Last year, I reviewed the Profoto B1 Strobe, and named it the best strobe on the market today. Phottix is looking to take that crown with their newly released Indra500 TTL, a 500w/s studio strobe with an optional battery pack. What puts it ahead of the competition? How about TTL built in, as well as High Speed Sync.
Just a few years ago, I was working on location, carrying a 22lb Vagabond II on my shoulder, with an Alien Bee on a boomarm on my other shoulder. While I was certainly in better shape than I am now, I was also always exhausted. In just a few years, the world of strobes has completely changed, and has allowed for smaller battery packs, and faster sync speeds.
In the latest announcement, Phottix has announced the Indra500. Packed with 500w/s, the Indra500 also features wireless controlling using the Phottix Oden or Mitros, TTL modes for automatic exposure, LED modeling lamp, 380 full power shots on a single charge using the Indra battery system (AC options also available), and perhaps most exciting of all, High Speed Sync up to 1/8000th of a second. To top it all off, the Indra500 TTL isn't just a strobe to be used with the battery pack. You're also able to use this as a normal studio strobe, with an AC power cable included.
“We’re very happy with the Indra500 TTL,” said Phottix CEO Steve Peer. “It provide photographers with a lot of power and options. Having High Speed Sync on a studio light is a game changer for helping control ambient light.”
For more information on the Phottix Indra500, check out their Promotional Brochure.
The Indra500 is expected to be released in October 2014, for $1295.
Wow. A high speed-sync strobe at that price! I can't wait to see the reviews on this to see if it is worth it.
Oh wow did I read that right? Seems like you can see lesson integrate this with your phottix speedlights!
This seems like it might have some real potential. Broncolor and now Phottix, hopefully Profoto will get a move on with the HSS. Those of us who invested in the B-1's would love to have the HSS functionality. Also, a battery blank that adapts to a continuous power source. <fingers crossed>
<pedantic>500 Ws please, neither W/s nor w/s.</pedantic>
Definitely above the usual price range for Phottix, but man - imagine this thing doing fill in bright sunlight at high noon. It will be like shooting with leaf shutters on medium format! Well, sorta... :)
I. SO. WANT!
This is great news for strobists with a penchant for the elusive Broncolor high speed synch feature without the king's ransom of a price. After seeing what ProFoto and Broncolor can do, having one of these is more of a need than a want. Good show , Phottix
This is the salvation for the Canon 6D user stuck on 1/125 or 1/160 shutter speed... Like me. At $1295 its a way better option than Profoto or Broncolor. But as usual, let's wait for tests and reviews, if this perfoms right, it could be a great investment.
All this info and nothing about what modifier attachment it uses? *crosses fingers it's Elinchrom, but doubts it*
curse you photokina for all the gear lust announcements!!! want want want.
We are going to play around with the prototypes of these babies in my free workshop on Friday and Saturday at the Phottix booth at photokina. I'm really really looking forward to try them out. Join me if you are there! I did not exepect that phottix would drop such a bomb at photokina so initially I planned to do the workshop entirely with their Mitros+ speedlights. Now that plan has changed dramatically :-)
Any chance you can let us know what kind of speedring attachment they use for the modifiers?
Thanks!
I'm going to guess Bowens, since that's what most of their accessories and adapters use.
Yeah, hope so. I'd hate to think I'd have to get yet another speedring if I decided to jump on this. We'll have to wait and see if it can deliver however.
I can freeze all the action I've ever needed to do now with just one or two PCB Einstein lights. Why would I need HSS at over twice the price?
I also get upgradeable firmware, digital read outs, complete 100% control off unit with a CyberCommander. 1/8000 is something people would rarely need, and it would only be as good as it's overall recycle time.
Take it outside of a studio environment, and you can achieve things not possible with a standard monolight. With HSS, you can now exceed the 1/250s sync limitation, and therefore open your aperture up 5 stops more. This provides two awesome possibilities. 1) you can now achieve a shallow depth of field look with monolights in bright outdoor situations. Also, when you open up you are able to use a lot less flash power, which preserves battery pack life and increases sync speed. I have Einsteins as well, but I keep a AB around that allows the Yongnuo 622-TX's HSS to work with it for those limitation-lifting reasons. No more pushing to f11 and firing 300 ws to hold color in a bright sky.
Can you not just use an ND filter?
Also, doesn't HSS eat up more battery power, rather than less, as it has to rapid fire to cover the curtain movements through the entire field of the sensor?
Curios if there are any updates on this someone can point me to?
I just got mine in today. Waiting on battery to charge up. No instruction manual came with mine. Here is my un-boxing video. http://youtu.be/SXN_C-Qe6pY
anyone done a review on these yet?
Do not Buy this unit!! Let me explain.
1. Shipping from Phottix is taking forever!
2. Went to BH to test the unit out. It was not working cause of faulty AC adapter. Recycle times were 9 - 12 secs at full power.
3. Switched unit to battery power and the recycle times were not a specified. For 5000mh battery 2.5sec. was like abotu 3 Sec.
4. Why make consumers buy an separate AC adapter ($300 or more) and than buy (battery pack for ($300 or more)
5. The unit can not trickle charge while the battery is in use.
Go to BH and look at this unit for yourself and see the demo unit in action. It is not working well.
You are better off buying a B1 or B2 or ELinchrom. GIve Phottix time to get the bugs out and market a product that is not designed to suck your wallet and give you more stuff to carry or store.
RLJMedia
Just got it. It works nice except from some white balance issues and sync problems.
Hi Tor,
Did you get the AC adapter model or the battery pack model?
battery pack. that was the main reason for buying a strobe. There are way cheaper options if you need AC powered strobes.
If this unit works for you and you workflow. I am really glad.
Can you later post again a review of the Indra after a period of use?
Thanks so much