Questions about Monolights:

[Mark Elberson]

+1

+10 on sandbags 😊

[shutterdown]

+10 on sandbags

Sean, yes, indeed, that would likely be a sail. I'm imagining Mary Poppins right now.

Mark, are those the number of sandbags I'll need, or should I use more??

[Sean Setters]

You know, there are good reasons why I have 3 Vagabond II's at my disposal rather than the new Vagabond Lithium Minis.

1) VB IIs give you more pops per charge.
2) VB IIs recycle faster (especially when plugging in multiple monos into the same inverter).
3) The weight of the VB II helps keep a lightstand in place. If I'm going to have to carry around extra weight, why not let the weight do double-duty in its usefulness?

Food for thought.

[shutterdown]

This was just sent to me by a friend. It looks interesting!

http://ftxlightingtools.com/FTXLight...22bracket.html

[Keith B]

This was just sent to me by a friend. It looks interesting!

http://ftxlightingtools.com/FTXLight...22bracket.html

Just a little comment about this product or any beauty dish that would use a speedlight; a beauty dish really needs a bare bulb protruding through the opening to have the desire effects of a beauty dish.

With a beauty dish the center baffle blocks the direct light (not reflect) and the light of the bare tube shoots outward and bounces off the side and back so the hottest light is coming from the perimeter with softer light coming from the back witch makes for very contrasty light.

Anytime you use a speed light, the light never directly hits the perimeter. There really isn't a efficient way to get a bare bulb effect. Maybe with a Stofen on and set to protrude but you lose a lot of power since the speedlight light is still really shooting forward.

I'd suggest instead of spending $180 on that bracket, I'd suggest a AB400 (or better if budget allows) and PCB Beauty dish. It will cost $100 or so more but it is real beauty dish light. Plus it comes with diffuser and with that it is essentially like having a 22" round soft box too.

If you really look at the dynamics of what is happening with a beauty dish w/speedlight, it becomes a really crippled flash in a small umbrella. The hottest light is coming straight off from the back with some residual bouncing off the sides just as an umbrella would. So you could really save money and buy a 28" umbrella and have way more efficient use and better quality of light.

[shutterdown]

I'd suggest instead of spending $180 on that bracket, I'd suggest a AB400 (or better if budget allows) and PCB Beauty dish. It will cost $100 or so more but it is real beauty dish light. Plus it comes with diffuser and with that it is essentially like having a 22" round soft box too.

Good advice. Actually, I wasn't really considering this as an option, since the result would be just as you said. Sort of like poking a flashlight through a hole, and expecting it to spread the light in all directions.

An on-camera speedlite would do just as well.

It was just interesting that someone sat down, and dreamed this thing up.

[Keith B]

Good advice. Actually, I wasn't really considering this as an option, since the result would be just as you said. Sort of like poking a flashlight through a hole, and expecting it to spread the light in all directions.

An on-camera speedlite would do just as well.

It was just interesting that someone sat down, and dreamed this thing up.

Yeah I'm not picking on the devise, I'm all about free enterprise and ingenuity but just want to let those less knowledgeable about lighting not to expect beauty dish quality light.

On this board a while back there was a DIY style beauty dish that was getting some talk. It essentially did the same thing. It was made from a large plastic potting bowl with a whole in the bottom. Some really liked the light from it, which is fine, it just doesn't replicate beauty dish lighting.