British Journal of Photography
14th June 2006
New Power Generation
Michael Roscoe lets the power go to his flash heads as he tests Broncolor's Verso A2 generator for its ability to provide quality lighting on location
Compromise isn’t a concept that sits easily with elite photographers. Whether they’re shooting in blacked-out studios or on a remote location, control over light is essential. So when broncolor announced the launch of the Verso A2 generator, offering comparable studio power and control regardless of the location, photographers greeted it with open arms.
But is it too good to be true? Has broncolor produced a jack-of-all-trades or can the Verso A2 mains and battery operated pack really meet the demands of the high-end user without concessions?
Concept and practice
The photographic industry is a competitive place. Whether you’re a manufacturer, dealer, or end-user, it is essential to find the competitive edge and exploiting new markets is vital. Few would disagree that broncolor has set a very high standard for quality since its inception nearly 50 years ago, and with every new product comes the responsibility to uphold its hard-won reputation.
This latest addition to the company portfolio falls between two categories and targets a specific need for a select number of users. There are already a few very good portable flash lighting solutions on the market, offering compact size and portability with power output figures and recycling times acceptable for areas where there’s no mains electricity supply. However, these packs are only adequate in the studio, and can’t compete with the power of a specifically designed studio generator. Broncolor has risen to the challenge of producing a power pack that can function and perform more than adequately both inside and out.
Broncolor produces a range of five power packs, which includes 15 separate product variations. These include the top-of-the-range Topas A8 RFS Evolution, as well as a battery pack, the Mobil. The 1200J Verso pack falls somewhere inbetween these two, offering seven stops of output controllable in 1/10 f-stop intervals. It provides three lamp outlet connections with two asymmetric controllable channels, meaning users can vary the power output to two of the three heads connected. In this review it was tested with the Pulso G and Unilite flash heads, as well as broncolor’s new Ringflash C announced in August 2005.
The Verso pack can be bought as a separate unit but its unique selling point is that it can be disconnected and attached to separate Power Dock units and used without mains power. The A2 power pack is compact in size especially when it is compared to a studio based Graphit A4 unit. It is only when attached to the Power Dock that it resembles a normal-sized generator – but is considerably heavier. The Power Dock is a non-spillable lead-acid type battery and increases the load of the whole pack to a hefty 19.8kg, severely impacting on its portability.
The build quality of the pack does not disappoint, maintaining the high standards that broncolor users have come to expect. The top panel has an illuminated silicone keyboard which is resistant to dust and scratches.
The outer shell is made from a tough aluminium housing, coupled with a durable rubberised handle and side panels that could easily withstand the most demanding working environments. Operators are faced with a straightforward top plate and the design of the nine adjustment buttons, on/off switch, and lamp and sync lead connections, is logically laid out for easy control.
Attaching the battery to the Power Pack is simply achieved, by first removing the handle of the Power Pack, then lining up and placing the Verso directly on top of the pack and finally, fastening them together with two quick release clips. Once connected, both items fit seamlessly together and feel reassuringly rigid and solid. However the pack seems to lack adequate weather-proofing on all its connection points, which means it doesn’t really seem built to withstand the worst of the typically inclement British climate.
Battery Performance
There is a relatively minor difference between the Verso pack’s performance times with mains power and battery power. On mains power it is ready for action in under a second while the Power Dock takes around 1.5 seconds at maximum output.
Once powered up, the Dock delivers impressive results. Set on maximum flash output it gives power for between 400-500 flashes and on the minimum power setting it seems to go on forever, with a stated output of more than 50,000. When it does finally run low, it can be quickly powered up with the built in charger.
The charging mode of the battery has two different settings: the fast charge mode gives around 80% of a full capacity and takes up to a couple of hours more.
The battery doesn’t need any special care. There’s no demonstrable memory effect and there’s no need to discharge it regularly. However, it is worth noting that users should not let the battery pack fully run down but should leave at least 10% of battery capacity at any time. The Verso A2 and Power turn off automatically when the battery power becomes too low and you should fully charge the unit after use.
During this test the battery was subjected to more than three days of constant use on portrait and still life lighting set-ups, and it only needed to be charged once. And you may find that you prefer to use the pack even when in the studio, because it eliminates the potential hazard of tripping over the web of lighting cables and wires.
Lighting Control
There’s no denying that the Verso A2 and Power Dock have enough power output and battery life to satisfy even the most exorbitant user but, as the saying goes, power is nothing without control. The Verso’s three lamp outlets are controlled by microprocessors and offer both asymmetrical and symmetrical output distribution. The 1200J flash energy and range of over 7 f-stops (in 1/10 f-stop intervals) is adjusted via the controls on the top plate. You can either, press and hold the flash energy control button to jump up a stop at a time or repeat press for 1/10th f-stop steps.
If the power is reduced there’s no need to manually dump the flash power as it is internally discharged. And if the power has to be adjusted to a different setting, you won’t have to worry about any big changes in your colour tone. The automatic stabilisation of the colour temperature means that, over four f-stops it should be within +/- 100k. In my test the whole flash power range demonstrated a miniscule 275k fluctuation.
The pack also features a Photocell for an infrared receiver for flash triggering but a smart feature on the Verso A2 RFS (Radio Frequency System) version is the ability to control all the settings remotely on a Mac or PC with broncolor studio software (currently version 2.07). This is achieved with an added extra called the Transceiver RFS that has 10 digitally coded channels for wireless remote control and flash triggering. Whilst the software and transceiver are an added cost, the benefits in productivity could very quickly pay for themselves, especially on larger lighting set-ups.
Fine control of the lighting is extended to the modelling lights with six different proportionality levels, which can also be dimmed during recharging to signal when the flash is ready to use. Another ingenious feature of the pack is the ability to program settings for a number of different shooting scenarios, including setting up a flash sequence from 1 to 50.
Conclusion
There’s no doubting that broncolor have delivered an excellent piece of kit but readers should bear in mind that this pack is not designed for photographers working predominantly on location. The generator is too heavy and the lighting system isn’t really designed to be compact or portable, plus it doesn’t seem to be very weather proof.
The Verso A2 will really benefit studio photographers who demand the same power, control and array of flash heads that they’re used to in their daily work whilst on large-scale location shoots. On that premise it can’t fail to impress. Even on a demanding day’s shoot, the worry about power longevity doesn’t exist, leaving the photographer to concentrate on the job in hand.
One criticism levelled at broncolor is its expensive price tags. But while the company’s lighting kit isn’t the cheapest on the market, these products could prove superb value for money in the long run, with their sturdy build quality and consistent performance compensating for the large initial outlay.
If the budget is there, this pack will appeal to advertising fashion, food or high volume catalogue photographers who demand reliability and power. But it’s worth reiterating that this is predominately a studio pack for use on location rather than the other way around.