This is what 30 years together looks like! Congrats John and Laura!
broncolor’s newest flagship portable monolight, the Stelos 800L, is here and it’s exactly the kind of tool working photographers appreciate: compact, powerful, reliable and engineered with the attention to detail broncolor is known for. At a full kilogram lighter than the Siros 800L while still delivering a massive 800 Ws, it’s one of the most capable battery-powered monolights on the market.
I’ve always thought of broncolor as the Bugatti of the lighting world – precision-engineered, relentlessly consistent and built for photographers who demand repeatability shot after shot. The Stelos holds that standard. Its exposed flash tube fills any modifier evenly – from small reflectors to the gigantic para 222 – and broncolor’s colour and output consistency remain class-leading, varying only by fractions of a percent.
Daughters’ love for mom on full display.
Stelos picks up a ton of tech from the Satos pack and Pulso L lamps: an insanely steep flash curve (it’s linear – either ON or OFF), a colour-adjustable LED modelling light, adjustable flash colour temperature, built-in WiFi with bronControl app support (plus over-the-air firmware updates), HSS (High Speed Sync), flash duration control and a beautifully simple interface with just two buttons, a rotary dial and a customizable LCD screen.
A couple of real jokers – proof that no one can set off Dad’s “special effects department” quite like his own son.
For those who live in the specs (as we all do):
- Flash duration: 1/250s at full power down to an incredible 1/19,500s (t0.1).
- Speed Mode: now tuned for colour consistency—fastest t0.1 at 1/11,500s.
- Recycle times: 0.008–2.5 seconds.
These aren’t just impressive numbers—they’re genuinely industry-leading.
The redesigned stand mount allows a full 90° tilt up or down. The internal fan runs only when heat rises beyond the threshold, keeping sound distractions low on set. Power comes from standard V-mount batteries, which means no proprietary lock-in. The broncolor V-mount even supports USB-C hot charging at 60W+, letting you shoot as though tethered to mains power.
Portrait of a loving Canadian family.
In Use
For this test, I photographed a family celebrating their 30th anniversary – clients I’d previously worked with for their 25th. Their backyard offered us character, a covered swing, patriotic touches and full midday sun. Not “nice soft editorial sun” – the hard, shadowy, high-contrast kind professionals know all too well and try to avoid.
To regain control, I ran one Stelos at full power in HSS through the para 88. Its unique design – 24 focused hard light sources in a soft array – creates sculpted, dimensional portrait light unlike anything else on the market. The second Stelos, also in HSS, fired at half power through a 120cm white umbrella for broad, gentle fill.
broncolor’s unmatched colour consistency proved invaluable. Shooting alongside natural daylight, the Stelos’ 5,500K output matched ambient light perfectly without gels or corrective fiddling. That translates directly to time saved in post – no wrestling with mismatched skin tones or drifting colour temperature.
Canadian Gothic
Using my trusty Nikon D810 with a Tamron 24–70mm f/2.8 G2 lens, I triggered the system with the new RFS3. My working exposure began at f/5, 1/1600s, ISO 64. Adjustments came through subject-to-light distance – occasionally facilitated by my assistant, Christian, who has perfected the art of light-stand lugging. Group portraits required more depth of field, so I shifted to f/6.3 and 1/800s, backing up the lights without compromising directionality.
The session itself flowed beautifully. This family has personality in spades, and our job as professionals is to capture it authentically – laughter, connections, dynamics, the in-between gestures that tell their story. The Stelos and para combination helped elevate those moments with clean, dimensional light that didn’t fight the environment.
Rachel and “Benny the Bum”
Other Features
Stelos pulls several advanced tools from the Satos ecosystem:
- Flash sequences up to 100 frames
- Trigger delay up to 50 seconds
- Alternating flash (cycling heads every trigger release) via bronControl app
- Freemask for automated subject extraction via bronControl app
- broncolor “Cognition” light ID system (assign colours to each light for fast, intuitive communication on set)
The ability to say “drop the green light two stops” instead of “which light is that?” is a tremendous workflow improvement – especially on fast-paced shoots.
Faith. Family. Friends. – an apt description for this crew
The “bonus” friend – Christian seems to fit in perfectly!
Final Thoughts
For professional photographers who rely on precision lighting, Stelos represents a major step forward. With 800 Ws of power, unmatched colour stability, ultra-fast flash durations and a compact design, it delivers capabilities other systems simply can’t replicate. And importantly, it’s the first broncolor monolight that feels entirely at home both in the studio and on location.
This is why I choose broncolor: the consistency saves me hours in post. Other brands shift dramatically toward blue as you lower output. broncolor stays at a constant 5,500K from full power to low power, meaning your key, fill, rim and accent lights all match, every time. That reliability is what allows us to focus on creativity rather than correction. I prefer to edit portraits, not problems.
Laura was kind enough to capture some behind the scenes images of Stelos in action.
Author: Will Prentice
A portrait, fine art and commercial photographer for 30 plus years, Will Prentice is not just a contributor to PHOTONews magazine, but also host of PHOTONewsTV, owner of Captura Photography+Imaging and Technical Support/Brand Manager for Amplis Foto, Canada’s largest distributor of photographic equipment.
Will teaches photographers of all skill levels how to improve their craft – from creative photo projects to picking the right gear for their needs to flattering lighting to getting the best expressions to creating final images for screen and print. His unique style of highly detailed images with perfect tonality, wide dynamic range and stunning colour is instantly recognizable. Commercial clients rely on Will’s creative eye and mastery of lighting.
When he’s not behind the camera or in front of a class, you’ll find Will outdoors in any weather – usually on one of his bikes or enjoying time with his grandchildren.
