14 DAY TRIAL // Studio flashes are most of the time expensive and not intended for the entry-level photographer who has a small studio at home. While this might sometimes be true, there are a few cheaper alternatives that will surely fit the budget of starting photographers and provide enough power to light a home photo studio.
British lighting company Lencarta has recently announced on its blog the availability of a new entry-level flash, the SmartFlash 2, designed to come as a cheap home studio light. This new model replaces the company's SmartFlash light released back in 2009, which already has a good reputation for its quality-price ratio.
The new SmartFlash 2 is now smaller, lighter, and packed with new technology that aims to provide an affordable lighting solution for small studio owners. In comparison with the previous version, the SmartFlash 2 comes with a full 5 stops of power adjustments, which will allow you to use larger apertures whenever the case.
Moreover, this new model has a more powerful 250W modeling lamp that is fully adjustable and can match the power set on the flash head if required, but at the same time it dims while recycling to give you a visual confirmation that it's ready to fire in case you want to switch off the “ready” beep.
Full remote control is also supported by the SmartFlash 2 via Lencarta's Wavesync Commander radio trigger and remote control set, allowing the photographer to control each flash head either individually or as a group.
“There’s no doubt that the new SmartFlash 2 is a major step forward, combining new technology with affordability.” said Lencarta's resident lighting expert, Garry Edwards.
“Of course, we’re not the only manufacturers to offer a high tech, modern flash head with full remote control, but we are the only people to offer all this, with a true 5 stops of adjustment (which some people describe as 6 stops) at a really affordable price.” he then added.
The Lencarta SmartFlash 2 will be available starting mid-January as an individual flash head for £109.99 / €131 / $180 or as a twin-head studio kit from £299.99 / €360 / $490.
