FKVPhotoGraphics wrote:
I'd be very interested since the Alien Bees model is $400.....I was thinking of building my own.....wonder how a bundt cake pan would work????

I made one of those...only got to try it out on one shoot before I had to pack up and move. Still waiting for it and the rest of my lighting to make it here.

Mine was simply 2 283 flashes pointed through holes carved with a dremmel...put a diffusion screen on the front and it worked like a charm.  It was connected to the the camera through some sort of 'L' bracket and a bolt. The flashes are held in place by rubber power switch cases bolted to the pan.

It put out enough light and it was fairly even. I'm considering buiding a fluorescent version for video work. Finding the right pan is hard, though.

FKVPhotoGraphics wrote:
I'd be very interested since the Alien Bees model is $400.....I was thinking of building my own.....wonder how a bundt cake pan would work????

Might have to cut off the center thingy so you can get the lens through unless it is removable, the thingy not the lens.  Circulines are available up to about 55 W (150 W effective) for about a 9" dia double.  Some come mounted around a central ballast that could be hung out of the way.

FKVPhotoGraphics wrote:
I'd be very interested since the Alien Bees model is $400.....

And it sucks!

Gerry OHalloran Photo wrote:
Might have to cut off the center thingy so you can get the lens through unless it is removable, the thingy not the lens.  Circulines are available up to about 55 W (150 W effective) for about a 9" dia double.  Some come mounted around a central ballast that could be hung out of the way.

Kino Flo has a fluorescent ringlight for about $1000. The bulbs are only $80. Ballast, bundt pan and misc bolts & screws should be another $30.

Amy Dunn wrote:

And it sucks!

Hey Amy could you do us a huge favor and explain to this form what  how many times you have actually used this unit and exactly what it was you didn't like about it.

It looks to me like this group is very interested in extream budget type solutions.

Mark Anderson wrote:
Proof is in the pudding...  show folks or your post could be bull defication.

Haha, I could care less if you think it's bull or not.  The post is to show that you don't need to shell out a few hundred bucks for a ring flash.  Anyone can tell it's not a pro ring flash just by the ligh fall off and uneven shadows.  The plans and how-tos are out there and I modified for my specs.  I just never seen anyone do fashion photos with a homemade ring flash since most just show headshots.  Most speedlights on full power will give enough power if you shoot at ISO200, 1/50 at f/5.6 for half and full body shots.       

I'll post photos and description soon.

Gerry OHalloran Photo wrote:

Might have to cut off the center thingy so you can get the lens through unless it is removable, the thingy not the lens.  Circulines are available up to about 55 W (150 W effective) for about a 9" dia double.  Some come mounted around a central ballast that could be hung out of the way.

A bundt cake pan isn't bad but the best option is an 8 inch metal dog bowl.  The trick is to find one whose center is around 3 inches wide.  Anything wider and the center will block the flash...even if you use two flashes on from each side.

Amy Dunn wrote:

And it sucks!

Can you explain. I'm was seriously thinking about buying one.

Mark M Gong Photograph wrote:

A bundt cake pan isn't bad but the best option is an 8 inch metal dog bowl.  The trick is to find one whose center is around 3 inches wide.  Anything wider and the center will block the flash...even if you use two flashes on from each side.

I was thinking the same thing about cutting the center out so it fits my lens. I also have read the specs on the alien bee ringflash and even they put two flash tubes into it. So the center is apparently important in it's construction.

Mark M Gong Photograph wrote:
Most speedlights on full power will give enough power if you shoot at ISO200, 1/50 at f/5.6 for half and full body shots.       

I'll post photos and description soon.

Mark, what camera are you using to be using 1/50 sec for shutter speed?  I would think that if you are using a speedlight that you would use the maximum camera sync speed, or at least 1/125 sec, unless you had some use for any ambient light.

FKVPhotoGraphics wrote:

Can you explain. I'm was seriously thinking about buying one.

i really like mine

FKVPhotoGraphics wrote:

Can you explain. I'm was seriously thinking about buying one.

Clearly Amy hasn't come to back up her whack statement.

My comments are coming from the same sentiment that this post was started on.  Equipment need not cost a lot of money to be effective and give good results.  The photographer, not the brand or cost of light is going to make or break the photos.

With that said, the Alien Bees... BUY ONE!

Just got mine and put it together last night.  Love it already.  Love love love love it!  Just some quick shots of my dog came out looking great.  People will blab about Profoto and Hensel this and that and not to take away from them but they are only ringflashes.  What the ABR800 has over them is the umbrella adapter and the Moon Unit, which is their softbox for the ringflash.  If you do buy the light you MUST buy the Moon Unit.  Then you can use it as an 30" octagonal or cicular softbox as well.

The total with for the ringflash and the Moon Unit (softbox) with 3-day shipping was $500 bucks (even cheaper with standard delivery).  This light is extremely versatile.  It is well worth the money.

Marksora wrote:
Here is some information on cheap alternatives to buying a ring flash.

Building a Poor Man's Ringflash
http://www.noestudios.com/photo/ringlight/

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To get a soft ringflash effect use two or more small flashes mounted close to the lens; all flashes were the same type with built in slaves so only one had to be connected to the camera. It worked reasonably well, low cost but not very powerful. Used small ball mounts to position the flashes on a bracket.

If you're open to experimentation, using 8 flashes mounted around a ring would probably not be very difficult to construct (just shoe adapters on a metal ring).

Here's a product from
Rekam that looks like it might work. I've seen other reflectors like this over the years, sort of a reflector that the flash head sticks in the side and the camera pokes through the back.

http://www.rekam.ca/home/?q=/binoculars … cessories/
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Take one of those Circular Magnifying Lamps, that clamp on to your desk. Pop out the magnifying glass. Shoot through the hole. It's easy to clamp on to a stand and move to your camera position also because of the spring balanced arm.

Now this doesn't give you a TON of power which means you'll probably want to shoot with a High ISO, and still may have to shoot wide open. It is, also, continuous light, not strobe. And your will have to play with your white balance also. But it works.

Here's one of those lights, found it on Staples.com for $109 - $114.00:
http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/store … ZipCodeAdd
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An aswer from someone else.
I've got a old Novatron 1500ws pack with four heads that I have basically retired when I got Alien Bee's. I might try and build a bracket for my camera stand that mounts all four heads around the lens and tracks with the camera. Mount the lights top, bottom, left and right and as close to the lens shade as I can get them. I think this might just work. and all it will cost is 1/2 day of fabricating and $20 worth of materials. I want this bracket to have a tab that mounts between the camera and bell head so the the whole arangement will move with the camera.

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Try using 2 heads with same size softboxes put them side by side with just enough gap to shoot through, and you have a poor man's ringflash.
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And this is a link to someone who built a small one themselves.
You might need to join as  a free member to see the information.

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic2/199410

Here is another link to a homemade ring light.
http://www.tapstream.com/sections/gear/ … flash.html

FKVPhotoGraphics wrote:

Can you explain. I'm was seriously thinking about buying one.

I have one, the only thing I can say I don't like about it is that it weighs about a ton after 30 minutes. Make sure you have a mono or tripod. It is a bit cumbersome as well but functional in nearly any situation, you can't beat it really. Otherwise, it's a great light source and very practical. The first two images in my portfolio here are with the ABR 800 and the simple diffuser that comes with.