Profoto umbrella "deep", really parabolic? wth with the translucent? :)

[orc73]

Hi

Profoto came up with umrella deep series, promise the parabolic effect.
While might be something to argue about in the indirect versions: why the heck should I buy a "deep" translucent one?
There is no para effect for sure, and I don't see a value over the shallow one.
Can somebody enlighten me?

Maybe somebody tested the indirect deep silver/white ones against the shallow ones?

best regards

[Ken Bennett]

I have wondered about this with the Buff parabolics. I have a bunch of them in different sizes and both the hard and soft silver, but I don't see any point to a transluscent white para. I'm sure somebody smarter than me does....

BTW I really like the Buff paras in soft silver. The 7-foot model is pretty sweet, and they are relatively inexpensive.

[Ellis Vener]

Will  all of these "parabolic" umbrella modifiers there is a sweet spot distance where the effect is most pronounced and that distance will depend on the diameter and shape of the umbrella -and where you place the head in it. 

My thinking about the white translucent ones is that they are best employed when you need to evenly light a very large space using two or more lighting instruments equipped with them.

I agree with  K Bennett about the value to price ratio  of the Paul C. Buff versions.

[Some Guy]

I have wondered about this with the Buff parabolics. I have a bunch of them in different sizes and both the hard and soft silver, but I don't see any point to a transluscent white para. I'm sure somebody smarter than me does....

BTW I really like the Buff paras in soft silver. The 7-foot model is pretty sweet, and they are relatively inexpensive.

I use the 86" Buff translucent white PLM as a sunlight scrim in the desert.  Works well on a 91" Lastolite boom with a Matthews mini-knuckle to hold it, and an assistant to hold it as needed.  Sets up faster than the California Sunbounce too which is 2-3 times as expensive.

I also can use it as a shoot-through if I don't want to see the strobe gear in the middle of the catchlights in the normal bounce-back configuration.  I even painted that plastic cap on the tip white too rather than the black it came with.

I also lose, due to damage, a lot of modifiers outdoors from wind and falling over and breaking.  Sometimes getting blown apart even though they don't fall over (Sandbags helps, but sometime Mother Nature's physics wins out.).  Price of expensive ones now plays into it since I'd rather chuck it than try and clean it all up and fix it again.  Umbrellas don't fit into my washing machine well at all. 

SG

[Ken Bennett]

I use the 86" Buff translucent white PLM as a sunlight scrim in the desert.  Works well on a 91" Lastolite boom with a Matthews mini-knuckle to hold it, and an assistant to hold it as needed. 

See, now this is what I mean by somebody smarter than me knowing what to do with these things. That's brilliant and I will steal use this idea. I need to order a couple more of the paras, and a 7-foot transluscent will be on the list. I will try it as a shoot thru as well -- I do a lot of that with smaller umbrellas and it'll be cool to try with the big one.

[gazwas]

If you're buying these brollies because they are parabolic you are very much mistaken as its just marketing BS that Profoto seems to be very good at lately. Being a deep umberella will control some of the massive spill regular (cheap) umbrellas give but they are far from focusable like the much more expensive Para's from Briese snd Broncolor.

Never tried one but a deep translucent umbrella might be preferable as a shoot through to help reduce the hot spot of a flatter, regilar style umbrella?

[K.C.]

If you're buying these brollies because they are parabolic you are very much mistaken as its just marketing BS that Profoto seems to be very good at lately.

In any discussion of lighting equipment and marketing BS Paul Buff takes the grand prize every time. PF has merely shifted their marketing to the what little market is left and not surprisingly it all sounds familiar.

[Ellis Vener]

There are real world difference between  true parabolic reflectors like  the Broncolor Satellite Evolution - http://www.adorama.com/BCB3315000.html -  and the smaller diameter Retro-Laser Reflector from Paul C. buff, Inc. - http://www.paulcbuff.com/22rlr.php - and the soft sided collapsible semi (or pseudo) -parabolic reflectors like  the PLM series from Paul C. Buff; the Giant, giant Silver, and the Deep Umbrella series from Profoto;  the para series from Broncolor; and the Rotalux Deep series from Elinchrom. and then there are narrow angle "sport"  metal  reflectors from just about every flash manufacturer, like the Profoto Narrow Beam and Tele-Zoom reflectors

But unless you are hung up on nomenclature or attacking competing manufacturers, it isn't a case that one is better than another, but that each type does different things to light and before purchasing it is worthwhile finding out what is best suited to the job you need to do.

[dcfoto]

The Profoto Deep umbrellas are NOT truly parabolic. Most other so-called parabolic umbrellas and softboxes are not truly parabolic either. This has various reasons:

The focus point of a deep parabola is close to its vertex. Closer than the inner rods of an umbrella need to be for the umbrella to stay open. That means however, that the light source cannot be moved into the focus point because these inner rods are in the way. Manufacturers deal with this in two ways: some manufacturers (like Buff) make their umbrellas shallow. This moves the focus point further out so they can be focused, however spill becomes a problem. Other manufacturers (like Profoto) make their umbrellas deep but not parabolic. The Profoto compromise is not bad. While nothing like a Briese or Bron, it can be focused quite nicely and it's light and affordable. But (even when focused) the light from these umbrellas is not parallel.

There are other, mechanical, reasons that make parabolic reflectors a challenge. This is why most so-called parabolic softboxes (not umbrellas) are not truly parabolic either. I examined this and wrote more about it in my blog article where I also compared 3 "parabolic" softboxes: Comparing parabolic softboxes for focusable reflector.

I have also written an article about Calculating parabolic reflectors. That article includes a little calculator utility which runs in the browser and allows you to calculate the shape of a reflector from some key parameters such as diameter and depth. If you enter the dimensions of your favorite "parabolic" reflector, you can see what it SHOULD have looked like if it was truly parabolic.