels, and support 16 groups. Yes, that's 16 groups. How creative do you care to get? I was able to use the full 1/250 sync speed at full power on my D800, and I didn't miss a single shot or power level change in hundreds of attempts. Just to see what I could do, I successfully triggered the Streaklight in my basement 10 straight times from my above-grade, detached garage about 80' away. I like my RadioPopper JRX's, but this performed way better. The receiver is powered from the flash unit, and the transmitter takes 2 AA batteries, so unlike my Radiopoppers, I'll have no trouble finding unusual battery types. (If the manufacturer is reading this, please make a receiver for Nikon speedlights similar to the JRX. I'll buy three in a heartbeat.) The Streaklight also supports slave triggering in both S1 & S2 modes. S2 ignores TTL preflashes, but I didn't test this mode. S1 sensitivity was very good. Finally, repeating mode and high-speed sync are also supported, but I didn't test either.
Flashpoint modifiers are acceptable quality for the price. Fit and finish isn't what you'd find on the name brands, but they fit well, work well, and don't seem fragile. I don't know what the Quantum modifiers are like, but another reviewer I found indicated that they fit the Streaklight.
The only advantage I can see of the Q-flash is TTL support. I personally rarely use TTL, even more rarely use it off-camera, and never use it in multi-light set-ups, so I don't miss it at all. The size and weight of this unit probably means it won't replace your OEM speedlight for direct attachment to your camera, but you could use it that way if you have a need. I think of this as more of a replacement for big studio strobes and heavy battery packs for on-location shooting. You could put two of these, a couple light stands, a couple battery packs, and an assortment of soft-boxes or umbrellas in a gym bag that weighs under 15 lbs.
If you're still reading this obscenely long review, you're probably seriously considering this flash. Buy one. You won't be disappointed.
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