sbv20 wrote:
I just got the medium PLM a week ago, here's one shot with it. The light source is a Sigma 500DG super, triggered with Cactus V2s (unreliable POS).
I was trying to figure out how to do the same thing. We need an adapter to enable use with a speedlight. Put a 5 sided diffuser on the speedlight and it's somewhat omnidirectional but it needs a way to get it near the center of the PLM.
I also shot for the first time with the small PLM outdoors. Worked well, I hope it is rugged enough to last a while.
They are all very different tools creating different effects. What is the primary effect you are looking to create? Do you have sample images, maybe made by others, that you can refer to?
Here's a shot from my "fun booth" at my last wedding of the summer...
86" PLM, Norman LH2 head attached to a Norman 200b at 50 w/s. IIRC this was around f5.6 on my 70-200. You should get similar light from a Quantum or Lumedyne head. I was extremely impressed at how well it worked with that little Norman setup. Next season I'm going to do the same thing, but I think I'll just put the camera right in front of the umbrella, for ring light(ish) look.
I think your shots are excellent. It's hard to differentiate the sun shadows from the PLM shadows. . . a good thing. And they pop!
Paul,
Any word on when the 7mm shaft modified PLM's are going to be available? I had two PLM's in my cart and was about to check out when I saw the note about the "ver 2" changes. The shaft change, and bumping the 42" up to a 48" made it worth waiting a few weeks for them. (http://www.paulcbuff.com/pcb2009/progress-report.html) I'll gladly pre-order
I watched the video review and I thought it was very well done.
Although I'm fairly new strobes and modifiers, my background is in mathematics and I can explain a bit of the theory behind the parabolic umbrella. Hopefully this will also illustrate how certain designs and techniques may prove to be more effective than others.
The parabola has the property that there is a point (called the focus) where any line/light ray originating from the focus and reflecting off the parabola will result in a ray that travels parallel to the parabola's axis. This property does not depend on the direction the light emanates from the source.
In real-world applications such as this umbrella, the surface is three-dimensional and is more accurately described as a paraboloid. The axis is the shaft of the umbrella, the vertex is the umbrella's tip (where the shaft meets the fabric), and the focus is precisely where you should place the strobe. If you place the strobe too close or too far, or off axis, you will lose the sharp falloff property that is the purpose of the umbrella.
It is also important that the umbrella's shape is reasonably accurate. The Elinchrom octa doesn't seem particularly precise in this regard--I've seen the Broncolor ones and they look very precise in shape (but the price is obscene IMO). So my thinking is that more ribs = more precise light output. Also, the PLM does seem "dishlike" but this only affects one thing: the shallower the paraboloid, the farther away the focus and therefore the narrower the angle of captured light. So the Broncolor parabolics, for example, have the bulb deeply recessed within the umbrella, which should translate to much greater flash efficiency.
I hope this helps. As I mentioned, I don't know a whole lot about studio flash, but I find it interesting that photographers have found useful applications for mathematical concepts.
I nearly poked my eye out(twice) on the shaft of the PLM, so I wanted something to cover the end.
I drilled a 8 mm hole in a golf ball, works like a charm, doesn't block the light and preserves eyesight.
