Urk! Chimera speedring conundrum

[Peter Anderson]

Trying to find solutions for flexible softsources Ive been looking into chimeras. Im a big fan of diffused light by my current diy method is very uncontrolable (216 on homemade 2'x2' frame mounted on lightstand with a magic arm). I get a lot of unwanted spill and am considering getting a chimera. The only confusion is with the speedrings. I own a couple of arrilte 650's but would also like to use the speedring with larger lights (Arri 800s & 1ks). Do i need adpater inserts? If so how do I decide which ones I need?

 

The lights i want to use arent mentioned on this page:

 

http://www.chimeralighting.com/specs_light...p?product=quick

 

PS. Some posts ive read refer to adding a chimera speedring to lights for diffusion, is this DP shothand for adding a chimera softbox or lightbank?

[Freya Black]

Trying to find solutions for flexible softsources Ive been looking into chimeras. Im a big fan of diffused light by my current diy method is very uncontrolable (216 on homemade 2'x2' frame mounted on lightstand with a magic arm). I get a lot of unwanted spill and am considering getting a chimera. The only confusion is with the speedrings. I own a couple of arrilte 650's but would also like to use the speedring with larger lights (Arri 800s & 1ks). Do i need adpater inserts? If so how do I decide which ones I need?

 

The lights i want to use arent mentioned on this page:

 

http://www.chimeralighting.com/specs_light...p?product=quick

 

PS. Some posts ive read refer to adding a chimera speedring to lights for diffusion, is this DP shothand for adding a chimera softbox or lightbank?

 

I'm kinda confused by your mail and I loved the bit where you say that the light you are talking about isn't mentioned on that page, it made me giggle. Kind of surreal and I like that kind of thing! :)

 

Anyway yeah diffused light is kind of hard to control by it's nature, however you can get what are called egg crates that attach to the front of softboxes and control the spill a fair bit which might be neat.

 

I know little about speedrings I'm afraid as we are starting to enter the world of stuff a bit more classy than the kind of knocked together or ancient crap that I normally have access to, however theres no real way that a speedring can add diffusion, beause as I understand it, it is a bit of ring shaped plastic that attaches the softbox to the light, so I'm guessing it must be some kind of shorthand or that the people who originally wrote that were feeling very ill or tired. Possibly both. Maybe they even broke a flourecant tube and inhaled some mercury gas by accident. However I'm guessing they mean that the speedring is the interface by which diffusion is added to the light.

 

I feel the need to add something about chinese lanterns at this point because I like them :) but I can't really work it in here easily in the context of controlling the spill from diffused light but perhaps someone can help me?

 

In any case my friend here has just made a load of vegan chocolate cake so I'm afraid that I want to go and catch it while it is warm and not to think about controlling diffused light. Maybe that's kind of selfish, but I hope you understand because it is after all chocolate cake and my friend is making out it might be healthy, which right now I'm happy to believe, although I'm obviously aware that it is all relative.

 

Anyway good luck with the light! :)

 

love

 

Freya

[Peter Anderson]

Am i being dense? I can only see Arri Lux and Arri LX. Im much more confused now - I hope your chocolate cake was worth it :)

[Freya Black]

Am i being dense? I can only see Arri Lux and Arri LX. Im much more confused now - I hope your chocolate cake was worth it :)

 

No my problem! I didn't look on the page you linked to, and I just thought it was funny that you said the lights you want to use aren't mentioned on this page! ;)

 

It just seemed funny to me to talk about the lights and then give a link to where they don't exist, but I didn't understand what you were saying. You meant there was no speed ring for your light listed on that page. I get it now, tho I would have liked it if you had linked to a page that didn't feature your lights, but then I like El Topo and stuff, so...

 

Anyway I wish I could help but I really don't know anything about speed rings and stuff...

 

...except...

 

... I seem to remember someone mentioning a universal speedring, perhaps one where the size can be adjusted to fit the light? Keep in mind tho that I don't know about speedrings, so I may have made it all up! ;)

 

Hopefully someone who knows about speedrings will drop by shortly and talk sense! ;)

 

love

 

Freya

[Freya Black]

I hope your chocolate cake was worth it :)

 

You mean worth the calories?

I hope so too, but life is full of risks.

 

love

 

Freya

[Michael Nash]

The speedrings are made to fit specific lights, and the rings are designed to be used with a limited range of units and sizes of Chimeras. In other words, you can't expect to put the largest Chimera on the smallest light and vice versa.

 

If there isn't a speedring already made for the light you want to use, you have to find a ring that might fit well enough onto your light, perhaps with a springclamp to hold it in place.

 

In my experience the crappy bail screws on Arri lights don't hold up well under the weight of chimeras and fail after a short time. Once the screw is stripped that's it, you can't tighten it into place anymore.

[Peter Anderson]

The speedrings are made to fit specific lights, and the rings are designed to be used with a limited range of units and sizes of Chimeras. In other words, you can't expect to put the largest Chimera on the smallest light and vice versa.

 

If there isn't a speedring already made for the light you want to use, you have to find a ring that might fit well enough onto your light, perhaps with a springclamp to hold it in place.

 

In my experience the crappy bail screws on Arri lights don't hold up well under the weight of chimeras and fail after a short time. Once the screw is stripped that's it, you can't tighten it into place anymore.

 

So what light would you recommend for a cheap but effective chimera softbox/lantern setup? For both compact and medium size setups (650w-1k and 2k+ rigs). Id love to add a tough and versatile lantern setup to my collection, i like the look of the new chimera birdcage but i cant seem to find a 240v 500w tungsten bulb with a mogul base.

Edited December 30, 2007 by Prokopi Constantinou

[Bill Totolo]

Can you shoot your 2k into beadboard/showcard and use flags/nets to control the spill?

Don't underestimate the importance of your grip package, this will go far in controlling your lights.

 

Another great unit is Mole Richardson's 2K zip.

 

You can also shoot through lite board (flexible flame retardent material manufactured in the UK, available in LA at Leonetti).

 

There's a lot of ways to create soft light sources, heck, I've bounced 1k's off movie screens in conference rooms. Everyone's used a ceiling bounce.

[Michael Nash]

So what light would you recommend for a cheap but effective chimera softbox/lantern setup? For both compact and medium size setups (650w-1k and 2k+ rigs). Id love to add a tough and versatile lantern setup to my collection, i like the look of the new chimera birdcage but i cant seem to find a 240v 500w tungsten bulb with a mogul base.

 

Chimera makes a speed ring/holder for Lowel Tota's. Tota's can be found pretty cheap since they're a harsh, hot, nasty light on their own. But inside a chimera, they're perfect. The Chimera tota holder isn't really a speed ring, but instead fits on a stand and the tota mounts inside the soft bank. Use a 1K dimmer on it and you've got a compact, versatile unit.

[Chris Walters]

The speedrings are made to fit specific lights, and the rings are designed to be used with a limited range of units and sizes of Chimeras. In other words, you can't expect to put the largest Chimera on the smallest light and vice versa.

 

If there isn't a speedring already made for the light you want to use, you have to find a ring that might fit well enough onto your light, perhaps with a springclamp to hold it in place.

 

In my experience the crappy bail screws on Arri lights don't hold up well under the weight of chimeras and fail after a short time. Once the screw is stripped that's it, you can't tighten it into place anymore.

 

Chimera actually makes an adjustable speed ring although I couldn't tell you the exact sizes. They're a little bit of a hassle to get the right size for the light unless you know the measurements but once you figure it out its pretty nice... I agree about the arri lights they can't handle that much weight on front which is really annoying not to mention they get way to hot for their size.....

[Peter Anderson]

Wow. I found an adjustable speedring and those puppies are expensive - twice the price of the standard fixed, non collapsable alternative. I was planning on getting a lantern to fit one of my arrilite 600s but now im worried about their apparent weakness. I like the look of the chimera birdcage but as of yet it only looks like they make them in 120V (I live in the UK).