Digital Accessories

Elmsford, NY—Profoto, a manufacturer of professional-quality electronic flash lighting systems and light shapers, offers the BatPac—a portable “power-in-a-bag” unit that combines a dedicated inverter and a high-capacity battery.

The BatPac provides power for Profoto D1 monolights, even when shooting far away from any main socket. The bag is specially designed for handling high-power units like Profoto’s D1 flashes, but it can be used with previous Profoto ComPact units and Acute2 flash generators as well.

 When powering D1 monolights—250, 500 or 1000W units—specs say it will supply: 
300 full power flashes at 1000W; 
600 full power flashes at 500W; and 
1,200 full power flashes at 250W.

Profoto says the BatPac “has advanced safety functions and is very easy to use. Its innovative design delivers power with exceptional stability. It controls over-voltage, over-temperature, low power, low battery voltage, etc., preventing damage to the BatPac and connected flash units.”

The device complies with CE and IEC safety requirements, and provides up to 600W continuous power from two integrated separate main outlets. It can also supply power for charging laptops and camera batteries, and it can run constant light sources, wind machines, refrigerator boxes and many other electrical units that are frequently used while shooting on location.

The unit is housed in a black nylon bag with shoulder strap and harness. It weighs 24.7 pounds and measures 9.8x10.2x13.8 inches. Deliveries of the Profoto BatPac begin June 2010. Estimated street price: $1,700. profoto-usa.com

Elmsford, NY—Benro’s A-150EXU digital tripod kit is designed as a compact and lightweight solution that weighs 2.2 pounds but can support cameras up to 4.4 pounds. 

The tripod travels well at 20.4 inches folded, while extending to a full height of 62.7 inches.

Three position leg angles allow height adjustment and low-level photography—especially in combination with a reversible center column that splits to permit shooting at 7.5 inches. 

A standard wing-nut-style center column locking collar provides ease of use and extra strength, and quick-lock four-section aluminum legs help make setup and packing fast.

Thick layer closed-cell nitrile butadiene rubber provides the leg grip, and rubber feet retract to expose steel spikes to help ensure the tripod sits solid on difficult terrains.

 Also featured is a “precision-matched” ball head with a bubble level that provides single action control of camera placement and includes an oversize camera plate with a dual-lock quick release system. $99. benro.com

Ronkonkoma, NY—Sigma Corporation released its new 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens—a large-aperture standard-zoom lens that was first introduced at PMA 2010 and is designed for small chip APS-C digital cameras. The lens incorporates Sigma’s optical stabilization (OS) functionality and new FLD glass.

The ultra-compact lens has an overall length of 3.6 inches and provides a focal length from a 17mm wide angle, a minimum focusing distance of 11 inches throughout the entire zoom range, and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.

Its OS function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately four stops slower than would otherwise be possible, and with it, Sigma has made it possible for Pentax and Sony shooters to utilize an anti-shake system in either the lens or the camera body. The compensation for camera shake is visible in the viewfinder for all mounts.

“This lens is a must-have for any photo opportunity,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, general manager, Sigma Corporation of America. “The fast aperture allows for shooting in low, existing light or at maximum range with a flash. This is an ideal, all-purpose lens for everyday shooting.”

Sigma also notes that its FLD glass has an “extremely high light transmission and anomalous dispersion, making it the top level of low dispersion glass available.” With a performance equal to fluorite glass, this optical glass has a low refractive index and low dispersion compared to current optical glass, for correction of residual chromatic aberration (secondary spectrum), which cannot be corrected by ordinary optical glass. In addition, the new lens employs a hybrid aspherical lens and two glass-mold elements for correction of distortion and astigmatism.

Other features include: a super-multilayer coating to reduce flare and ghosting; a Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) to help provide quiet high-speed autofocus, as well as full-time manual focus capability; a rounded, seven-blade diaphragm to create an attractive blur to out-of-focus areas; and an inner focusing system to eliminate front lens rotation and make the lens suitable for use with the supplied petal-type lens hood and circular polarizing filters.

Sigma’s 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is currently available in Canon mounts for an MSRP of $980, and it will be available in Nikon, Sigma, Sony and Pentax mounts in the coming weeks. sigmaphoto.com