Introducing the New Profoto D30 Strobe

Profoto just announced their new 500 Ws studio strobe, the D30. I've been playing with it for the last few weeks, and today I am finally able to share with you a full photoshoot using this powerful light.

If you are like me, most of your work is done out on location. This means that I usually go for battery-powered strobes and carry a backpack full of spare batteries. But every now and then, I'm forced to shoot a ton of images in a relatively quick period of time for catalog or e-commerce-style productions. These situations often require me to work both in the studio or out on location, and they almost always demand a ton of shooting back-to-back-to-back. I'm not talking about 300 images and a break; sometimes it's 3,000 images and a break.

This is where an AC-powered flash like the Profoto D30 comes in handy. Unlike battery-powered strobes that might last you an hour or two of full-power shooting, and sometimes struggle to recycle, an AC-powered flash can go all day with no adjustments and no missed or underexposed flash pops. So when Profoto shared this new flash with me to test and create some images, I knew this wasn't going to be a flash I'd use for simple outdoor portrait sessions. This is a flash made for demanding situations where you need to fire at full power over and over again.

From what I gather, the D30 is more or less a replacement for Profoto's D1 or D2 series. Unlike the B series models, which use batteries (hence the "B") and are designed to be as light as possible, the D series is more robust and can mount much larger light modifiers due to their reinforced build quality. Even though this model currently comes in 500 Ws, which is comparable to the B10x+, the flash head can recycle its max flash loads much quicker than its battery counterpart. With the D10x+ flash head, I can get a full pop of power every 2 seconds or so consecutively, while the D30 allows me to fire consecutive full-power flash pops at 0.8 seconds. It doesn't sound like a big difference in writing, but when you get into a fast rhythm with a model and need to shoot an assembly line of looks, the difference becomes quite noticeable.

Below are some of the technical specs that I found most interesting with this light.

Power Settings

• Max energy: 500 Ws

• Energy range: 11 f-stops (0.5 - 500 Ws)

• Recycling time: 0.01–0.8 s at 120 V (US outlets)

• Flash modes: Eco (Normal), Boost, and Freeze (faster flash duration)

• Flash duration t0.1

  • Eco mode: 1/300 s (10) - 1/5,000 s (0.1)
  • Boost mode: 1/300 s (10) - 1/6,200 s (0.1)
  • Freeze mode: 1/300 s (10) - 1/9,800 s (0.1)

Continuous Light

• Lamp type: LED
• Max luminous flux: 3,800 lm
• Color temperature: 2,800 - 7,000 K ±500 K (more than the B10 series)

Wireless Connectivity

• Built-in connectivity Profoto AirX (works with Connect Pro and other Air x remotes)
• Frequency band: 2.4 GHz
• Supported Air functions: Sync, TTL, HSS, Remote control (Air 1 and Air 2)
• Supported apps for Bluetooth devices: Profoto Camera and Profoto Control apps

Connectors

• Sync: 1 x 3.5 mm socket (standard sync port)

Miscellaneous

• User-replaceable flash tube (self-serviceable)
• Handles light modifiers larger than 4'

So, if you are just glancing at these specs and already own or prefer battery-operated strobes, there probably isn't anything that jumps out at you and warrants an upgrade. However, if you shoot product photography, catalog work, high fashion, or anything shot at a small f-stop that requires a lot of power and a lot of back-to-back flash pops, the D30 is a nice upgrade to Profoto's older AC-powered studio strobes.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to test out the new Profoto Zoom Rod modifier. The Zoom Rod allows you to suspend any of your Profoto lights in the middle of any of your speed ring-based light modifiers and adjust the exact position within the modifier. It's kind of like a light modifier for your light modifier. I've had the Zoom Rod now for a few months, and it's been a pretty cool tool if for no other reason than it allows me to use one single light modifier throughout a shoot and achieve different styles of lighting simply by pushing the light further in or out of the light-shaping tool.

If you watch the end of the video above, I take both images into Photoshop and examine two images shot at the furthest light positioning extremes. I've posted those two photos side by side here so you can scroll through them on your own. You can clearly see the difference pushing the light into the 4' Octabox makes (Hard example) versus pulling the light further out and illuminating the entire modifier (Soft example).

If you want more information about the Profoto D30 including all the specs and videos showing how else it can be used, head over to Profoto's D30 page. It was fun testing this light out, and I want to thank Profoto for allowing me to be one of the first photographers to use this brand-new light.