Love shooting images with your smartphone but struggle when light levels begin to fall? Well, there’s good news as Profoto has launched the C1 system – designed for use with phone photography.
Available as the C1 or the C1 Plus, there’s some important differences between the small lights. While both lights can be operated via the accompanying app, the C1 Plus has more control and is compatible with a range of light shaping tools including a dome diffuser, colour gels and grids. Both units take two hours to charge (and can be charged up on the go via USB-C) and while the C1 offers 30 minutes of continuous light or 2000 full power flashes, the C1 Plus increases the continuous light limit to 40 minutes.
The C1 is made up of 4 warm and 3 cool LEDs and delivers a maximum output of 1600 lumens, while the C1 Plus features 10 warm and 10 cool LEDs, with the flash offering a maximum output of 4300 lumens. Small enough to be held comfortably in one hand, the C1 lights can also be attached via the screw fit to a light stand for ‘hands-free’ use and the app also enables the photographer to use the continuous and flash light together to provide a virtual modelling light.
When set to continuous mode, the photographer has the control to alter the colour temperature of the light via the app – making the light warmer or cooler to suit the desired effect and with a colour temp of 3000-6500K. When in flash mode, the colour and brightness can be adjusted via the app, affording the shooter even more control.
The C1/C1 Plus lights will be of great interest to Bloggers, who love to shoot on their smartphones and would like to improve the lighting in their images, but don’t want to compromise on the portability of their set-up. The lights should also interest indie filmmakers who could use the C1/C1 Plus’ continuous light when filming footage. Available to buy now, the Profoto C1 costs $299/£260, while the C1 Plus is $499/£470.
