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Profoto has added three accessories to its ProPanel 3×2: the SnapBag L, a 6x6ft (1.8×1.8m) softbox that ships with four masks as standard, the SnapGrid S, a 40° grid that mounts directly to the panel without a softbox, and a Truss Clamp Kit for stacking several fixtures with no gaps between them. We spoke to Profoto’s Rod Gammons at the company’s IBC 2026 booth about what each one is for, and what the diffusion costs in output.
We have followed this fixture closely, from the NAB release to Graham Sheldon’s full review of the ProPanel 3×2, and Johnnie sat down with Rod at Cine Gear to discuss why Profoto is betting on high-end cinema lighting. Until now, the system’s light-shaping side centered on a single softbox size: the 4.5ft (1.4m) SnapBag M. The additions shown in Amsterdam go in both directions: one larger and softer, one flatter and more controlled.
For anyone who missed the earlier coverage, the ProPanel 3×2 is a 2,000W RGBWW soft panel, and Rod quoted 2,200W of output during our conversation. His main point was weight. Panels this size typically weigh around 55kg (well over 100lbs), according to Rod, while the ProPanel weighs 28kg (62lbs). It is rated IP65, supports pixel mapping, and has no external ballast.
In practice, he said, that means one person can rig it, it can go on a regular stand, and several heads can go up on a lift outside without weight becoming the limiting factor. Rod put it in three words: “faster, lighter and brighter.”
He also listed where the panel has worked in the three or four months since it started shipping. According to Rod, it has been on Superman in Atlanta, on Bridgerton in London, where it served as a main key light for multiple setups, on season three of The Gentlemen, and on The Kelly’s, the Arnold Schwarzenegger film shot in Hungary. At the time of the interview, he said it was also shooting with Julian White in the Dominican Republic.
The SnapGrid S is a direct-fit grid, which means it attaches to the face of the panel rather than to the front of a SnapBag. It narrows the light spill to around 40° and comes with an integrated diffusion layer on the inside that can be removed. Rod singled out virtual production stages as one place where that kind of low-profile spill control is useful. For comparison, the existing SnapGrid M fastens to the front of the SnapBag M, where, as Graham noted in his review, it takes the panel’s native 120° spread down to the same 40°.
We asked why someone would choose the grid on its own over a SnapBag with a grid on the front. Rod’s answer came down to physical space. The softbox has a deep profile, and on some sets there is no room for it, or the fixture needs to be tucked into a corner. In other cases, the softness of the bag is simply not needed, and control over the spill is the only requirement.
The SnapBag L grows the front surface from 4.5ft to 6x6ft (1.8×1.8m) for what Rod called a soft wrap. Softboxes of that size bring a familiar set of problems, and he listed the feedback Profoto had received about them: they are heavy, they sag in the middle, they have to be secured with Velcro, and mounting them usually takes more than one person.
Profoto’s answer is SpeedClamp, the mounting system that Graham described in detail on the SnapBag M in his review. The clamps lock over the edge of the fixture in seconds, with no Velcro around the perimeter, and Rod said one person can fit the large softbox alone. He framed it as part of a broader Profoto position, which is that reducing time and stress for the gaffer and the best boy is a design goal in its own right.
What stood out in the conversation was how much comes with the SnapBag L as standard, in a category where a base softbox is often only the start of the order. The kit includes a half-stop inner baffle and a one-stop outer diffuser. According to Rod, the inner layer is there to fully activate the outer one, so that the front surface is lit from side to side with no shadows.
It also includes four masks. The one Rod expects to draw the most attention is the round mask, which has a black edge and a round center and produces a round catch light in the eyes. That look is familiar from stills photography and, as he pointed out, DPs have been asking for it for a long time. The other three are a rectangular window mask, a strip mask for isolating details, and a reverse edge mask with a black center and a white outer ring. Rod positioned that last one for commercial work, where it can be used to backlight a subject and create a glow around them.
We asked whether adding layers changes the color or the output. Rod said there is no change to CCT or tint, and that Profoto had worked to keep the materials neutral. Those are the company’s statements rather than figures we have measured.
Output is a simpler calculation. The half-stop inner and one-stop outer add up to one and a half stops with both fitted, and either layer can be removed. Rod added that some users take out all of the diffusion and run the SnapBag as an intensifier, which gives an output boost rather than a loss.
The third addition came out of a request from gaffers who wanted to stack multiple ProPanels with no gaps between them, mounted either horizontally or vertically. With the Truss Clamp Kit, the yoke rotates off the fixture, and a bracket takes its place. That bracket attaches to any truss system in seconds, according to Rod, and allows the panels to sit edge to edge.
We asked whether the fixture stays manageable for one person once it goes overhead or into a vertical array, and Rod confirmed that it does.
The SnapBag L is priced at $1,495, including the inner baffle, outer diffuser, and all four masks. Profoto is taking orders now, with shipping in October. The SnapGrid S costs $695 and is also available to order now. Rod said the Truss Clamp Kit can be ordered now from selected dealers, but no price for it was given at the booth, and euro pricing was not mentioned for any of the three. The ProPanel 3×2 itself sells for $14,995.
For more information, please visit the Profoto website.
Would a round catch light from a 6x6ft source change how you light faces, or is the direct-fit grid the more useful addition for your sets? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!
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Johnnie Behiri is a documentary filmmaker with more than three decades behind the camera: he learned the craft in daily television news gathering, filmed for Japan's public broadcaster NHK, and spent eight years shooting and editing for BBC News. He joined cinema5D in 2011 and has co-owned and co-run CineD and MZed ever since. Johnnie writes many of CineD's camera reviews, co-hosts our weekly Focus Check podcast, and heads CineD's manufacturer relationships and product development.