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Profoto continues to affirm their commitment to full-featured flash systems with onboard TTL capability with the introduction of the impressive, battery-powered B10 OCF Flash Head. Part of the OCF family which began with the reduced-size B2 power pack, continued with the full-sized B1X monolight, and most recently the A1 shoe-mount Studio Light, the B10 combines the best characteristics of the monolight with those of auto-exposure, on-camera flashes. In a move that's consistent with their ongoing "techno-logic" Profoto packs all the features of the previous OCF lights into the 7" B10.
The 250Ws light has a 10-stop variable power range and swift recycle times of 0.05 to 2.2 seconds. Flash duration is an action-stopping 1/7,000 second but there's a Freeze Mode that prioritizes flash duration resulting in a very short 1/50,000 second at minimum power. The B10 is powered by a lithium-ion battery that gives a notable 400 full-power flashes on a 90-minute charge, while 60 minutes will top up the battery to 80% if you're short of time. Of course, one of the B10's most exciting features is TTL technology that takes advantage of your DSLR's flash auto-exposure system and significantly shortens the time between inspiration and execution and capture. The path to this great feature is purchase of an optional wireless radio Air Remote TTL controller which is currently made for Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Olympus, and Sony cameras.
The hot-shoe-mounting controller has 8 channels and 3 groups, ensuring minimal interference with other nearby systems and equipment. Each group can be controlled independently from one another, permitting +/-2 EV adjustment of power ratios for TTL systems and nine stops of manual control. It can trigger the B10 in manual mode at distances up to 1000 feet and in TTL mode up to 300 feet - the length of a football field. The B10 and the Air Remote TTL also support High Speed Sync with shutter speeds as quick as 1/8000 sec to give the photographer complete control of background illumination or to allow use of wide apertures for creative work. There's also a Profoto Control and Profoto Camera apps that allows you to capture well-lit images wirelessly with your phone.
Besides this multitude of features, the B10 has an LED modeling light with the equivalent power of a 150W incandescent lamp that's not only dimmable, but has color temperature that's variable from 3000 to 6500K. Its high CRI of 90-96 makes it usable for video. The battery will give you 75 minutes run time on full power.
A small form factor, battery power, remote control, photo and video compatibility, and smartphone connectivity make the B10 another impressive entry in the OCF roster.
Profoto's ground-breaking "AirX" technology is a free upgrade that brings professional flashes to smartphones. It allows you to use of full flash power of your B10 or B10 Plus when shooting with your iPhone. While a previous app allowed control of the flash head, the updated Profoto Camera iOS app and firmware literally turns your smartphone into a professional camera. The beauty is that your Profoto gear will evolve right along with the inevitable visual tech improvements in phone technology no matter what device you use, making it future proof.
The Camera app syncs your iPhone with the Profoto B10 or B10 Plus over Bluetooth connection - no additional hardware attachments needed. The App enables you to precisely control B10's Xenon flash tube power, its LED modelling light, and also control all other standard camera settings: shutter speed, ISO sensitivity and white balance in 1/3 EV steps. You can take photos in different image formats: HEIF, JPG or RAW. It even has a self-timer! Instead of sending an approximation of a shot to a colleague or client, email or text an actual professionally lit image.
The Profoto Camera app is currently available for iPhone (see Compatibility) and is available at no cost at the Apple App Store (link https://apps.apple.com/us/app/profoto/id1387823564) to upgrade your Profoto B10 or B10 Plus. Necessary flash firmware update is done seamlessly within the app and all new B10/B10 Plus units will already have the latest firmware installed.