Profoto lights can now respond automatically to changes in Iso and aperture on a tethered camera. The new free Profoto Studio plug-in for Phase One’s Capture One Pro tethering software allows the photographer to link groups of lights directly to the settings on their camera or digital back.
Now if you open up the aperture from f/8 to f/5.6, each of the linked lights will decrease in power by one stop to compensate. This allows you to experiment with depth of field while keeping overall exposure the same. You can also link some but not all groups and effectively increase the power of different lights just using changes in aperture.
“Since our initial capture and lighting integration projects with Phase One, photographers have encouraged us to do more in this area,†said Anders Hedebark, CEO of Profoto.
There has been integrated Profoto light control in Capture One Pro since version 6 was released two years ago, but this is the first time that lights will respond automatically to changes in camera settings. For the setup to work, you need a compatible camera, a Profoto Air transmitter, an Air USB stick and any set of Profoto lights with Air receivers built-in.
Phase One CEO Henrik O. HÃ¥konsson said: “Our collaboration with Profoto and the success of our capture and lighting integrations offer unprecedented lighting control during capture. This solution is especially great for portrait photographers who want to vary their depth of field; they can just turn the aperture dial and the light intensity will follow to ensure the right exposure.â€
We’re told the Profoto Studio plug-in supports Capture One Pro 6 and 7 on Mac OS X. But the company gives no word on whether or not a Windows version is on the way. There is a full list of compatible cameras here.
To get the plug-in, visit the page on Profoto’s web site, fill in a form and you will be sent a download link via e-mail. Instructions on how to install and use it are given in the quick demonstration video below.
For more information on the Capture One software, visit the Phase One web site. To find out more about Profoto lights, go to profoto.com.