Arts:Visual Arts
Back in June I did a review of the StellaPro Reflex line of lights titled “Is This My New Favorite Light?“. Well, today I’ve got an update. StellaPro has upgraded the hardware.
The StellaPro Reflex lights are “Continuous Strobe Hybrid” LED lights. They allow you to do constant light, as you might do for video, or using digital burst mode you can use the lights like you would a flash. Technically, these are not flashes, they are LED lights, but they allow you to over-charge the LED and release all of that charge as a burst of light, a burst that can be up to 1 stop brighter than the constant light.
And that constant light isn’t just some weak modeling light, like you might have in a standard studio monolight. These are bright, very bright.
After doing that deep dive review I was impressed. I mean, no product is everything we want, and there’s definitely a wishlist I have in my head for these lights, but for me the pros outweighed the cons.
And now StellaPro has made some interesting changes…
First, they consolidated the Reflex line into one model, eliminating the standard Reflex (no S), and leaving only the Reflex S. There is a Reflex Studio too, but the light head in that model is the Reflex S. Secondly, they’ve increased both the continuous and burst power 50%, doubled the runtime, and made the light 50% faster – now delivering 30 fps of full power bursts without missing a burst.
How much more do these upgraded lights cost you ask? Well, it’s not more expensive. It’s not even the same price. The upgraded lights are almost $250 cheaper! It actually feels weird writing that. An already good product is made better and they charge less? What the hell is the world coming to.
The StellaPro Reflex S lights are now $849, and with the added power they’re a pretty damn good deal – that is if they live up to the claims.
Today we are going to test this new upgraded hardware, which comes in the form of a larger battery handle, and a firmware update to the light head.
The Reflex Lights I will be using in this show were sent to me by Stella Pro Lights for the purpose of that original review show back in June, and the upgraded battery handles were sent to me for the review of the upgrade. Let me be clear though, they have not paid me further and this is not a sponsored review. I am free to have and state any opinions that I have, and StellaPro doesn’t get to see this show before it goes live. This is just my honest opinion based on what I might look for in a portable light.
As always, If you want a crazy technical review – that’s not me, but there are a lot of those out there.
Here are the various sections in the show, so feel free to jump around to the areas that interest you.
00:00 – Intro
01:21 – Disclaimers
03:11 – What is the StellaPro Reflex S?
04:09 – What Changed?
04:38 – The Upgrade
06:35 – Old vs New Battery
09:11 – Updated Specs
10:58 – Testing Intro
15:16 – Black Background Tests
19:45 – Block Wall Test
20:56 – Portrait Tests Intro
21:43 – Portrait Tests
24:30 – Light Falloff Test Intro
25:21 – The Falloff Setup
25:53 – Light Falloff Tests
27:01 – Wishlist
30:57 – Final Thoughts
32:33 – Outro
Join me as I take a look at the recent update to the StellaPro Lights Reflex S. We’ll take a look at the upgraded hardware, and check out the claim of 50% more power.
Original StellaPro Reflex Review Mentioned in the Show (June 2023)Is This My New Favorite Light? A Review of the Stella Pro Reflex:YouTube.com
Inverse Square Law Video Mentioned in the ShowDigital Photography 1 on 1: Episode 59: Inverse Square Law:: Adorama Photography TV on YouTube
Connect with StellaPro LightsWebsite: stellaprolights.com
Facebook: @stellaprolights
Instagram: @stellaprolights
YouTube: @stellaprolights
Portfolio: stevebrazill.com
Facebook: @SteveBrazillPhotography
Instagram: @stevebrazill
Twitter: @stevebrazill
Mastodon: @stevebrazill
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