Thanks! But I'm still kinda not getting it...the clips should snap around the outside of the lip with the grid frame also overlapping the outside of the lip? As opposed to how most grids sit inside a reflector or beauty dish, fitting into that lip (rather than over it)? I tried fitting it that way, and it seemed like the grid frame would fit but the clips themselves obstructed it, like they wanted to slide inside the dish. If they weren't pop-riveted on I would have assumed they needed to be removed.
Think I need to pop back over to my studio again and spend more than 5 minutes playing with it. Or come over and play with all of yours when I'm in LA next week.
shatterkiss wrote:
Thanks! But I'm still kinda not getting it...the clips should snap around the outside of the lip with the grid frame also overlapping the outside of the lip? As opposed to how most grids sit inside a reflector or beauty dish, fitting into that lip (rather than over it)? I tried fitting it that way, and it seemed like the grid frame would fit but the clips themselves obstructed it, like they wanted to slide inside the dish. If they weren't pop-riveted on I would have assumed they needed to be removed.
Think I need to pop back over to my studio again and spend more than 5 minutes playing with it. Or come over and play with all of yours when I'm in LA next week. ...Show more →
ohhhhhh i see what youre saying...yes my grid's outer edge covers the outside of the mola lip. it does not fit into the dish itself for a flush mount like other grids (im assuming). but yah, i thought the clips were messed up cause i too was under the impression of a flush mount. hmm..i'll have to take a look again if there might be another way to mount it, but im almost certain the way i have it now is correct cause it feels very sturdy once snapped into place.
you going to be in socal for a shoot?? id love to see how to use this bad boy properly!
Looking at the latter photo, the Speedo dish has a smaller outer lip where it looks like the clip fits. The standard Mola Demi doesn't have that, just the ~3/4" deep lip that a grid would normally sit inside of. You can see that here:
I just pulled out my Speedo dish to compare and it's got a huge, fat lip around it (whereas the Mola is basically just straight on both sides) that must be designed to grab their grid properly. The ID of the Speedo is also about .75'' smaller than the Mola's, so I always leave on a couple pieces of gaffers tape in case it decides to pop out.
shatterkiss wrote:
Thanks! But I'm still kinda not getting it...the clips should snap around the outside of the lip with the grid frame also overlapping the outside of the lip?
Yes, the speedo grid snaps over the lip of the speedo dish. The clips I think are just to help you remove it...it's fairly snug...
To lock the grid on the Demi, I hook my thumbs (if from front) or fingers (if from rear) thru the long part of the 2 'clips' on the grid and pull straight back towards the rear of the dish. The wide part of the clips then hooks with a nice 'click' behind the Demi's lip with the longer part of the clips sticking out like ears. Nice 'just right' spring tension.
To dismount, I simply pull the 'ears' out away from the body of the Demi.
If you need a pic of it mounted, drop me a PM
Edit: Just noticed the pic from a fellow user - looks identical to mine when mounted.
Edit2: FYI Have tried a couple of grids on the Demi, and the Speedo, while a bit heavy, was BY FAR the most solid, well built and best finished - and comes packed like they were expecting it to be run over by the UPS truck. WELL worth any slight premium paid vs some other 22" alternatives out there (short of a custom unit). Excellent and HIGHLY recommended addition to the Demi.
shatterkiss wrote:
Just curious, but how did you mount your Speedo grid to your Demi? I recently picked up the grid, and maybe they changed the design, but the clips that it has on either side both don't attach to the Mola's lip and obstruct it from sitting flush at the face.
Very interesting...thanks, guys. I'm going to have to pop back over to the studio and play with them again tomorrow and see what I was doing wrong. This is why you shouldn't try out new accessories when you only have 5 minutes between setups on a shoot.
I actually inspired someone? To think my various ex girlfriends said I'd never amount to anything ... Good thing they never had a chance to talk with the wife before she said 'yes'. Dodged that bullet.
Glad I could help - much cheaper to learn from the trial and error (not to mention #$%^ frustration) of others. My first 22" grid was a PoS and a PITA to ship back to the vendor. Should have gone Speedo from click 1 instead of trying to save a couple of $$.
As much as I LOVE Mola's customer service and responsiveness to queries, I do wish they made (or sourced) their own grids and mounts. Would make the buying process much easier - at least for we Canadians who lack a B&H for 1-stop shopping (and go pale when we calculate the 'calculate shipping" button from same).
My opal glass diffuser is enroute from FilmPlus in T.O., anxious to see how it compares to the stock perforated ALU unit.
More than the differences in different brands is the actual use. At my old studio the other guy had one of the bigger Molas. I have a Norman "Beauty dish". It was really easy to get crappy pictures from either one.
They are far from easy to use well, it seems that about 90% of photograhers use them as big reflectors. I was at a MFDB demo a while back and one of the set up was a guy using a Profoto or Mola beauty dish. He had it so close to the model it was almost in the frame and said it was placed in a very specific area to get the most of the 'beauty dish-ness' . The look had all those words that Simon used in a previous post, creamy, punchy, soulful, etc. Something I could almost get close to but never quite how I wanted...
Micky Bill wrote:
More than the differences in different brands is the actual use. At my old studio the other guy had one of the bigger Molas. I have a Norman "Beauty dish". It was really easy to get crappy pictures from either one.
They are far from easy to use well, it seems that about 90% of photograhers use them as big reflectors. I was at a MFDB demo a while back and one of the set up was a guy using a Profoto or Mola beauty dish. He had it so close to the model it was almost in the frame and said it was placed in a very specific area to get the most of the 'beauty dish-ness' . The look had all those words that Simon used in a previous post, creamy, punchy, soulful, etc. Something I could almost get close to but never quite how I wanted......Show more →
Testing for the sweet spot is essential. Bigger the dish, bigger the sweet spot and working range.
