Paul Buff wrote:
3. This all by design to yield maximum light transfer and to minimize the need for heavy mounting hardware and unproductive cantilevered weight. You can easily use the 86" PLM on a light to medium weight standard light stand without tipping or sandbags, etc. Someone commented "This thing is heavy" . . . absolutely not true. Far lighter than any softbox or other modifier of this size.
the 86" is not heavy at all... if anyone has a wescott 28".. think of that material but bigger... heavy is like the profoto umbrellas where its made from thick rubberish canvas...
Paul Buff wrote:
Elinchrom RXs have a second umbrella mount that will hold larger shafts . . . not a very good mount and not well placed, but it's there.
Didn't realize this........ Where is it located? I might have to look at the RX head again.
I bought the 7mm version of the 60" Softliter, and it came with the normal 8mm shaft messily cut/broken off, and a 6.5mm solid core shaft rammed up the centre of the hollow.
Then you got a screwed-up version of it. I've owned 3 or 4 Softlighters with 7mm shafts, all of them have a sectioned spot maybe halfway up where the shaft pieces thread together neatly. I think the 8mm versions just have an 8mm shaft extension, the 7mm versions have a 7mm shaft extension...but the umbrellas and shaft uppers are otherwise the same.
My 60" Softlighter is 1.5 stops brighter near the centre, than 3/4-4/5 of the way to the edge- so by comparison the PLM should really shine.
Speculation. We won't know until it gets some real-world usage and see some results. The photos that have been posted do not give a strong indication of what this modifier is capable of in the right hands.
I asked ages back if it would be <0.5 stops varience, and Paul basically said yes. Also, unless his design or the manufacturer stuffed up the angles, the light can only be extremely smooth.
The ABMax was mentioned as being designed with a flat back/reflector plate, so as not to focus any of the light forward, like Elinchrom etc does. (I don't know if this is the same with current AB/WL as I don't own any.) Any head that focus' some of the light forward will create a hotter centre.
Honestly, there's method in his madness, the science makes sense.
I am trying to sort out if a PLM with front diffusion will give me the same basic light quality as a large octa. I would think that it should -- right?
huber wrote:
I am trying to sort out if a PLM with front diffusion will give me the same basic light quality as a large octa. I would think that it should -- right?
It will act like a round octabox. The only difference will be the light unit will be visible from the front. This won't affect the light pattern but might be visible in catchlights if the PLM is really close to the subject. The evenness is actually better than the octabox.
shoebox9 wrote:
I asked ages back if it would be <0.5 stops varience, and Paul basically said yes. Also, unless his design or the manufacturer stuffed up the angles, the light can only be extremely smooth.
The ABMax was mentioned as being designed with a flat back/reflector plate, so as not to focus any of the light forward, like Elinchrom etc does. (I don't know if this is the same with current AB/WL as I don't own any.) Any head that focus' some of the light forward will create a hotter centre.
Honestly, there's method in his madness, the science makes sense.
All our lights are true bare bulb style - with no focusing sub reflector. Yes, it's on purpose. Other lights with sub reflectors should perform we, but with a little more light in the center of the PLM.
Paul Buff wrote:
It will act like a round octabox. The only difference will be the light unit will be visible from the front. This won't affect the light pattern but might be visible in catchlights if the PLM is really close to the subject. The evenness is actually better than the octabox.
Well, evenness isn't always a good thing, not if you're intending to feather the light or use the center-to-edge falloff to your advantage. Given that the center hotspot and option of double-diffusing are pretty inherent to most standard softbox and octa designs, wouldn't the lack of those make a diffused PLM more similar to modifiers like the Softlighter, where the strobe head is positioned indirectly and the light produced is more even?
shoebox9 wrote:
I wondered about that. The return freight to B&H (from Australia) didn't seem worth the investigation at the time though.
Off Topic-
My 60" Softlighter is 1.5 stops brighter near the centre, than 3/4-4/5 of the way to the edge- so by comparison the PLM should really shine.
This is likely because of the presence of some form of sub reflector on the light unit.
shatterkiss wrote:
Given that the center hotspot and option of double-diffusing are pretty inherent to most standard softbox and octa designs, wouldn't the lack of those make a diffused PLM more similar to modifiers like the Softlighter
If you really want a hotspot, couldn't you just use a 7" reflector on your strobe?
There's a difference between a diffuse source that has a hotter center and just throwing a hard light at someone.
For a head-and-shoulders portrait, for instance, where you'd traditionally have a softbox positioned above your subject's eyeline in order to cast shadows under their chin and nose to create depth and dimension...if you aim a completely even source at their face from a reasonably close range you could have light on their face that's 1+ stops hotter than the light on their chest due to the natural distance falloff. But when you've got a source with a hotter center, you aim the center at their chest and light their face with the edge of the source and suddenly you've got a closer exposure between the two: softbox is 1 stop hotter in the center, distance falloff between face and chest eats up that f-stop.
That's just one example. It's not so much about "really wanting" it, it's about seeing an opportunity to use a "design flaw" to your advantage.
