Cactus launches bare bulb wireless monolight on Kickstarter
(Digital Photography Review)

Lighting manufacturer Cactus has officially launched its RQ250 bare bulb wireless TTL flash unit on the Kickstarter crowd funding website. Plans for the flash were originally announced at the beginning of the year, and now the company says it will be ready for delivery in October. The head offers a maximum output of 250Ws and a recycle time of 1.1 seconds at full power The RQ250 is `barely larger than a speedlight´ according to the manufacturer but offers the flexibility of a studio head. It can be controlled wirelessly via the Cactus V6 II radio transceiver system and allows TTL metering across the six main camera brands. Those who prefer manual control can adjust it in 0.1EV steps from full power down to 1/512th power, while the 4-cell lithium ion rechargeable battery provides 520 full-power bursts per charge. The head offers a maximum output of 250Ws and a recycle time of 1.1 seconds at full power. An integrated fan is designed to maintain a decent temperature in the head during intensive shoots, and the aluminum reflector helps by dissipating heat away from the body. A range of modifiers will be available that connect to the head with via a twist lock bayonet system. The bayonet-mount reflector has a magnetic rim which allows further modifiers to be switched very quickly. The range that can be used will include softboxes, umbrellas and a reflector, as well as a set of magnetic gel holders, a snoot, a diffuser dome and barn doors. Initially it was said that the head would have a Bowens S-Mount bayonet, but it seems Cactus has changed this to its own mount but will offer an optional Bowens S-Mount adapter. An LED in the head can be used as a 20W modeling bulb as well as an AF assist lamp that comes on only as the camera´s shutter release is depressed The head can be used in two modes - Color or Speed. Color aims to produce consistent color balance as output varies, while Speed is designed for short flash duration to freeze mo ...