Why is build quality so important?
Quality of components
Build quality is important because you (and we) want it to last and for you to be totally happy with your choice. Getting a product to look good is easy, all that takes is a streamlined design and some pretty logos but what really matters is what's hidden away inside the case
Accidental damage
Build quality is important because accidents happen, and when something as expensive and delicate as electronic flash equipment has an accidental knock the quality of the build can make a real difference between whether it still works or it doesn't.
Electrical safety
Build quality is important because electronic flash equipment operates at extremely high voltages. A combination of good design and a high standard of build quality is essential to your safety.
Quality of components
At the heart of any electronic flash unit is its flash tube and the capacitors that provide the power to the flash tube. All Lencarta flashtubes are German made and are simply the best there are.
General view of interior, Lencarta ElitePro 600
All Lencarta capacitors are top-quality products from either Rubicon or NCC, both of which are made in Japan. They are two of the world’s leading capacitor manufacturers and many of their products are used in military applications, which of course require extremely high standards.
Here's a general view of the inside of our ElitePro 600 head (do NOT remove the outer cover yourself, the very high voltages stored in the capacitors are extremely dangerous). As you can see, there is no wasted space, all of the capacity is taken up with two banks of capacitors and the various other essential components.
One of the major differences between Lencarta and some of the brands that are smaller and lighter is that the smaller ones only have a very small number of capacitors, this affects the recycling time and, even worse, it creates problems with inconsistent colour temperature. The ElitePro 300 has no less than 8 separate capacitors, each of which is wired in parallel, which ensures very consistent colour temperature regardless of the power setting and extremely accurate power consistency between shots and the ElitePro 600, shown here, has 10 capacitors.
And what about the budget model SmartFlash 200?
Given it's very low cost you might expect us to have economised on the SmartFlash heads...
But our SmartFlash heads not only have an efficient fan but also have 9 capacitors. This is the reason why they recycle so quickly and have such consistent power and consistent flash energy, regardless of the power setting.
We believe that Lencarta is the only manufacturer to equip its budget range in this way, and although other sellers seem to keep very quiet about the number of capacitors in their heads the fact that all other budget models take a very long time to recycle is a good indication that they have economised in this very important area, and the fact that all other budget models have very low powered modelling lamps is a good indication that they don't include a cooling fan either!
Here's a closeup shot of the same head, showing the main bank of capacitors more clearly.
Of course, although the capacitors and the flash tube are vital components there are others that are also very important. All of the electronic controls are digital (solid state) which greatly improves their life expectancy as well as helping to maintain consistent colour temperature and to regulate the precise output.
Each ElitePro and SmartFlash head is fitted with a silent but powerful fan which keeps the operating temperature well within the safe working range of -10 - +40 degrees Celsius and an overheating warning system will cut in in the unlikely event that the system overheats. And, for ultimate safety, there's an automatic shutdown mechanism built into the circuitry if you continue to use the flashhead if it has reached too high a temperature.
Accidental damage
Both the ElitePro and the SmartFlash heads are encased in a thick ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) outer casing, which is a copolymer made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence of polybutadiene. Unlike ordinary plastics, ABS has extremely good shock absorbing qualities in addition to its electrical insulation qualities, and this is important for obvious reasons.
The much cheaper cast metal used in some studio lights look strong but in fact crack very easily, and provide little if any electrical insulation. The ABS outer case used in the Lencarta lights is also thicker and far more rigid than that used in many other flash heads, and the circular design adds greatly to the tensional rigidity of the unit
Electrical safety
Given the very high voltages needed to fire the flash, an extremely high standard of electrical insulation is needed to protect against the possibility of electric shock. The ABS outer casing provides that extra level of insulation.