Profoto makes good on its promise with the powerful L1600D LED light

Profoto has delivered on its recent announcement to expand into video lighting. Thus far, Profoto has remained largely in the world of photography. There has been some overlap for video, with powerful modelling lights, but nothing dedicated.

At the beginning of this month, Profoto announced that they were going to be releasing a new series of LED lights. There was no hint as to when they’d come or what we might expect, but after only four weeks, we have an answer. The Profoto L1600D.

Profoto L1600D – Aiming for the high-end

Profoto isn’t pulling any punches with its entry into the cinema lighting market. Instead of the usual route of targeting entry-level consumers with inexpensive products to build up trust in that product space, Profoto’s gone big.

The Profoto L1600D is a powerful 1600W LED light targeted towards higher-end users and studios. Whether you need it or not, that’s what you got. Profoto did mention in their prior announcement that there would be a “series” of lights coming, and so far we’ve just got the one.

Hopefully, this means lower power (lighter, cheaper) options will be coming in the future, allowing for more affordable multi-light setups.

One thing I do find particularly interesting is the modifier mount. Of course, the company supports its own proprietary Profoto mount, but the Profoto L1600D also supports all your Bowens mount modifiers. This is great to see and something that makes me more inclined to consider Profoto in the future.

In a world where companies are locking you into their ecosystems, it’s refreshing to see a company actively making their products compatible with others.

Profoto L1600D Specifications

LED Tech	Daylight LED
Colour temp	5700K
CRI	97
TLCI	97
Max power consumption	1600W
Operating current	15A @ 110V
Operating voltage	110-250v 50/60Hz
Battery power	N/A
Control	On-board controls, Lumen radio/CRMX, DMX, Smartphone via Bluetooth, Profoto Air Radio
Weatherproofing	IP54
Modifier mount	Dual Profoto and Bowens mount modifiers
Dimensions	50 x 26 x 29cm using built-in reflector
Weight	11.7kg

Price and Availability

While the specifications have mostly been released, the company hasn’t released pricing or availability. There isn’t even a product page for the L1600D on the Profoto website yet. I think we can expect this one to be significantly priced.

Comparable lights from companies like Godox, Aputure, and Nanlux cost between $3,300 and $3,500, so I think we can expect to be at least around that. If it’s less than those mentioned above, I’d be very surprised.