When I moved recently, I sold my Mola Euro. Took up half my apartment, and would've taken up half the moving truck. I replaced it with a Demi, figuring that would be easier to deal with. Well, the Demi is easier to *store and transport*, sure. But I failed to consider that, because it doesn't come with its own mount like the Euro, I would need a light fixture sturdy enough to support it.
My Godox AD400Pros are not those fixtures. The tilt lock sucks and they "droop" with any substantial amount of weight. Others have complained about this, and posted DIY fixes, but I'm a klutz and I know not to even try.
I was thinking about just biting the bullet and buying a B10x Plus (I'm already using the Profoto mount adapter on the Godox), but the Peta Pixel review mentions that as it's not unibody and has a detachable tilt lock, it's not really designed for serious weight "such as the 5' octabox or 4x6' softbox" (both of which I suspect are lighter than my Demi). Do I have to buy a B1x instead?
*Edit: For anyone else who comes across this problem, swapping out the washer in the AD400 & AD600 as described in this article seems to work very well! I chose these particular washers: they have a larger internal diameter than the article recommends, so you don't have to bother cutting out the notches, and although I was initially worried that 70A hardness might be too much, it seems pretty spot on, allowing just enough compression.*
I would say that for long-term success, you should buy the B1x. I started with B1's and moved to B10s due to size and weight since I do mostly location work. You might be able to get away with putting a 4x6 on a B10 Plus a few times, but at some point that setup would fail. The B10 family is designed to work with the newer OCF family of modifiers and unfortunately, they only have the heavier 4x6 or a 5-ft octa RFI versions. I use a 48" Westcott Oct Switch and that works well, but that's about as large as I go with the B10s, with the exception of a 65" umbrella.
If it’s a Demi 22”, there’s no reason to jump from Godox elsewhere. I don’t have a 400Pro but you’ve got me scratching my head that you can’t fix the “droop” - I *do have* a set of 600Pros and a Speedotron 22” beauty dish and they carry it just fine, no problems.
RobArtLyn wrote:
Using a Bowens mount? Get a Godox S2 bracket.
Oh that's really neat! I bought my AD400's with Profoto adapters and already have lots of Profoto stuff or I'd be buying those for sure.
jlafferty wrote:
If it’s a Demi 22”, there’s no reason to jump from Godox elsewhere. I don’t have a 400Pro but you’ve got me scratching my head that you can’t fix the “droop” - I *do have* a set of 600Pros and a Speedotron 22” beauty dish and they carry it just fine, no problems.
Well, it doesn't surprise me too much that not everyone has trouble, because iffy tolerance control does seem to be part of the issue (some of mine are better than others, and I've seen posts from people with ones worse than any of mine). Definitely not just me though; like I said, I've seen several posts about it, enough that this article got written which seems like an easy enough fix that I'm gonna try this first.
story_teller wrote:
I...moved to B10s
I mean...are you happy with them? I'm not sure your assessment was as glowing as I expected at $1995-$2395. Do you think these lights and/or the OCF accessories are poorly constructed? All the reviews on the lights I've seen have been positive, but there are a number on B&H complaining about the durability of the OCF accessories (particularly the speedrings and the new clamp mechanism). Then again, I bought a couple of the OCF II Grid & Gel Holders and I'm super impressed with them compared to the cheap stuff I'm used to, so part of me suspects the complaints are coming from snobs for Profotos top-end stuff (though, to be fair, the OCF stuff isn't *that* much cheaper...)
Lee Saxon wrote:
Oh that's really neat! I bought my AD400's with Profoto adapters and already have lots of Profoto stuff or I'd be buying those for sure.
Well, it doesn't surprise me too much that not everyone has trouble, because iffy tolerance control does seem to be part of the issue (some of mine are better than others, and I've seen posts from people with ones worse than any of mine). Definitely not just me though; like I said, I've seen several posts about it, enough that this article got written which seems like an easy enough fix that I'm gonna try this first.
I mean...are you happy with them? I'm not sure your assessment was as glowing as I expected at $1995-$2395. Do you think these lights and/or the OCF accessories are poorly constructed? All the reviews on the lights I've seen have been positive, but there are a number on B&H complaining about the durability of the OCF accessories (particularly the speedrings and the new clamp mechanism). Then again, I bought a couple of the OCF II Grid & Gel Holders and I'm super impressed with them compared to the cheap stuff I'm used to, so part of me suspects the complaints are coming from snobs for Profotos top-end stuff (though, to be fair, the OCF stuff isn't *that* much cheaper...)...Show more →
To be clear, I'm very happy with my Profoto equipment. It works, simple to use and reliable! I prefer Westcott Rapid Boxes because they are much faster to set up than the OCF softboxes. Most of my work is location work, so I want something that is quick to set up and take down. The set up like more like an umbrella. I have a mix of RFI and OCF softboxes and they all work fine.The OCF line is lighter, but fairly durable so far. If Profoto makes more softboxes like the Clic (for the A10/A2), I would probably buy them.
Lee Saxon wrote:
Well, it doesn't surprise me too much that not everyone has trouble, because iffy tolerance control does seem to be part of the issue (some of mine are better than others, and I've seen posts from people with ones worse than any of mine). Definitely not just me though; like I said, I've seen several posts about it, enough that this article got written which seems like an easy enough fix that I'm gonna try this first.
Yeah, it struck me as strange that you wouldn’t try the fix and instead dump and swap your gear entirely.
I will tell you I’ve heard of similar problems with Profoto’s newer, more compact lights, and there is a solution of sorts if you work with C stands- you mount the light with the arm tilting backward, and the large softbox dips forward and rests on the arm. Then you use the knuckle on the column to pitch the softbox up or down. I’ll sketch it up if you’d like.
So FYI the trick of swapping out the washers on the tilt lock seems to work very well! First post edited for anyone else who may come along with this problem.
jlafferty wrote:
Yeah, it struck me as strange that you wouldn’t try the fix and instead dump and swap your gear entirely.
It's possible this problem may have partially been an excuse for Gear Acquisition Syndrome hahaha (in my defense, I did consider the AD600 in my search for a key light with a bit more power, but Godox only makes a Profoto adapter for the 400).
And, yeah, the C-stand trick is essentially what I've been doing (FWIW, I think my way is a bit better: using an Avenger D220. This keeps the actual light attachment point centered over the stand with the grip arm only responsible for secondary support, plus it allows for a second grip arm so you don't lose your ability to add a flag, cucoloris, whatever).
