Tronix Explorer XT SE

Had been looking at portable location lighting solutions (beyond strobist) for a while. The dedicated power packs for my Bowens Gemini set seemed a tad pricey and while there are a couple of good portable systems out there, they were again out of my current price range.

The Explorer unit performed well on a couple of fashion shoots and lasted well on a Prom shoot which was flashing continuously most of the evening.

No bones about it, this unit is not pretty, it is an industrial-looking metal box; but it is very functional, even multi-functional as it will power anything that you would normally plug into the wall,from your lights to a laptop. It does come in a sturdy nylon carry bag.

Make sure you follow the reccomendations for charging it overnight just before a job as I dont think the unit retains power well while not being used.

I bought this as I had been asked to do some location work and might need to control the light - so needed to be able to power my studio flash system out in the field, literally. Not as heavy as I thought it would be, quick to charge and a doddle to use - just plug in the lights and it's as if I have mains on tap! Very long life - I didn't drain it even after a few hours use. A nice side effect of having this around - a recent power cut didn't cause me a problem when processing some shots - I just plugged in my monitor and laptop and carried on. Not sure how long it would power the monitor for, as the power wasn't off for too long, but at least I was able to carry on working.