Elinchrom Unveils Affordable ELC 125 and ELC 500 Mid-Range Monolights

Elinchrom has just released two new mid-range monolights that are both full-featured and surprisingly affordable for what they offer. The new ELC 125 and ELC 500 boast to 131Ws and 522Ws of power, respectively, and offer everything from standard options like TTL and HSS support, on up to more niche features like “Smart Pro-Active Cooling” and light-up logos that indicate flash group.

Spec-wise, both lights start at 7Ws minimum power and can be adjusted up in 0.1 F-stop (manual) and 0.3 F-stop (TTL) increments depending on how much light you want and what kind of flash duration you’re looking for.

At just 131Ws max, the smaller ELC 125 doesn’t give you that much more power than a good quality speedlight, but it offers color stability of +/- 150K throughout its entire 5-stop range, a maximum flash duration (t0.1) of 1/7750s, and a recycle time that ranges from just 0.06 – 0.45s at 230V or 0.1 – 0.8s at 120V.

The ELC 500 offers much more power, giving you a total of 7 stops of range and a max output of 522Ws without sacrificing much in way of recycle time or color stability. The specs boast +/- 200K color stability across the flash range, a maximum flash duration (t0.1) of 1/9430s, and a recycle time range of 0.06 – 1.1s at 230V or 0.09 – 1.9s at 120V.

Both lights give you access to 20 frequencies and 4 flash groups—which are creatively indicated by the logo on the side of the unit that lights up four different colors so you can immediately see which group your flash is set to—and are (obviously) compatible with all of Elinchrom’s modifiers.

They also feature TTL with manual lock, HSS support down to 1/8000 of a second, an auto-on feature that keeps the flash in standby with your settings saved, and something called “Smart Pro-Active Cooling” that “learn[s] your shooting style and adapt[s] cooling cycles around it, never interrupting your creative flow.”

This quick product intro takes you through the key features of both flashes:

And you can see both monolights in action in video below, featuring Brooklyn-based photographers Emily Teague and Brandi Nicole:

Both the Elinchrom ELC 125 and ELC 500 are available to order starting today at a suggested retail price of $620 for a single ELC 125, $900 for a single ELC 500, or $1,500 for a dual kit featuring one of each. To learn more about either of these monolights, head over to the Elinchrom website.