Wednesday 30 March, 2011   Eduardo Frances   Packs, Reviews, Walimex   10 Comments

Walimex PBS-400 portable battery flash reviewed

Introduction

After the Elinchrom Ranger Quadra appeared in the market it has changed forever the scope of what people expect from portable units, there were before portable flash units before like the Norman 200b and 400b, Quantum Flashes, big packs like the Profoto 7b, Elinchrom Ranger RX, Hensel Porty, etc. But it is until now many manufacturers have followed Elinchrom’s steps and they now offer a wide variety of really portable lighting solutions at really reasonable prices.

This lead us to this review (and many more we have lined up). People are asking about these portable units in forums and they get little to no feedback, so we decided to start a series of reviews. The Walimex PBS-400 – which is a 400ws battery operated compact pack and head system – is here to be reviewed and hopefully to cover all the aspects you may need to know about this flash…

Please note this review doesn’t contain any wall shooting or cat photos, it is a review based on real life experience. :)

NB: I´ll be updating with some more photos in the following days :)

NB: The unit used in this review was paid from my own pocket. I bought it from German-based photographic supplier Foto Walser here. They also have an eBay store which can be found here. If you buy yours via our eBay link then it helps us continue providing these reviews for you. Thanks!

What’s included

  • 1 Pack
  • 1 Frosted plastic cover to protect the flashtube and modeling light
  • 1 Head
  • 1 Battery
  • 1 Charger for the battery
  • 1 Sync cable
  • 1 Bag for carrying the unit with all the accesories
  • 1 Umbrella reflector

Walimex PBS-400

There’s no printed manual included but Foto Walser has it as a PDF to download it here (in English).

Manufacturer specifications

(Taken from our portable power guide)

Walimex PBS

Model
PBS-400
 
Power,Ws400Walimex PBS 400
GN, m 64
Recycle4s
Stepsstepless
Minimum1/4
Modelling50W
Flashes160
MountBowens
HeadsPBS-400
Outputs1
Weight2.2kg
Size, mm 215x160x70
Price€500
RetailersFoto-Walser (DE) - Walimex (CH) - Walimex (AT)

For more technical information, please visit the Foto Walser product page.

Next page: Performance and Exposure

Pages: 1 2 3

  • http://www.pahountis.gr george pahountis

    thank you very much for this review!
    To bad this unit only offers down to 1/4 power,and not even lower….
    1/128 would be ideal inmo..

    • Eduardo Frances

      You are welcome! Yeah although for shooting outdoors it hasn´t been much of a problem, it depends on what you need :) .

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgar_moreira/ Edgar Moreira

    Thanks for the review, very complete and informative.

    Seem like a great option.

    • Eduardo Frances

      You are welcome Edgar! We are waiting for more gear to review in the following weeks so be sure to check the upcoming reviews too :)

  • Christian Lemus

    Very well written. Keep sharing those reviews :D

    • Eduardo Frances

      Thanks Chris!!!

  • HarjTT

    many thanks for the review as I’ve been looking for a single light solution without the costs of going to a Quadra and the PSB400 looks pretty perfect.

    I’m wondering whether the Octobox/beautydish has to be a specific make to go with the flashhead ?

    How do you think the PSB compares to Jinbei esp in terms of build quality.. my thoughts are the PSB being German should be very good even at its pretty low price.

    • Eduardo Frances

      You are welcome.

      This kit can use Bowens AKA S-type modifiers (reflectors, beauty dishes, softboxes, etc.)

      We are evaluating the Jinbei Discovery 600 right now and we can’t give too much yet as we are in the middle of the tests however I can tell you this in advance: build quality the Discovery 600 is much better, it isn’t that the PBS400 is bad but the DC600 is exceptionally good. We will have the review finished in a couples of weeks.

      One thing with the PBS400 is that I wouldn’t use it on a boom arm, I think the head wouldn’t withstand it (the swivel mount part where you put the light stand is plastic and I wouldn’t recommend using it on a boom, just to be on the safe side). :) .

  • Harjtt

    Hey Eduardo,

    Thanks for the reply and answering those questions and highlighting the issue with using the PSB400 with a boom arm. Right now I’m not sure whether thats a deal breaker, I’m looking at a single flash location kit thats portable and manageable by just one person.

    I was going to bite the bullet and get the PSB400 but will wait until your review of the DC600. My main concern was the weight of the battery packs as I don;t want to be lugging anything too heavy around and thats where the PSB400 appeals.

    Can you confirm whether the PSB400 has a modeling lamp or not? If not then I’ll be taking a much closer look at the DC600.

    Looking forward to your review of the DC600.

    • Eduardo Frances

      Thanks mate and you are welcome! The PBS 400 is lighter than the DC600 that is as much as I can tell you right now :) , once we complete the DC600′s review please look forward to it to compare them.

      I will do a kind of a “vs” post comparing color consistency and I will add size comparision shots and how much each weight too for people who are wondering about them.

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