ksporry Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Guys, I'm looking for options for adjustable parabolic umbrellas/reflectors.Ideally I'd like a broncolor para88, but the price of that one is waaaaay out of my league!So if I could find something similar that would be great. Ideally around 3-4' max.There are some Chinese brands that do affordable parabolics, but those are 6' or more, which is too big.So, I was hoping you guys could give me some recommendations.Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howard_m Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 <p>have you looked at the PLM's from paulcbuff.com ?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 <p>Agreed. The Buff PLMs are great for the price. A real sweet spot.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Use the PLM with the umbrella shaft and move the flash back and forth on the shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksporry Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 <p>I checked them out, and I'm kinda curious, they are not as deep as the broncolor para's. So I imagine that they won't give the same range of efefcts as the broncolor's.<br> I looked at this video Karl Taylor did, where he compared the different settings on different sizes, which is why I liked the para-88 so much. Of course I should probably try what I can achieve with the PLMs, but I would imagine the effects would be very different, right?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_vener_photography Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Will the effects be different? Not necessarily. Are you using Broncolor heads? What are you shooting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksporry Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 <p>I'm thinking of the curvature. The curvature will affect how the light is focussed on reflection. If the curvature is very shallow, that means it's quite concentrated. Moving the strobe head from/to the umbrella's inner surface should not result in a significant change in how the parabola focuses the light. <br> Have a look at this link:<br> http://fstoppers.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-parabolic-reflector-a-beauty-dish-and-an-octobox<br> You can see that size and shape definitely affect the light effect.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelmowery Posted February 25, 2014 Share Posted February 25, 2014 <p>The deep parabolic shape is what sets these light shapers apart from all the rest. If you can not afford these then your best bet is to get a silver umbrella that has the deepest curve. Silver is the only material that can be focused by sliding the strobe closer or farther from the umbrella.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksporry Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 <p>Hi Michael, that's what I was getting at. So far, besides the epxensive profoto and broncolor options, I have only seen 2 affordable options here in China ( I think ebay and some retailers, have the same options under different brand names). They are greta value fo rmoney, but the smallest option is 180cm, which is bigger than I want (I have limited space, which is another reason why I prefer one that's around the same size of the para-88, but is still a deep parabolic shape)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now