Elinca S.A. is a company based in Renens, Switzerland, which manufactures studio lighting systems under the brand name Elinchrom. Competitors include Bowens and Interfit.
Contents |
Elinchrom produce a range of monolight flash units, from models suitable for entry-level hobbyists to those aimed at professional studio photographers, with a range of lighting modifiers, plus battery packs, and remote controllers for the lights.
Most flash heads can be triggered as "slave" units, and the slave function can be turned off to prevent inadvertent triggering if other photographers are working in the same area.
Elinchrom also have a range of continuous lighting.
Other Elinchrom monoblock flash models include: (compacts all have round can construction with handle)
COMPACT UNITS:
EL250, 250 w/s, 2 stops control, .5 sec recycle 110VAC, (don't know duration)
EL250R, 250 w/s, 5 stops control, ultrafast flash duration of 1/7200th sec.
EL500, 500 w/s, 2 stops control, 1/1700th flash duration, .9 sec. recycle 110V AC
EL500R, 500 w/s, 5 stops control, 1/4000th duration, 1 sec. recycle
EL1000, 1000 w/s, 2 stops control, 1/1000 duration, 2 sec. recycle
EL1000R, 1000 w/s, 5 stops control, 1/3000 duration, 2 sec. recycle 110V AC
next came units with "C" designation which were denoted by the following changes:
- user-replaceable flashtube design
- green labels on the sides of the units rather than the older black lettering
- switches for unit's power and modeling lamps went from hard edge to rounded edge
- as far as this author knows, only EL250 and EL500 units were made in C designation
Most recently, Elinca must have moved their tooling for the Compact series lights to India where they are now producing the EL500S units which are the same as the EL500C's before they moved production there.
Micro Compact 530 w/s, (1st digital unit) 530 w/s, 1/1450th duration, 1.5 sec. recycle, infrared remote possible, (not popular in USA)
STYLE UNITS (early units made from grey plastic which later changed to purpleish clear plastic, which changed to black which is current as of 2/2011)
EL300, 300 W/S, .8 sec. recycle, 5 stops control, 1/2850th sec. duration
EL600 (rare), 600 w/s, 1.5 sec. recycle, 1/2050th duration, 5 stops control, no remote possible, no fan, non-user replaceable flashtubes
EL600S, 600 w/s, 1.5 sec. recycle, 1/2050th duration, 6 stops control, remote possible, fan cooled, user-replaceable flashtubes
EL1200S, 1200 w/s, 1/1400th duration, 2.5 sec. recycle, 6 stops control, fan cooled, remote possible, user replaceable flashtubes
After a few years of production of the Early Style units, only the digital backed control RX units were imported into the US market:
Elinchrom RX Style Units:
same as "S" series units but digital control of both power output and modeling lamp proportional control. These are the current models selling in the USA and their top of the line.
EL300RX, 300 w/s, 6 stops control, .9 sec. recycle, 1/2850th duration, fan cooled, user-replaceable flashtubes, remote control is also digital
EL600RX, 600 w/s, 6 stops control, 1.3 sec. recycle, 1/2050th duration, fan cooled, user-replaceable flashtubes, remote control is also digital
EL1200RX, 1200 w/s, 6 stops control, 2.5 sec. recycle, 1/1400th duration, fan cooled, user-replaceable flashtubes, remote control is also digital
The continuous lighting uses tungsten bulbs with a colour temperature of around 3200° instead of daylight-balanced (5500°) flash tubes. All units accept the same range of light modifiers as the flash units, subject to the additional heat generated by the bulbs. The Scanlite range employ halogen bulbs.
| 1500S | D-Lite 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Flash output | Controlled by the green slider, infinitely variable between full power and 1/16 power | Controlled by pressing the "Up" and "Down" buttons, which change the output in 1/10 stop increments from 2.0 to 6.0.[6] |
| Modelling lamp | Osram 64505 200W 230V GX6,35, or equivalent | 100W, 90V frosted bulb with E27 screw base (US version). UK version is 196V. |
| Modelling lamp control | Controller by the yellow slider, infinitely variable between full power and 1/16 power. By sliding the two sliders together, the modelling lamp can be kept in proportion to the flash output. The yellow power switch is provided to turn the modelling lamp off altogether. | Switchable by pressing the "modelling lamp" button repeatedly between "off", "full", "minimum" and "proportional". |
| Accessory lock |
A full rotating collar. |
A small blue sliding lever. |
| Sync lead connector | Amphenol connector | 3.5 mm jack |
| Slave triggering | Activated by pressing a small button to the right of the sliders. An LED inside it lights up green while it is active and red if it is inactive. | Activated by pressing the "Eye" button. A small green LED is lit if active. |
| "Ready" indicator | The green "Test" button is lit when the flash unit is charged and ready to use. | An audible alert can be enabled to let the photographer know when the flash unit has recharged ready for the next picture. It can also be turned off. |
Elinchrom supply a wide range of lighting modifiers as accessories for their lights. Some accessories (such as umbrellas) attach to the light unit by means of a pole passing through a 7 mm hole through the head, and others (such as softboxes, reflector dishes and snoots) attach using Elinchrom's bayonet system.