Lencarta Safari Li-on Portable Flash System

You can use the Lencarta Safari Li-on as your ONLY lighting kit!

It makes sense to have the tools designed specifically for the job, i.e. to have mains powered flash in the studio and battery powered flash on location, but the high performance of the Safari Li-on means that it can be used for both. With its powerful modeling lamps, fast recycling, stunning flash consistency, enormous battery life and asymetrical power  the Li-on is almost as good in the studio as on location shoots, where mains power isn’t available!

• Outlets: The generator has 2 outlets, allowing either 1 or 2 flash heads to be fitted to it. If 1 flash head is fitted, the maximum power is 600 Ws, which is enough to overpower the sun in most lighting situations. If 2 flash heads are fitted, up to 400Ws of power is delivered to socket A and the other 200Ws is delivered to socket B.
• Power adjustment: Flash output is adjustable from full power down to 1/16th, via a digital adjustment dial. Because twice as much power (400 Ws) is available from socket A than from socket B (200 Ws) the power from socket B can be reduced  to just 12.5 Ws, a total adjustment range of 6.3 stops!
• Setting the power: The power is set via a digital dial, and the setting is shown on the LED display.
• Modelling lamp: The modelling lamp can also be switched on or off manually if required. The cool-running LED modelling lamp is the brightest in its class, with a 44% higher output than its brightest rival. , The LED display shows the length of time that you have set for the modelling lamp to be on (up to 99 seconds).
• Battery: Although the lithium battery is lightweight and tiny, it has an enormous capacity and provides 400 flashes at full power (many more at lower power settings). It makes no difference whether one or two flash heads are fitted.
• Consistency: The flash performance is amazing – the flash energy consistency varies no more than 1/10th of a stop at any power setting, and the colour temperature is extremely consistent too, varying flash to flash by no more than 10K (10 degrees on the Kelvin scale)! The colour temperature is 5600 at full power and reduces by only 340K at minimum power.
• Recycling time: The recycling time is extremely fast, there are two settings, normal and fast. Using the normal setting drains the battery less quickly, so this setting should be used when possible. At normal recycling setting, it recycles in just one second at minimum power and 3.75 seconds at full power. When you switch to fast recycling those times become an incredible 0.384 seconds at minimum power and 2.9 seconds at full power.
• Flash duration: The Lencarta Safari Li-on has a short flash duration of 1/1400th sec at full power and 1/900th sec at minimum power. This is fast enough for all normal portrait/fashion/glamour usage .
   
• Performance: At 100 ISO and with the standard reflector fitted
  At full power the guide number is 166  (ft) or 54.45(m)
  At 400 Ws the guide number is119 (ft) or 39.03 (m)
  And at minimum power the guide number is 23 (ft) or 7.54 (m) – a massive 6.3 stops of total adjustment.
• Outlet sockets: Two lamp sockets with an asymmetric 1:2 power ratio.

How does it compare with other makes? The Li-on generator unit is slightly larger and heavier than the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra but produces far more flashes per charge at any given power setting (please see the chart below, and the test results in Advanced Photographer) so you are very unlikely to need to take a spare battery with you to location shoots, making it much smaller and lighter  than the Quadra, as well as much cheaper. The flash head is  very slightly larger and heavier than the Quadra head, but the Quadra head becomes larger (and more expensive) when the adapter needed for accessories is fitted to it.
At only £799.99 for a one head kit or £999.99 for a twin head kit, the Safari Li-on is much better value than any other portable flash system.