Profoto, the Swedish lighting manufacturer, has officially released an app supporting use of professional studio flashes with mobile phone cameras. Profoto Camera, available for iOS and Android, adds compatibility for the company’s AirX Bluetooth flash triggering system to smartphones.
The app supports raw image recording and offers two modes: Classic, which offers manual or automatic flash exposure control; and Smart, which provides a point-and-shoot experience with simple adjustments of contrast and warmth effects, using a new ‘smart automatic exposure algorithm’.
‘Profoto RAW’ is the company’s first attempt at its own raw image format. You can convert from Raw to Jpeg formats within the app.
Flashes with direct support for Profoto Camera include the Profoto C1 and C1 Plus LEDs, the A10 and B10-series battery flashes and the Pro-11 studio pack.
“Although modern smartphones will continue to make technological advancements, improved computational power or better optics will never replicate the key to every image, the light,” said chief executive Anders Hedebark, in a press release. “This is why we created this new Profoto Camera app, that seamlessly integrates smartphones and professional flash.”
For more information, visit the manufacturer’s web site.
The new app is one of the only ways of using photographic studio flashes with a smartphone. Alternatives include LED flashes such as the Innovatronix CPFlash, or Godox’s A1 flash triggering system, which has been abandoned.