Elinchrom Introduces the ELB 1200 Dock, Making Its Battery Powered System Even More Versatile

Elinchrom Introduces the ELB 1200 Dock, Making Its Battery Powered System Even More Versatile

Earlier this year, I reviewed the Elinchrom ELB 1200. It has become one of my most used lights along with the ELB 500 TTL. However, quite a few users missed the possibility of using the unit as a power pack in the studio instead of relying on batteries.

Elinchrom listened to its customers and introduced the ELB 1200 Dock. Instead of offering batteries that can be used while charging, they decided to come up with an accessory dedicated to studio use for the best performance and durability possible. The specs of the ELB 1200 while using it on the Dock are incredibly close to those observed when the system is battery powered. The differences are the recycling time, which is marginally slower (0.01 seconds at minimum power and 0.1 seconds at full power  with the dock) and the weight (1.5 lbs heavier with the dock).

I’ve had the opportunity to try the docking station for a little over a month, and it works just perfectly. If you rely a lot on the modeling lamp, either for photography or videography, you’ll appreciate not having to swap between batteries every 40-60 minutes. Furthermore, if you shoot with the ELB 1200 in a studio, relying on the dock instead of batteries will avoid having batteries aging too fast because of numerous charging cycles. The dock fits the unit well, with a design similar to the batteries. It’s straightforward to use with only a switch to turn it on or off and a socket for the power cable.

The dock is available starting today for $699. Be sure to visit Elinchrom’s website for more details or to download the firmware to make your ELB 1200 compatible with this docking station.

Quentin Decaillet's picture

Quentin Décaillet is a photographer and retoucher based in Switzerland specializing in portrait and wedding photography.

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4 Comments

Asking the real questions here, where can I buy that suit?

I don't think it'll look good on you but who am I to judge.

I think you'd look suave in the suit coupled with your photographing the world moon boots.