Elinchrom D Lite RX4 - 🌟Crispy🌟 Studio lighting! Honest review

[@joenachef5300]

Thanks for sharing, the points that you made about the octabox size helps.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hi Joe, thanks for watching, glad it helped. Are you thinking of investing in these?

[@joenachef5300]

Rich Maciver Photo I’m not sure, this was one option that I was looking at since they’re on sale here in Canada and they come with built in receivers. On the other hand, I already have a Westcott Strobelite and I might complement with another one and get a couple of umbrella style soft boxes that can open and set up quickly. The Elinchrom package is compelling but the size and hassle of putting together the soft boxes (as you said) makes it more difficult to shoot on location (i.e. a quick family shoot)

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Tricky, let me know what you go for. With regards to softboxes at a good price, I have a Neewer Octa which is available at an absolute bargain of £32GBP. Easy to set up and packs away nicely - similar to the way an umbrella would. Here's the eBay link - www.ebay.co.uk/i/142381310047?chn=ps&dispctrl=1&adgroupid=49523053841&rlsatarget=pla-380646226688&abcId=1128956&adtype=pla&merchantid=114896137&poi=&googleloc=9046007&device=c&campaignid=857339205&crdt=0 Beautiful portrait light from my experience.

[@joenachef5300]

Rich Maciver Photo Thanks. I need a soft box with a Bowens speed ring, I’ll see if it’s possible to get these with a quick-close mechanism.

[@EnolChen]

Thanks for the review it's concise and clear!

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Thanks Enol. I try to stick to what I found important and hopefully don't blab on too much haha.

[@Matthewaustrie]

Nice video, thanks for the info, i think im sold on these!

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Matthew Austrie Nice one Matthew, I am still blasting these lights pretty regularly and they are as solid as ever! 👌🏼 Let me know how you get on with them ✌🏼

[@vincentchan2842]

Good job on this video, very clear and helpful stuff. I'm looking to buy a lighting set up and there are so many I'm totally lost.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hey Vincent, glad you found if helpful :) What other lights have you been looking at? And do you have a favourite so far?

[@vincentchan2842]

Rich Maciver Photo Hi Rich, I appreciate you making an effort in helping me out. I'm a big fan of Manny Ortiz and he uses Flashpoint Xlpor 600 HSS TTL lights with the Godox AD200. Of course I want the Profoto B1X lights like everyone else but I'm finding it hard to justify the price and whether it's just a luxury paying for the brand. Gavin Hoey advised me that the Flashpoint light is actually a rebranded Godox light and in the UK is the Pixapro CITI600. At the moment I'm using a single manual Yongnuo YN650 IV speedlite with a Westcott 26inch Rapid Octa and large reflector for fill light. I'm still learning the ropes and hope to convert a small room in my house to a small studio. I'm not sure if I should splurge on a monolight or just buy two more Yongnuo speedlites, get a Rogue 3in1 stacking system for one to use as a hair light and a Rogue XL pro to use as a strip light while my westcott remains as my main light. Your advice is very much appreciated. Thanks, Vincent

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

I do often work with the b1x's (I hire them as and when I need them, like you say ... expensive). Extremely consistent in every way, quick recycling, a wide range of power, super solid build and fast sync speed - very much justifying their pro price range. It's rare you'll hear a bad word said about them. Those Godox lights are usually pretty good, I have something very similar with a different brand name on it - companies online just slap a name on it and sell them on. And there's usually lots of modifier options out there. I'm not sure where you're based but i know in the UK Calumet/WEX sell the Quantum brand which has lots of modifiers available but often those modifiers will fit copycat branded lights. It sounds like you have a good handle on how to light things. If you're shooting purely indoors, but want to keep prices low, I'd suggest looking at some mono heads like the RX elinchroms. Perhaps the 100 or 200 could work, especially in small(er) studios. Look on ebay and amazon for reliable second hand sellers AND also retailers that have a rental department often sell ex-rental with a warranty. With your current knowledge of lighting, having a consistent good quality light will really help you progress without having to worry about why your lighting looks different in every frame. For affordable location shooting the Godox could be a good option. Hope that helps.

[@lucasmartinez4248]

Bought the set a year ago. Completely agree, the bundle of lights/stands is great but these modifier are too small and especially way too time consuming to set up. Just bought some real umbrellas and I'm having a lot of fun with the RX4, they're great.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Glad to hear it Lucas :)

[@danieljeon2065]

Subscribed! A great review that is very simple and clear to understand for even beginners like myself. If you would be so kind to answer one question, I am looking set up lightings for a small photography studio. I plan on doing photo shoots strictly indoors for a duration of 30 minutes every time. Can you recommend me an affordable lighting set up that doesn't overheat and is realiable?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Thanks Daniel. Well what about these Elinchrom’s??

[@digitaldaniel]

Great Video. Bravo

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Thanks Daniel, were you thinking of buying the Elinchroms?

[@digitaldaniel]

@@RichMaciverPhoto I think so. I was hunting for decent second had but I find people have inflated values. I can get the 4/4 for 650

[@Cotictimmy]

I like your review Rich - a cut above the average. About this high sync speed trigger thing? I take it that this does not actually shorten the flash duration - but rather causes the flash to pulse on reduced power when you are using a shutter speed higher than the camera's sync speed and your are incorporating ambient light in your exposure (like standard speedlight in HSS mode?) I think some models have a short duration burst that will freeze very fast action when no ambient light is present.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hey thanks for the kind words! I think you're about right there.

[@cplaei1800]

Does the El-19368 skyport work with nikon z7?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Sorry my friend, I’m not too sure on that one. Maybe best asking their customer service, there’s usually a Nikon version and a separate Canon version, worth checking out.

[@cplaei1800]

@@RichMaciverPhoto that was my fear, but finally i figured it out. It did work. My cam was on silent mode, but thank you for you answer and content on here 🙂🙃

[@Scottyrobs]

Can you add a third or fourth light how many can transmitter control?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Scottyrobs hey, so long as it’s an elinchrom rx they’ll all work off the same transmitter. What you can also do with other brands is set the flash to slave mode and it will see when the elinchrom flashes and flash at the same time. Magic.

[@n8flight391]

Dear Rich, i am thinking of getting Elinchrom lights. Have you had a look at the BRX 500 as well? Can you give any comparison to the D Lite Rx 4? Thanks

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

So sorry for the slow reply here!! I have not used the BRX500 heads, although they look like they have all the features of the RX400 heads with a bit more power. Hope that helps ... and let me know if you ended up getting either in the end :)

[@jessicanaves1604]

Can you provide Amazon links to other softboxes. I am using them mainly for product photography.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hey Jessica, I love using this Octa softbox to help create a beautiful soft light - amzn.to/2R87Wz6. And it's only £20! Hope that helps, let me know if you need any recommendations.

[@markbeedie8753]

Do you need to buy an adapter to fit onto the flash heads? @@RichMaciverPhoto

[@andreamendoza3665]

@@RichMaciverPhoto Hey Rich! Do you use the neewer softbox with those RX4's? And what other brands of softboxes will fit those specific lights?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

No adapter needed.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hi Andrea. Elinchrom have a whole host of light shaping tools. And there’s lots of adapters out there to help other brands fit the elinchroms. Sorry for the slow reply, did you ever try them out?

[@FacebookQueen]

Hi. Would these lights be good in a home studio for fashion editorial? Thank you.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Perfect for that ✌🏼

[@HR_sailor66]

Any thoughts about the consistency in color and output compared to the chinese brands?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hey Malko, Thanks for the comment, hope you're well! I'm guessing you mean some of the copycat lights that come out of the same/similar factories in china? I can't really commenton specific lights really, but in my experience you generally get what you pay for and if you skrimp on lights there will always be something about them that bugs you. My best suggestion would be to try stick with a reputable brand like Elinchrom, Profoto, Bowens, Broncolor or even some of the brands that major camera retailers are now selling. You get peace of mind, a warranty and generally a better product. Hope that kinda helps?

[@milliecampbell5234]

Hey! Can these be used as continuous lighting or are they only used as flash/remotes?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hey Millie, they do have what is known as modelling lights/modelling bulbs. They’re not SUPER bright though.

[@naveengupta1085]

flash duration please. i.e is this high speed sync

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Naveen gupta hi naveen, they do have a HSS transmitter that will work with these lights.

[@gtoDoremon]

Isn't that too powerful for a small/midsize room ? I've heard about the Elinchrom RX-One for get started with stdio but .. I'm so lost, i'd like to buy my first studio light. I'd like to start with one light source and using a large softbox, i'm also interested in gelatine colour photography. What would you recommend ?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

gtoDoremon oh these definitely aren’t TOO powerful. I would recommend these with a Neewer Octa softbox umbrella as a perfect intro to studio lighting 👌🏼 Used it a lot myself.

[@gtoDoremon]

Rich Maciver Photo you are talking about the RX 4 right ? Haha little confusing. Otherwise thank you so much for your advices I’ll subscribe ))

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Yes the rx4. Did you try them in the end?

[@maddiem5921]

This is a useful overview thank you. I think I'm doing something wrong with the D Lites, as the brightest light I can get is using the continuous modelling light, because whenever I use the flash the light becomes darker and the colour changes to a reddish pink. As a result I'm finding I have to use an f stop of 2.8 to get enough light, which is much too shallow - ideally I want to use an f-stop of 6 to 9. Do you have any idea where I'm going wrong? Is it because I'm just letting my camera trigger the flash on both lamps, and not using the Elinchrom trigger (which I've lost)?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Maddie M Hey Madie! What’s your shutter speed? With most flashes and camera’s you can’t use a shutter speed of over 1/200s. Researching “curtain drag” will explain this to you. As for the reddish pink, that’s your colour temp settings on your camera. Balance it/change it to Flash - the symbol on your camera will look like a little thunderbolt. In short - Set your camera to your f-stop, with the shutter at 1/160, the lights to around 4.5 and adjust your iso accordingly.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

And let me know how you get on ☺️

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Oh also do you mean you are using your on camera flash to trigger the Elinchroms?

[@maddiem5921]

​@@RichMaciverPhoto Oh thank you for replying to me so quickly! I've changed white balance to flash, set my aperture to 7.1 and shutter speed to 1/160 and lights to 4.5 (and tried up to 5 and 6), but this makes the images too dark and reddish to use. I feel like I'm missing something obvious but I can't work out what it is. Yes, I am using my on camera flash to trigger the Elinchroms, as I can't find the trigger that came with the lights.

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Maddie M hmmm interesting. It’s tricky for me to fix the red issues without knowing much more info. I just filmed a lighting set-up video, so maybe once that’s uploaded it’ll help you check a few things off. You can DM me the red looking image on Instagram and maybe i can figure it out. Also, what is your ISO at? Cheers ✌🏼

[@377omkar]

CAN ANY ONE HELP ME ON THE hss CAPABILITY ????

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

What do you need to know? Do these work with a fast shutter. The answer: YES! ... BUT! You need the correct transmitter. The correct transmitter is this one - amzn.to/2XpnaUS

[@377omkar]

@@RichMaciverPhoto this might be a out of box questions, but I have seen that there is a usb device of elenchrome which is used to update firmware of elenchrome heads, I can't find a video or any article how to do it, and can it make FRX400 CAPABLE FOR HSS, PLEASE HELP ME ON THIS

[@elverdaderoevangeliodejesu8070]

is there any battery to use them outside?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

Hey, these aren't really designed for outdoor use, although I'm sure you could find a power pack to fit power them or some kind of 'work around'. But at this sort of price range for outdoor lighting I would probably look at second hand Elinchrom Quarda kits or the older ranger packs. Much easier and no doubt lighter than the resulting battery you'd need to power these. Otherwise, if you're willing to spend a little bit more Elinchrom have the new ELB kits or Profoto have the b1 and b2 kits also. Hope that helps?

[@elverdaderoevangeliodejesu8070]

Thank you so much Rich

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

No problem, let me know what you go for in the end :)

[@elverdaderoevangeliodejesu8070]

they look awesome, however it is out of my budget :( what about Profoto B2 250 AirTTL? or check this out www.camerapro.com.au/elinchrom-brx-500-500-set-with-xlite-90-cm-pro-octa-box.html which one would you go with?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

The B2 is fantastic. And for £1500 you can get one 250 head. 250 isn't incredibly powerful, but as a starter pack it's a great investment - in future it'd be possible to pair it with a 500 as your main light source and then the 250 could act as a fill. The BRX 500 kit looks great, but needs a mains power source.

[@chandrakantmaurya9668]

Does the d-lite rx 200 support hi-speed sync ?

[@RichMaciverPhoto]

chandrakant maurya hmmm good question, i would hazard a guess and say that it does. But best to check directly with Elinchrom :)

[@chandrakantmaurya9668]

Rich Maciver Photo Thank you 😊

[@lucasmartinez4248]

Check hi sync on the link below - they don't www.elinchrom.com/support/unit-specs.html