Profoto just announced the A1X – A shrunken A1 with an inflated price
May 15, 2019
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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Building on the success and popularity of the A1, Profoto has just launched the A1X. It’s an improved and more powerful version of “the world’s smallest studio light”, and perhaps not surprisingly – it’s also a bit more expensive.
The A1X is a kind of a “younger brother” to the A1. There are many similarities, but the A1X has “a little more of everything,” as Profoto puts it. The main differences are a more powerful battery that gets 450 full power flashes instead of 350. Then, thete’s the faster full power recycling time of 1 second instead of 1.2 seconds. The A1X features 20 wireless channels instead of 8, and an updated interface similar to the one on the B10. Oh, and the A1X is available for Sony.
Here’s the Profoto A1X in action:
Take a look at the specs:
| Mount | Shoe |
| Exposure Control | Manual, TTL |
| Vari-Power | Auto: 1/256 to 1/1 |
| Bounce Head | Yes |
| Swivel Head | Yes |
| Zoom Head | Full Frame: 32 – 105 mm |
| Off-Camera Terminal | Proprietary |
| Recycle Time | Approximately 1 Seconds |
| Flash Duration | 1/800 to 1/20000 sec |
| Flash-Ready Indicator | Yes |
| Compensation | -3 EV to +3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps) |
| Slave Timing Modes | Instant Sync |
| Wireless Operation | Method: RF Distance: Up to 1000′ / 304.80 m Mode: Master, Slave |
| Wireless Communication Channels | 20 Channels |
| Wireless Groups | 6 Groups |
| Power Source | 1 x Proprietary Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 3.0 x 4.3 x 6.5″ / 75.0 x 108.0 x 165.0 mm |
| Weight | 1.23 lb / 560 g Including Battery |
The Profoto A1X is available for Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras. It’s already available for purchase and as I mentioned, it’s more expensive than the A1. While the A1 retails at $995, the new and improved version costs $1,095.
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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7 responses to “Profoto just announced the A1X – A shrunken A1 with an inflated price”
I’m officially moving to godox
I’m just waiting for Profoto to move to a subscription model.
What I”d love to see is Adobe offer Photoshop as a standalone for the same $700 it cost back in 2011. I’d sit back and wait for all the whining from all those who whine about subscriptions.
I’d buy it. Cheaper in the long run.
It’s amazing how people keep saying the nonsense companies throw out there. This is not “the world’s smallest studio light”. It’s a thousand dollar (!!!!) speedlight.
And now it’s almost $1,100.
No doubt Youtube will be inundated by dozens of so called “buying clients” who would rave and wonder how they managed to do their job without it.
and for every video we’ll have dozens of Godox Army shills posting “did you consider Godox” “What about Godox” “I’ll be moving to Godox”. Profoto doesn’t care about the photographers buying Godox. Profoto’s clients are already in the system and many make more than enough money so that the price isn’t an issue.
I find it interesting that so many comments go like: “I can afford it because I am successful and make lots of money”. The point is not its cost but the lousy ROI you get from it.
Surely, many who choose to use Godox could very easily afford a Profoto. However, as a business owner don’t you want to make sure you do not spend more than you should? You want a good return on your investment. VALUE, and therefore the price, should always be in issue when running a business.
Many who tested both systems in length see absolutely no difference in what both lighting system offer. In fact, the A1 is somewhat lagging behind the Godox V1 in battery life (and standby life especially) and in color consistency. Yet, it is a full four times its price.
Godox is relatively new (compare to Profoto) and if someone is a long time user and heavily invested in a system like Profoto then yes, it makes sense to stay with it.
However, even long time Profoto users (successful photographers who for them price isn’t an issue) find it hard to open their wallets (really wide) for something that really does not give them more.
The main concern some people have with Godox is reliability and service. I am a Godox user since late 2014 and my original V850 and V860 still work like a charm. I bought three spare batteries for three speedlights and they are the same since, I never needed to replace them either. As for service, at least in the US there are two or three rebrand names that offer warranty and service.
Is it perfect? Not at all, it has it’s glitches and the radio misses every now and then. However, so did my Nikon SB-910 when I used to use it as off camera flash with PocketWizard (two very expensive gadgets).
Most of my clients seem to be pragmatics and want to get value for what they pay, I cannot blame for that, I seek the same.
I reckon most photographers make more than I do :-) but the truth is, if I received one or two Profoto A1 as gifts (or any other PF models) they would be on the block the next day. I would use the money to enrich my gear much more efficiently without loosing any quality or compromising my work.
Cheers.