Profoto Pro-7b

Few years ago when I started to take photos with off camera lighting (at that time with Nikon speedlights), battery powered studio lights were something that I though I would never purchase or want to haul around. Hunger grows while eating, and I eventually stepped more into the realms of studio photography. Because I started with speedlights that could be used anywhere without AC, natural choice was to get also some battery powered studio lights. I have been using some time now the AcuteB, 600 Ws battery light which have been performing well in all shoots, even when used outdoors in winter time. For some situations I have been needing even more power or battery that just last and last, pop after pop.

I found this used Pro-7b battery powered generator + heads from local Profoto reseller, and deal was too sweet to miss it. It has previously served kaupoi in active use, so hoping it has absorbed some of his good skills. Light is light, but hard to be not excited about the new lighting toys. Hopefully the table & information below is useful for photographers thinking whether to get or not battery powered studio lights. Of course there are many more alternatives in the market and also external power packs (Vagabond, Tronix etc.) that can be used with "traditional" studio lights.



Differences between SB-800, AcuteB, Pro-7b

	SB-800	AcuteB	Pro-7b
Watt seconds	around 60 Ws	600 Ws	1200 Ws
Head sockets	N/A	1	2
Weight	350g	4.8kg + head 1.8kg	11.5kg + head 1.8kg
Flash Duration	1/1050 - 1/41600-s	1/1000 - 1/6800–s	1/1400 - 1/3000-s
Number of flashes with full power	130	160	250
Number of flashes with around 60ws power	130	≈ 1200	≈ 4000
Recycle time with full power	2.7 seconds	2.6 seconds	2.8 seconds
Recycle time with around 60ws power	2.7 seconds	≈ 0.3 seconds	≈ 0.3 seconds
Energy range	8 f-stops (1 to 1/128 power)	7 f-stops (9-600Ws)	7 f-stops (18-1200Ws)

Notes: Nikon latest flagship of speedlights SB-900 is about the same as SB-800 (weights more but recycles faster). AcuteB's upgraded version AcuteB2 (with LiFe battery) is lighter (3.6kg), more capacity (200 flashes with full power) and recycles little bit faster (2 seconds). And then there is Profoto Pro-B3 battery generator with better stats than in Pro-7b.

You will get lots of more power and super fast recycle times (when using them some f-stops under full power) with battery powered studio lights but that comes in expense of shorter flash duration and heavier weight. AcuteB feels still as lightweight compared to Pro-7b which starts to be quite pain to carry around. On the other hand build quality on 7b is clearly more robust than on AcuteB. And the possibility to attach two heads to it, is another benefit over AcuteB.

Power distribution with two head sockets in 7b is symmetric or asymmetric. With symmetric setting both heads will get same amount of power (max 600ws/head) and in asymmetric setting Head A will get 1/2 of power and head B 1/4 of power (if the power range is set to max, that would mean 600ws for head A and 300ws for head B and so on).

If you need light pack and head solution with still lots of power in small size, AcuteB(2) is great choice. For times when you need one stop more power, longer lasting battery and heavy duty pack with possibility to use two heads, Pro-7b/Pro-B2/Pro-B3 are solid options.

Update: after using the pack & heads about half year in various studio and outdoor shoots, I can say it has been good purchase. Pro-B protective bag or other storage/carry bag/box is must buy with this. Bag will serve as protection and insulation plus makes the carrying this generator less painful experience. Only thing in (apart from lighter weight), I miss compared to AcuteB is possibility to run constant modeling light through AC with separate cable. That feature is by the way possible with Pro-B2/B3 & Mainsdock.



Setup photo from the first shoot using Pro-7b.