Product test of the new Elinchrom ELC 125 & 500
I was super happy to be asked to trial the new ELC 125 & 500 lights for The Flash Centre/ Elinchrom. I run a very busy portrait studio in Falkirk, Scotland and was very excited to put the lights through their paces during my photography sessions, in a proper working environment.
I have been running my photography business for over 11 years and I have used various lighting brands before switching fully Elinchrom 6 years ago - which was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I love my old Elinchrom lights and regularly use the Dlite RX one for my newborn and studio portrait work but on using the 125 for the first time I fell in love with it, It just felt more professional and off better build quality yet was still light enough to work with shoot by shoot.
When the lights arrived at the studio it felt like Christmas, on opening the box I was filled with excitement - even with the "we believe in you" quote on the box - which made me smile from ear to ear. From the moment I opened the packaging I was struck by how “sexy” these new units looked compared to the rest of my Elinchrom gear. The kit comes in a lovely newly designed bag, which again is of amazing quality and is fully protective for the mobile/ location photographer. The full build quality of the 125 and 500 units is just amazing, they just ooze quality but are still super easy to use.
I am not the most technical person but unpacking and setting up the lights was a breeze. They were so easy to fit into my modifiers and the locking mechanism felt so positive, which again reinforced the quality feel of the lights.
I couldn't wait to get started with using these lights and once unpacked and installed I was good to go... I was blown away with these lights, the consistency of both the exposure and colour temperature are absolutely amazing. Not to mention the fast recycle time which came in handy for my toddler and cake smash sessions, where the subject sometimes doesn't sit still for a long period of time. I also loved the coloured groups on the side of the units, what a lovely new feature. This makes it so easy to see what group your light is on and make quick and easy adjustments.
These new lights are just so user friendly, especially working in a fast paced studio with time constraints - these just made my life so much easier. From the ease of setting up, shooting and also the consistency of the lighting both in exposure and colour temperature which also reduced my retouching/editing time.
Having come to the end of my testing period I will be so upset to have to hand these lights back - I have loved shooting with them and really don’t want to see them go so will be investing in some myself and would recommend any portrait photographers to check them out.
Here is a selection of my images shot with these fabby new lights...