Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: ryanstrong on January 10, 2013, 12:33:08 am
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Does anyone know what kind of adapters and hardware is required to make a Alien Bee head sit properly in a Elimchrom Octabank 74"? Provide links where possible.
Thank you!!
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Look for a Balcor head to Elinchrom adapter. You could also try the Profoto Octa adapter. They made two adapters, one is a traditional Profoto clamp adapter with the Elinchrom head hardware on one end. This would not work with an AB head. The other might work, as it is essentially a bent metal rod that attaches to the Octa. You tighten the Profoto head on the end of the rod. It should work ith the AB head.
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OK, just figured out what you need in order to make Alien Bees work with the Elinchrom Octabank. Need the following...
http://www.kaceyenterprises.com/?page_id=481
http://www.kaceyenterprises.com/?page_id=679
If I have any problems with these I'll let you guys know but I'm hoping everything should come together.
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Elinchrom used to make a much simpler adapter that allowed you to put any brand head inside the 74" Octa.
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This should work. It's what I used for my Profoto head and is what I think Ellis is thinking of. Should be universal.
http://www.adorama.com/1/1/71612-elinchrom-profoto-octa-adapter-wf26240p.html
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This should work. It's what I used for my Profoto head and is what I think Ellis is thinking of. Should be universal.
http://www.adorama.com/1/1/71612-elinchrom-profoto-octa-adapter-wf26240p.html
That's exactly what I was thinking of. Hopefully they still make it. Looks easy enough to have fabricated.
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the big Octabank works best with more power than an AB delivers. Also, it's a pain to use the Octabank it with a monblock.
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the big Octabank works best with more power than an AB delivers. Also, it's a pain to use the Octabank it with a monblock.
For fill 400 watts is enough. As a key or a single light, more wattage the better.
It should be OK with a monolight, as long as it is fully remote control. Having to open the Otcta up everytime you needed to change a setting would be an enormous pain.
I used to love my Octa back in 2005. Then I started using Briese Focus stuff, and the big Brons as key lights, and the Octas less and less, and then only for fill. This is really a matter of taste and style, but the Octa, even with the difussion and baffle removed, was never directional enough for me. I could do some grip work to get it close to the focus and the Bron Paras, usually involving several lights.
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the big Octabank works best with more power than an AB delivers. Also, it's a pain to use the Octabank it with a monblock.
How much flash energy you need depends on how close the Octa is to the subject. My experience with portrait work with one is that it creates the best effect if it is within in 5-6 feet or less of subject.
Generally speaking you are right it is a pain with a monolight unless you can control it wirelessly. The Pocketwizard ControlTL system using the AC9 Alienbee adapter comes in handy here. My choice of monolight would be the Einstein 640 over the Alien Bee or really just about any other monolight on the market.