Portaflash Series 2 units are slave flashes that are based on the familiar Edison Screw (ES) fitting. Although Jessop offers its own holders, owners of tungsten lighting that uses ES sockets (Photax units, for example) may prefer to use these instead. Either way, the important point is that the three Series 2 slave flashes are very, very cheap and very, very compact (see table). Holders cost £9.99 with either a fixed 1/4" bush or a tilt head, and £10.99 if supplied with the tilt head attached to a sprung clamp. Accessories include a soft-box (£17.99), barn doors (£6.99) and a diffuser/coloured filters set (£4.47 in total).

Last month, it was pointed out that Series 3 units have powers that are more akin to those of camera flashguns than to those of mainstream monoblocs. That is true, and the Series 2 units are lower powered still. Despite this, they remain useful in certain applications. The most sensible use for Series 2 heads is as fill-in or local lights to supplement other, more powerful, units. A BC-ES adapter is available, so it may sometimes be possible to replace filament lamps with Series 2 flash units when including such lights in the picture (photographing room locations or when giving the impression of a portrait lit only by a desk lamp, for example). But since none of the units have sync' sockets, they cannot be tripped directly and must therefore always be sufficiently strongly covered by other heads to ensure that they do fire, by photocell triggering, when required.

Another way of providing compact additional lighting to supplement a monobloc set-up is by using camera flashguns themselves. Attaching a (very inexpensive) photocell sensor turns any flashgun into a useful slave flash unit. To soften the lighting, a small softbox or diffuser panel can be fitted. Such items are available from Holmes Marketing & Distribution (LumiQuest) and Hasselblad (Photoflex) amongst others. Output should always be set to manual control for greatest exposure consistency. Ideally, the flashgun should offer a choice of manual power levels in order for the output to be balanced as closely as possible to whatever other lights are is used. Although it is stating the obvious, it is worth stressing that the exposure effects of flashguns can be checked using conventional flash-meters as usual.

It ought to be equally obvious that, because flashguns run from self-contained batteries, they can be used away from mains electricity and can be placed in isolated positions where power cables would be visible if other lights were used. They also have very much faster flash durations, so if you're trying to capture falling water droplets, bursting balloons, or the like, camera flashguns are better choices than even exotic, expensive, brief-duration monoblocs.

Mention was made earlier of fitting Jessop Portaflash Series 2 slave units into Photax holders. This comment was aimed mainly at owners of the older Photax lighting system, in which the lamp holder fitted through from the back of the reflector. Owners of more recent Photax systems have a better alternative, for Photax now uses a common reflector mounting for both its 3200K tungsten head and its Interfit ColorFlash 75S and 150S flash heads (which replace the previous 5500K head). This tactic provides a very useful upgrade route for users of tungsten who wish to move into flash, and is also useful for those who might want to mix the two light sources.

Interfit flash

Used realistically, the 150S (in particular) performs well. A typical exposure reading for one head fitted with a 30cm dish, is slightly better than 11 at 2m. Aesthetically, the Photax heads look rather good on account of their polished aluminium reflectors, which are supplied in the as-spun state (without black coatings on their exterior surfaces). The default stands are white, rather than the more common black finish (though black stands are available too), and are fitted with locking clips that hold the legs closed when collapsed for transportation or storage.

Whether or not the lights are good buys is another matter. At £120 and £180, the 75S and 150S top the Photax range, leaving no step up for more experienced users. Neither is there an accessory snoot nor any grids ­p; though there are three reflectors. Elsewhere, one rather nice touch is the provision of "Addalite" adaptors on lighting stands: these allow two heads to be mounted on one stand, extending the length of the light source and increasing the illumination level.

In their own way, InterFit ColorFlash heads represent very good value for money. The 150/150 two-head kit, including reflectors, stands and brollies, costs £430 (including VAT). This puts it in almost the same price-band as the Jessop Portaflash Studio Kit 3. There may only be two heads included, but they do have interchangeable reflectors.

On the other hand, a single ColorFlash 150S costs only £20 less than a Prolinca 125. The Prolinca is very slightly less powerful, but it is the bottom rung on a very long ladder that leads up through Elinchrom monoblocs to generator packs and a host of specialised lights. So, for those just starting out in photography and wanting to be able to upgrade in the future, the Prolinca looks more attractive.

But for those who mix flash and tungsten, and who have to work within a tight budget, Photax units make more sense.

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