Broncolor C70 monolights

[PatrickMP]

<P>The search continue..

<P>I've recenlty found some Broncolor C70 monolights for sale at prices I can actually

afford. Using Broncolor units in school (albeit a pack based system), I was impressed with

the quality of the units. I've done some research, and those who do speak of Broncolor

speak highly.

<p>I have yet to find much information on the C70 lights however. Does anyone know

anything about these lights? Quality? Availability of parts (fuses, flashtubes, modeling

lights)? I've fired an email off to SinarBron (US distributor) but given the way larger

companies operate it might be up to a week before I hear back.

<P>Thanks in advance for any info.<br>-Patrick

[pablovi]

Those are quite old, you can still find accesories sometimes on Ebay, but I'm not sure if Broncolor still have spare, but even if they do have or if you need service, the sapres and service prices are based on the original cost of the unit, so it will be very expensive.

 

Here you can see a photo

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Broncolor-Studioblitz-C-70-ohne-Funktion-DEFEKT_W0QQitemZ7558722299QQcategoryZ21968QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[samuel_peltz]

Patrick,

 

I use 2 C70s and a c171 as a supplement to my profoto system. As you know, finding info on these lights is difficult, consider that they are at least 15-20 years old. I am very impressed with the quality of light and power, but there are tradeoffs for the low price. I have never seen anyone else using these; since I had to spend a lot of time learning how to use/maintain them, Ill rattle off what I know here:

 

The C70 is an old broncolor product, as far as I know it was the first monolight they made. They are 170 w/s which doesnt seem like much, but they are more powerful than you may think (The C171 is twice as powerfull and has more settings). There are three power settings, off, 1/2, and full. At full power you can expect between f11 and f16 (100 iso) dead on and between f8 and f11 shot through a soft box or bounced off the ceiling. The modeling light has full power and half power settings. But really, it only has full power because under half power the light makes a sound not unlike AM radio static and flickers a bit; I fear and ignore this setting. The modeling light is very bright and extremely hot- more on that in a bit. If you have seen a picture, you know they are baby blue in color; the accessories that go with the light will also be this color, no other broncolor stuff will fit. The accessories are called "universal", and the reflector mount is something like 9 inches. The accessories you can buy are a softlight reflector, standard reflector, narrow beam reflector, umbrella reflector, and softbox mount. You wont be able to find these anywhere but on the internet. The lights should come with a stand mount which is black on color and has a big knob on the side. It is the best stand attachment I have ever used. It is hard to rig the stands if you do not have this piece. Note: you have to buy an 11.00 broncolor adaptor to fit the mount on a normal stand.

 

A few aspects of the C70 are problematic, and should be considered before sinking money into them. The most significant for me was the sync cord. The problem is that broncolor offers 2 sync cords, a standard one and a deluxe, red one. When I contacted SinarBron, I was told that the light required the use of the "deluxe"; it turns out they were wrong. What the lights actually need is a Broncolor "universal" sync, which is kind of a dumb name considering that it only works on this series of lights and nothing else. That cord costs $170, and good luck finding it. As far as I know, there isn't a single one for sale in all of New York City, which is pretty impressive. You can special order it, though. So unless your lights come with the cord, you may want to look elsewhere. Until I sprung for one of those, I worked around it by shooting with an on camera flash, set on low power and pointed away from the subject. That triggers the automatic slave without the flash spilling onto the set. Did I mention they have built in slaves? They come in handy. Your other option is to take it to an open minded repair shop an have them convert the sync to something more common.

 

Another issue is with the modeling light. It is the hottest light on earth. It is also blinding. Since these lights do not have a fan, use of the modeling lights makes them heat up something awful. You can use them sparingly, for about 30 seconds to a minute at a time. Sometimes if they are left on everything is fine. But when the light really overheats, one of two things happen. 1)The light will shut off, and won't power on until it cools down, and 2) The fuse on the light will trip, which sounds something like a small caliber rifle being shot. If you are in a small studio when this happens, you may suffer some temporary hearing loss, as I did. The light will not work until you take the fuse out and put it back in. This is rare though.

 

Those are the negatives. The good news is that the light quality is absolutley beautifull. In some ways I prefer them to my profotos. They have a defined, sharp, slightly cool look to them. I have used these a few times as the primary lights on a shoot. You will not find a light quality of this caliber at anywhere near the price. (I paid between 100-200 per light). I think they are fairly reliable as well. You won't find a flashtube if you break one, however. I wouldn't buy any of these if the tube doesn't look mostly clear. So be nice to them. About service: the good news is that whenever I thought I have done damage to them, I turn the power off / on and they work just fine. The bad news is any repairs will have to be custom, the parts arent made anymore, at least that I can find. You can be sure that, in the event you need to service one of these, the repair person will *not* have ever seen one of these. Fuses are 46.00 from B+H. If you like broncolor stuff, and are on a budget, take a look on ebay for Broncolor monolights that are a bit newer than the C70. They are called Impact 20 and Impact 40, I think. You can expect to pay between 200-300 for one, and they accept more modern accessories. I can't vouch for their quality as I never used one, but im sure they a pretty good lights.