any mola softlight users...?

[michael_notar1]

if you use any mola softlight, please let me know how you like working with itt etc. i am paticularly

interested in the euro (33") and manti (43") and i am considering one of those for purchase. i allready have

a speedotron 22" beautydish and like it. hopefully one of those molas will be nicer, just a little more wrap

around. i am personally leaning towards the mantti due to its size, as i want a significantly larger light

than my 22BD, the euro would be a minimum for me.

[kirk_candlish]

I have the Demi and the Euro. I also have the Profoto, Norman and Bowens dish style

reflectors. Each has it's own quality of light and I'd say the Norman is most similar to your

Speedo reflector.

 

The bigger Molas do have more wrap, it would hard for them not to. The Euro is nice for

full length beauty shots and two or more people together. It also has a little more punch,

local contrast, than the smaller Demi.

 

I've shot with the Manti and found it created a much more flat light, less local contrast. It's

basically a Euro that's 10" bigger but 9" flatter. I use a Chimera or Profoto octagonal

softbox if I want a round catchlight and a light that size.

 

Hope this helps.

 

- Kirk

[michael_notar1]

thanks kirk.

 

got any more details for me regarding the light/lights? i guess the 33" euro seems like the

way to go.

 

i'm off to test my 22BD at the studio and see where its magic distance is, usually 3-5ft.

 

is it realistic to get a dish that can do 4 people portraits...? maybe the mantti. but any dish

placed far enough away should cover them evenly.

[kirk_candlish]

Michael it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. 'Beauty light' per se can be

created with a 'Beauty dish' or a number of other methods.

 

What a dish reflector gives you is a more columnar light and and an increase in the

resulting contrast compared to a standard umbrella or softbox. The size of the dish and

it's design will give some variation to the quality of the light.

 

If you've just started shooting with you dish and enjoy the look it creates then I can

understand that you might think it would look good for a small group. But I'd suggest you

try a few other options before dropping the bucks for a big Mola.

 

A deep umbrella, a V flat of foamcore or an octo softbox with the front removed would be

other options to create a slightly punchy contrast and cover a small group.

 

- Kirk

[michael_notar1]

so how is the 22"BD for one/two people full length? i assume just pull it back to get the

coverage at the slight expense of a harder light? i would like more working distance

too...one reason i was looking at the larger molas..but perhaps this defeats the purpose of

getting a larger BD of theirs.

 

so the mantti would be really similiar to like a 5ft octadome w/o diffusion...would you go

with the white or silver interior? would you use the interior baffle only or none at all?

 

i've only use the 22BD for biz headshot portraits at this point, it was just a tad hard, but it

could of been closer.

 

what about using 2-3 22BD for groups....one as a key at an angle...another close to on

camera...maybe a third for an accent...

[kirk_candlish]

I think you should do some testing with the 22" dish you have and learn what it can do. No

matter how I answer your questions you'll still get more out of moving the light around

and shooting with it.

 

The point I was making about the Manti is that it's a pretty limited light compared to an

octa soft box. The soft box can give you a range of contrast choices just by working with

or without the internal and front baffles.

 

The 'tad hard' quality of your 22" dish is what they're all about.

[michael_notar1]

thanks i just did a lot of test shots today, and the BD seems to be good even at 10 ft.

 

probably my fav light at this point is a med box 24x32 w/grid or a large 3x4ft cine dome,

which is deeper from frot baffle to speedring and silver inside, and i use it with only the

front diffusion or non at all. it seems to be alot light windowlight, being quite focused but

large and soft.

[peter_hart]

Kirk How does the demi compare to the profoto dish. My friend has a profoto dish and I know what it looks like. I shoot elinchrom and have their small 17 inch dish, but it is quite limited in application. The best think I can see is the Mola dish. Any feelings, thoughts.

 

Much appreicated

 

Peter

[kirk_candlish]

Michael your cine dome soft box without the front diffusion is going to be so close to the

Manti you'd have a hard time telling the difference. I think you should continue to work

with what you have and concentrate on the shot instead of the gear.

 

Peter the Demi is deeper and has a different shape than the Profoto dish and produces a

more focused light with more fall off and local contrast. If you just want pasty white skin

the PF works fine. If you want more modeling and shape the Demi is superior. You'd be

hard pressed to tell the difference between the Norman, PF or Speedo dishes in most

setups.

[john_murphy1]

Here's a <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=00M88o">link</a> to a comparison.