I was watching a video about Portrait Lighting and realised with all my thoughts on work and video, I had forgotten a freebie I got recently, then remembered another that I bought for the paper, then chose to use a cheaper, lighter one instead, then I remembered a freebie of another type that I got a couple of years ago and have only used once.
Phew!
When I bought the Aperture 60D S, the cart had a free Light Dome SE worth $149au in it. I have plenty of light mods, far too many as it goes and often fall back on cheap umbrellas anyway, but hard to ignore a decent freebie.
The problems with umbrellas are wind if outside, (good for rain, but not wind), control or light spread and well, that’s about all really. They are versatile and replaceable and the light is as good as anything.
A light dome or soft box is basically a shoot through from behind, sealed brolly and has advantages over both of these issues. They are generally more focussed, although compared to a reversed and solid backed brolly, not by much, but they can have a grid on the front which really controls light.
The wind thing is still a thing, just not as bad.
Ok, back to the mods.
The SE comes in a flat bag which was of little interest to me as it usually means inserting a plethora of “spines” into a Bowens mount base to make the brolly and I have those already.
They suck.
Turns out the SE uses soft and pliable fibreglass ribs and not too many of them. They are obviously not completely bullet proof as they supply you with a couple of spares, but good either way.
I did have to watch a video, but when my suspicions were confirmed, it only took a moment.
They handily have 4 red dots that line up with 4 red spine ends (ignore the arrows). Simple right?
Problem is, there are 4 red dots inside also and they don’t line up! I found that out by putting three in using the rear spots and the last one using the inside ones. If you get these in first, making sure you have not trapped too many other spines in the wrong place, then it all goes together super quick.
The flat bag, which is well made and handy has the base plate (above) three baffles, two different strengths for the front and an inside one to tame “hotspots” (which the 60D is known for) and a substantial grid with the spare spines.
Nice.
Especially nice for free, giving me effectively a 40% discount on the overall kit.
The second is the Ra-D55 Smallrig soft box I bought for use with the paper. This is the option I went for rather than the Magmod that the other togs use, because it was half the price before you factor in the Magmod base set (that I do not use), for about the same end result. It takes twice as long to set up as the Magmod, which is no time at all and a quarter the time of the SE.
This one is pre-mounted and collapsible with spine end releases made of metal.
Solid, quick and reliable. I have a cheap Art DNA version of this that has nice light, but is falling apart already thanks to weak spine and feet.
The big difference is the end size. The SE is what I would call a medium modifier, the Ra-D55 is a small one.
The Smallrig has a better tube style bag, two baffles and the grid inside. It also allows room for a flash unit in the bag (in the mod actually) and you can leave the baffles mounted.
The last mod was a bit of a windfall.
About 18 months ago I ordered a large-medium sized (48”) cheap brand mod like the SE but less fun. It came as expected and it is good, but something I would only set up in a studio or if I had plenty of time. It has metal spines and about twice as many as the SE. My first thought was “how many uses will I get”, but from memory it was only $50 or so.
About three days later I received notification from Amazon that my mod had been despatched. It was COVID times and I assumed it was just a slow notification.
About a week later another mod arrived. This was a surprise, but not as much of a surprise as the unit itself. It was even bigger (60”) than the first one I ordered and setting it up was a revelation.
I figured Amazon could bare the cost of their mistake and I gave them a ton of business!
This one is like the Magmod. You push the centre spine down until it locks and seal the baffles. The only problem is it is so big, I need to support the front with a second stand!
Mini-me and mega-me. Odd thing is, they weigh about the same which I put down to the Smallrig’s quality. The Art DNA is well enough made for the price (very cheap, before it turned up for free!).
I find my photographic life has rhythms. I tend to drift through video, studio, sport, candid journalism, event and back, so things like this tend to be pushed aside for a while.
With video, these mods have become doubly useful because video lights need shoot-through Bowens mount mods (or basic brollies). Most of my older light boxes (4x 48”) were designed to have the flash unit inside them and the light bounce out, which is not practical or efficient for constant lights.
My fast setup will likely be the Smallrig through a sheer or feathered a bit. It is very handy, but a little small. They do a bigger one, but I am not that keen to get yet another. Probably the best example I can provide of “if you know where you want to end up, go straight there, it is quicker”, but buying blind is also not wise. What I am saying is I would have probably bought the bigger one if I knew what I was getting.
Next step is to test them in comparison to my brollies etc. I will probably do this in conjunction with a video light test I have planned.