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Shooting with a beauty dish
I'm considering a Mola 22in BD what kind of shots will i able able to take with it, headshots only? is there a way to utilize this size of a dish on a half/full body? Oct 18 08 12:17 pm Link It's just a light. Use it however you wish. But to answer your question - yes, you can do many things with it. Just my $0.02 Ciao Stefano Oct 18 08 12:18 pm Link head, half body .3/4 body , full body grid it,wait idk if you can grid im sure you can though Oct 18 08 12:21 pm Link nice, thanks! what is the advantage of having a larger dish then? as a side question, do you know if Mola fits Profoto AcuteB head without speedring? Oct 18 08 12:23 pm Link Did you go to the Mola site and look at the images? If possible, I'd step up to the ~28" version, I've got the Profoto White 22", and as much as I love it, it won't give me much more than 1/2 body coverage unless you place it back much further, then here come the much harder shadows. Oct 18 08 12:28 pm Link Jon Tiffin wrote: mmm, yes 28 is something i've been considering as well. perhaps i will go for that. Oct 18 08 12:35 pm Link is going with a larger BD (28 let's say) somehow reduce the ability to shoot a headshot where i want the fall off to be the same as achieved with a 22? Oct 18 08 12:52 pm Link Still Image wrote: love to hear the answer for this Oct 18 08 01:23 pm Link Still Image wrote: Oops... Oct 18 08 01:26 pm Link I shot this with a 31" Balcar Diamond box:  I wanted a larger beauty dish for two years, but they're sooooo dang expensive. I was watching ebay for most of those years and finally snagged this one for $208. In my opinion small dishes are cool, but large ones are remarkable. Oct 18 08 02:27 pm Link I'm considering a 22" Mola, but going larger is huge from what I hear. Oct 18 08 04:42 pm Link The Molas are designed fit anything...as they mount-bolt to whatever speedring your head uses. I have the 600B also , bought a profoto adapter plate, ($105 for god's sake) and bolted it to my old Helsel BD. Works just like the Profoto dish. There is no factory grid for the 28" Mola, well an aftermarket one for $350+, listed on their site. That makes it around $900-$1000 with grid. Lots of other circular modifiers under that price that I'd be happy with, but without a grid, $550 isn't too outrageous to me. Oct 18 08 05:35 pm Link Beauty dishes are great! Especially gridded. I used 22" Speedotron beauty dish on my current teaser avatar. ronald n. tan www.ronaldntan.com Still Image wrote: Oct 19 08 12:42 am Link Ronald N. Tan wrote: Gridded? Oct 19 08 12:43 am Link I always use a beauty dish unless I want softer glamour lighting, just great for about everything. Oct 19 08 12:46 am Link Back in the day, beauty dishes were often used close and only a reflector for fill, giving the wrap around effect, but also rapid falloff. When the subject approaches the size of the dish and the dish is pulled back to cover, the unique lighting quality is lost. Oct 19 08 12:49 am Link Take a look at my port. 85% of the shots were done with a beauty dish in some way. Sometimes as a hair light, sometimes as key, sometimes as fill. It's just a light. Buy or rent one and see how it works for YOUR style. KMR Oct 19 08 02:04 pm Link Still Image wrote: It's all about how you use it. I think it's one of the best lighting setups one can use, if used properly... you can take killer body shots, head shots, product shots... Just mess with it... Oct 19 08 02:09 pm Link Oct 20 08 11:02 am Link given that we haven't really gotten to the bottom of this... can a 28" BD still shoot a good headshot or is it too large at that point? Oct 20 08 11:02 am Link MonikaM wrote: Not too large. It'd be fine for a headshot; it's all in how you use it. Oct 20 08 11:06 am Link  16 inch Beauty dish w/sock and silver umbrella fill. Oct 20 08 01:58 pm Link The reason to buy a Mola in the first place, is because of the asymetric design of the beauty dish. Like having an asymetric lens element on the from of a high end lens. Everybody else's beauty dish is like an old style non-ED, or L, lens. It makes a BIG DIFFERENCE. If you are definitely going to use a Profoto, or new 200 series Speedotron head, GET THE 28 in. Mola. It is specially designed, to take advantage of the adjustability of the head placement, in the Mola. The 22 in, isn't. All Molas, take a Chimera sized strobe head insert. Don't buy the whole speedring, you don't need the softbox mounting ring. The 22 in is much cheaper. Also, the Norman Grid fits right on. Also, here's a secret, NO ONE ELSE KNOWS, you can fit the Photogenic 20 in barndoors, on the 22 in Mola. Oct 20 08 06:42 pm Link The reason to buy a Mola in the first place, is because of the asymetric design of the beauty dish. Like having an asymetric lens element on the from of a high end lens. Everybody else's beauty dish is like an old style non-ED, or L, lens. It makes a BIG DIFFERENCE. If you are definitely going to use a Profoto, or new 200 series Speedotron head, GET THE 28 in. Mola. It is specially designed, to take advantage of the adjustability of the head placement, in the Mola. The 22 in, isn't. All Molas, take a Chimera sized strobe head insert. Don't buy the whole speedring, you don't need the softbox mounting ring. The 22 in is much cheaper. Also, the Norman Grid fits right on. Also, here's a secret, NO ONE ELSE KNOWS, you can fit the Photogenic 20 in barndoors, on the 22 in Mola. Oct 20 08 06:42 pm Link The only major difference between the Speedotron 22 BD and the Mola Demi is the price. They are pretty much identical in shape. Oct 20 08 06:54 pm Link You can drive a truck, through thyat pretty much. It's like saying, that a Promaster lens, is pretty much the same as a Nikon ED lens, or Canon L series lens, ( same mm ). The difference is in the quality of the image delivered. The speedo beauty dish, like other manufacturers, is simply concave, like a bowl. The Mola is a complex convex, concave shape. Plus the designer takes great pains with the " special " white paint used. Also, the Mola's are universal. That is, they will fit almost any make of strobe. Oct 20 08 07:09 pm Link Vanishing Point Ent wrote: That's one of the main reason I'm considering a Mola, so I can use it on my Profotos or my Bees. Currently, I have the AB beauty dish, but I can't use it on my Profotos. I'm planning to sell my AB dish and get a Mola...or perhaps an Elinchrom Deep Throat (for portability). I'm still doing my research. Oct 20 08 07:35 pm Link Vanishing Point Ent wrote: I make custom grids for Beauty Dishes. I own the Alien Bee, Mola, Hensel, Norman and Speedotron. Oct 20 08 07:39 pm Link Here is a link to show everyone how easy it is to attach any ring to the Speedo Dish http://photography-on-the.net/forum/sho … &highlight Cheers Oct 20 08 07:42 pm Link Hensel 22" BD on a Hensel Porty  Oct 20 08 10:42 pm Link Still Image wrote: This was shot with a beauty dish. Oct 20 08 10:45 pm Link Stefano Brunesci Beauty wrote: I agree. This may be beauty dish abuse, but I've used one as a background light before. They are just another tool, to get you Oct 20 08 10:53 pm Link i just purchased one of kacey's grids for the ab beauty dish. it is very nicely made. i tested it out this past weekend and shot this:  J Kacey wrote: Oct 20 08 10:53 pm Link Still Image wrote: You can use headshots to full body. By the way, the Mola 22" BD looks like the Speedotron 22". The Speedotron 22" BD is much cheaper. I am not sure if there is a way to modify the speedotron to fit the strobe you have though. Oct 20 08 11:46 pm Link I've used the Demi (22 in.) for close-up to full body shots, so it's a pretty versatile modifier in my opinion. I've also used the Euro (33.5in) for close-up to full body shots. As for the 28in. Setti, I believe you will get slightly different lighting compared to the Demi and Euro. The Setti is deeper so it's a more focused light. From what Walter Melrose (the guy who invented the Molas) tells me, the Setti will give more contrast and noticeable fall-off compared to the other dishes. Also, you do need an adapter plate for the Molas to fit on Profoto heads. It will not attach without the adapter. As for a grid, the Speedotron 22" grid does fit the Demi. It fits really good actually. But in my opinion, Molas should never be gridded  Good luck, Warren Oct 21 08 03:28 am Link Has anyone used the MANTTI 43.5 inch version? Oct 21 08 06:11 am Link I read that the speedotron has a translucent middle and softens the shadows giving it more of a flat look... but it was also noted that one could cover it with plastic to block all light... I haven't seen a comparison... is this thread dead? Feb 28 09 07:55 pm Link JC Digital Photography wrote: Well, it is 6 months old, but you've bumped it, and others may chime in. Feb 28 09 11:54 pm Link Here is a link to some great lighting tutorials http://www.stepheneastwood.com/tutorials/ http://www.stepheneastwood.com/tutorial … tydish.htm Mar 01 09 12:04 am Link Cost me 12 bucks to make. Even have a grid for it!  Mar 01 09 12:09 am Link |
