Sunday, May 27, 2018

Flash Point Cable - One Wish Comes True!

Click here for ordering details.
I wrote an earlier post about the Flashpoint Portable 200WS Flash, cheering the compact size and 200 watt second output. I agree that using Watt-Seconds to measure flash output is outdated, but power is power, and efficiency, or inefficiency, is as much the result of reflector design as it is of raw power. Just the same, more is more, and I am definitely pleased with this addition to my flash kit.



The cable is most welcome because the flash tube can be held aloft, by hand if necessary, without the inherent weight and bulk of the integral battery pack. I can now carry the battery in a belt pouch, a much more practical way of carrying the unit.

I examined the slide show showing the cable's details, and was pleased to see that a mounting foot had been built it. The slide show also revealed a 1/4 x 20 threaded hole in the base of the foot, my preferred attachment point.

This closeup at the left clearly shows the threaded attachment point. While not apparent from any of these slides, the shoe pivots, adding some of a traditional speedlight's functionality to the Flashpoint. Oh, my mind boggles at the potential!

I'm not sure it the photos make it apparent, but the reduction in size and weight will make it much easier to fit the flash tube within the confined space of a softbox. My earlier post hinted at how the bulky body barely fit inside of a Westcott Halo light modifier, and restricted the flashtube's placement in relation to the foundational umbrella's shaft.

The introduction the extension cable eliminates my greatest gripe with the unit. Now if Adorama will just get around to making some pre-cut Color Correction Gel/Disks that could be attached to the optional parabolic reflector with the provided bezel. The four colors currently available (red, green, blue, and yellow) are so...last century.  Make me some basic CC gel equivalents of the Color Temperature Orange family and I'm a happy camper!