New gear - profoto twin head
Understanding the Profoto BiTube Head — and Why It Matters
We’ve recently added a second Profoto BiTube Head to the rental inventory at Belfast Studio Rental. It’s a specialist lighting tool designed for photographers who need high, consistent power output and precise control over flash behaviour.
While it’s not something you’ll reach for on every job, the BiTube is invaluable when you need maximum power, stable colour, and fast recycling, particularly for demanding commercial or technical work.
What the BiTube Head Does
A standard Profoto head contains a single flashtube connected to one power pack. The BiTube Head, by contrast, houses two flashtubes mounted in parallel, allowing it to connect to two separate Profoto packs simultaneously.
Each pack powers one of the flashtubes, combining their output into a single, cohesive light source. This doubles the available energy while maintaining the uniform light quality of a single head, something that’s difficult to achieve when using two separate ProHeads side by side.
Advantages of the BiTube Setup
1. Higher Power with a Single Light Source
Connecting two packs to one head effectively doubles the total output, making it ideal for working with large modifiers, over powering daylight setups, or high aperture product work. You gain substantial power without introducing additional stands, shadows, or mismatched colour shifts.
2. Faster Recycling and Lower Pack Stress
Because the load is shared between two packs, each one operates at a lower setting for any given exposure level. This reduces electrical strain, improves reliability, and significantly shortens recycling times, a major advantage during long shoot days or fast-paced fashion or commercial shoots.
3. Better Control Over Flash Duration
Flash duration becomes increasingly important when freezing motion or capturing fine detail. With two packs driving separate flashtubes, each pack fires at a lower individual power level. Since lower power settings generally produce shorter flash durations, the BiTube setup delivers faster effective flash durations at the same total light output. This means cleaner motion freezes and sharper results, particularly for moving subjects or liquid work.
4. Consistent Colour and Even Illumination
Both flashtubes fire together within a single reflector, producing uniform light spread and consistent colour temperature. It’s a more controlled and repeatable solution than running two separate heads aimed into one modifier.
5. Compact, Efficient Rigging
Using one head instead of two simplifies your lighting setup. It keeps modifiers evenly lit, reduces stands and cables, and streamlines rigging — especially useful when space is limited or modifiers are large.
6. B4 Packs on Location
When used with Profoto B4 1000 AIR packs, the BiTube Head becomes a particularly effective solution for high output location work. The B4’s integrated battery system provides true mains independent performance, making it practical to deploy substantial power in environments where electricity isn’t available. Connecting the BiTube to two B4 packs allows you to combine their energy into one compact, balanced light source, reducing setup complexity while maintaining mobility. This approach delivers enough power to overpower bright ambient light or shape daylight with large modifiers, all while keeping flash durations short and recycle times quick. For demanding outdoor or remote shoots, where space, speed, and consistency are at a premium, the BiTube and B4 combination offers studio-level performance without the need for a generator.
When the BiTube Excels
The BiTube Head is particularly useful for:
Balancing against daylight or overpowering ambient light on set
Large softboxes or umbrellas requiring even, high-intensity coverage
High-speed stills where flash duration and output stability matter
Technical or commercial shoots needing precise, repeatable results
Availability
The Profoto BiTube Head is now available to rent at Belfast Studio Rental, compatible with our Profoto Pro packs.
We also have a BiTube Head for the Acute/D4 system.
For photographers who need maximum power, consistent light quality, and faster recycling without compromise, the BiTube offers a practical, high-performance solution for demanding studio or location work.