Paul C. Buff Parabolic Light Modifiers

ImageX Photography

Does anyone here use these and how do you like them? I ordered the 64" silver and will be using it with 2 SB 600's firing into it on axis. The 86" would be just too big I think. The silver PLM's are suppose to be extremely efficient so I think my Speedlites will work decent with them. I won't have to spend big bucks on a good softbox either... since I can just get the diffusion fabric for the PLM if I want even softer wider light. Anyway, I'd love to hear how you like them if you use them! They are cheap enough and I'm excited to get mine. I think it's the BEST possible way to maximize my Speedlites(2X SB 600's 1X SB 900).

http://www.alienbees.com/plm.html




I ordered mine immediately after reading this review.... even though they were using AB B1600's and not Speedlites. It's all about efficiency and light quality!

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-10046-10396

Zerodog

Those look like some nice umbrellas. I think you will be surprised at the light you get out of your 2 sb600s. I have been using a 60" umbrella with 1 Sb600 and it is pretty amazing. You gotta post some samples of what you get with your new setup.

ImageX Photography

Zerodog wrote: »

Those look like some nice umbrellas. I think you will be surprised at the light you get out of your 2 sb600s. I have been using a 60" umbrella with 1 Sb600 and it is pretty amazing. You gotta post some samples of what you get with your new setup.

Yeah, I definitely will. I love my Speedlites and I have been eying these PLMs for awhile now. They are suppose to be just amazingly efficient and put out great light. Soft and hard but mostly soft. They are fairly cheap and can replicate light from a big expensive soft box.... so why not try em! I figured I would try getting the most out of my Speedlites before stepping up to full blown studio strobes.... since I have already invested $900 on SB's. This set up will be MUCH MUCH easier for location shooting(over studio strobes) and since I'll be shooting dual flashes into them.... I should have decent power to work with. The parabolic design just kills a regular umbrella as far as quality and output. Controlled spill too. If you shoot with umbrellas, maybe look into them. They come in white or silver 51", 64", and 86" sizes.


PS I bought one of these because the parabolic umbrella pretty much requires on axis mounting and it's just the right way to do it.

catspaw

I've used and seen excellent photos with the Black Front Spill-Kill Fabric on white PLM umbrellas configuration, but the others there are quite excellent too. Fortunately, I don't need to own my own lights right now but if I did, I'd be looking at the PLM umbrellas almost exclusively for the sheer versatility.

ziggy53

I do wonder about the PLM units and speedlights/speedlites. It would appear that the larger PLMs, especially the silver designs, normally use a studio strobe with a bare bulb configuration, allowing the light from the flash to spread very quickly. I'm not sure how effectively smaller flashes will work since they aren't designed to spread the light as quickly. You may need to use the compact flash with its widest diffuser or you may even need to add diffusion in front of the flash head in order to use the parabolic shape of the PLM to its design specifications.

It would probably be a good idea to ask Paul Buff directly through an e-mail.

FlyNavy

With that much "sail" area it must be a consideration when you use them outdoors? At least in the example photo you have a few extra big guys to lay across the legs of the light stands if it gets windy.

Zerodog

I think he will be fine. At least for closer work. My 60" regular umbrella works really well with only 1 sb600. Really pretty amazing. But how far? No idea. The biggest thing I have shot using it was a backpack about 5 ft away from it. Everything else has been a pretty small.

ImageX Photography

ziggy53 wrote: »

I do wonder about the PLM units and speedlights/speedlites. It would appear that the larger PLMs, especially the silver designs, normally use a studio strobe with a bare bulb configuration, allowing the light from the flash to spread very quickly. I'm not sure how effectively smaller flashes will work since they aren't designed to spread the light as quickly. You may need to use the compact flash with its widest diffuser or you may even need to add diffusion in front of the flash head in order to use the parabolic shape of the PLM to its design specifications.

It would probably be a good idea to ask Paul Buff directly through an e-mail.

I had the same concerns and contacted Paul Buff's crew. They said using it with a speedlite "will work pretty well". I figure firing TWO speedlites(slightly separated) on axis will work even better. I did read a review on someone who used a single speedlite and found that using the wide angle diffuser worked well but was a slight trade off on power. They decided to stick with NOT using the diffuser and were very happy with the overall results. I don't think I'll have a problem using the diffusers with two speedlites for additional power. I'll soon see!

Nikolai

I do...

I use it like this:



and like this:



HTH

ImageX Photography

FlyNavy wrote: »

With that much "sail" area it must be a consideration when you use them outdoors? At least in the example photo you have a few extra big guys to lay across the legs of the light stands if it gets windy.

Paul Buff doesn't recommend the 86" version for outdoor use due to the sail effect. The 64" that I ordered is still pretty big but I think I'll be fine and can weight the stands if needed.

Here's a guy who did a little test on the 86". It wasn't very windy though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q4WPOrIW2w&feature=related

ImageX Photography

Nikolai wrote: »

I do...

I use it like this:



and like this:



HTH

Cool. I see that a lot of guys like to shoot with it directly behind them. I don't think I have the power or size with the 64" to get the same affect. Maybe though! I will try all kinds of set ups. I'll likely use it outdoors and close to the subject more than anything.

Nikolai

ImageX Photography wrote: »

Cool. I see that a lot of guys like to shoot with it directly behind them. I don't think I have the power or size with the 64" to get the same affect. Maybe though! I will try all kinds of set ups. I'll likely use it outdoors and close to the subject more than anything.

FWIW that's 86". And yes, *if* I were to use it outdoors I'd have a buff guy to hold it...

divamum

Curious: how do these differ from something like a Photek Softliter of similar size (eg the 60")?

ImageX Photography

divamum wrote: »

Curious: how do these differ from something like a Photek Softliter of similar size (eg the 60")?

They are of a high output "parabolic" design and MUCH more efficient than a standard umbrella like the Softliter.


Check this version out. ONLY $6389.95
http://www.adorama.com/BCB3348500.html

or this giant one for $10,599.95
http://www.adorama.com/BCB3348600.html

ziggy53

divamum wrote: »

Curious: how do these differ from something like a Photek Softliter of similar size (eg the 60")?

The silver PLM models are very unique in that the parabolic design allows much finer "beam control". If you position the light source close to the focal point of the parabola, you can achieve a very tight beam of light. If you position either closer or farther than the focal point the beam spreads.

The white PLMs have somewhat better beam control than a standard white umbrella but less control than the silver PLMs. They are also less efficient than the silver PLMs, but easier to setup because there is less control of the beam, meaning less need for perfection in position of the light source.

Silver umbrellas are generally of a spherical arc and, while they are quite efficient in light output, they suffer from spherical aberration of the emitted light and can have hot spots compared to the silver PLMs. Again, there is an area of prime focus but, because of the spherical aberration, the focus is not so precise and the beam is not as tight.

White umbrellas are not so different from white PLMs. The PLMs have better beam control but it's not a level of magnitude better. The white material of each means that each diffuses the light more than the silver models.

Once you cover either a traditional umbrella or a PLM with diffusion material, to form a softbox/octobox style of light modifier, either design will produce similar results. The silver PLM with a diffusion cover needs careful attention to focus to fill the diffusion area however.

A Softlighter is just a spherical umbrella with a diffusion cover, although the split shaft option makes it unique over a traditional umbrella. I do believe that a spherical umbrella design will allow the umbrella to "hug" a ceiling slightly better and could make a slight difference for household portraiture and similar.

A silver PLM is awesome for when you need a tight beam of light "or" beam control.

For my style of shooting and subject matter my current combination of several soft boxes, several convertible white umbrellas and single large Softlighter is more than sufficient. If I were doing more outdoor groups or subject matter that needed the qualities of a parabolic reflector, I would purchase a PLM in a heartbeat.

divamum

Thanks for the explanation!

ImageX Photography

divamum wrote: »

Thanks for the explanation!

You're welcome.



haha j/k Thanks, Ziggy.


Edit: My 64" PLM showed up about an hour ago. Everything was packed well and the quality seems to be very good. I'm just waiting for my dual flash bracket/umbrella riser to arrive before I can really play with it. I did try mounting one SB 600 off axis and popped off a few full power shots.... and wow. This thing puts out a ton of light.... even when set up completely wrong. lol Can't wait to double up the power and set it up right!


Just a few silly(and bad) snap shots and not a test of any kind(obviously). Have to set it up properly and then I'll see how good it is. Looking good so far.

ImageX Photography

ziggy53 wrote: »

I do wonder about the PLM units and speedlights/speedlites. It would appear that the larger PLMs, especially the silver designs, normally use a studio strobe with a bare bulb configuration, allowing the light from the flash to spread very quickly. I'm not sure how effectively smaller flashes will work since they aren't designed to spread the light as quickly. You may need to use the compact flash with its widest diffuser or you may even need to add diffusion in front of the flash head in order to use the parabolic shape of the PLM to its design specifications.

It would probably be a good idea to ask Paul Buff directly through an e-mail.

I received my dual flash bracket and had a chance to play around with everything. It works great!!! So far, I found that using the wide angle diffusers and scooting the flashes back from the edge of the PLM works best. The light is distributed evenly inside the PLM.. with the riser I bought. This is VERY VERY directional light too. Almost like a spot light. It's hard, soft, efficient(big time), controllable, and it rocks. A very good purchase indeed.

PS There is also no spill like in the pic above where it's set up wrong.

1scrappychic

ooh...this looks very neat! Do you have any photos of it in use you can share?

ImageX Photography

1scrappychic wrote: »

ooh...this looks very neat! Do you have any photos of it in use you can share?

I haven't had a chance to get some good shots yet... as I just got the right bracket for my flashes last night. I bought it mainly for outdoor use with models. I will get some shots soon though. It's a nice directional wrap around light.


You can see some samples here and scattered about the web. http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=buff++plm&m=text