Mola Demi : No Test Images .....Because?
So it was a good time as any to make my purchase. I was going to have the June blog about these 2, showing sample images and my impressions and images from my test, that, of course, will have to be another day,
Last month, I introduced two new pieces of gear into my setup: the Elinchrom RX battery pack with “A: head and the long-awaited Mola Demi (White) beauty dish. I’ve wanted the Mola beauty dish for some time, and B&H Photo had it on sale for $278, so I took the opportunity to make my purchase. I was planning to write the June blog about these two items, sharing test images and my impressions as I integrated them into my workflow. However, that will have to wait for another day. The Mola Demi I received was unfortunately extremely flawed, but this wasn’t something B&H Photo or the good folks at Promarks/Mola offices could have foreseen; it was a tooling issue from the factory. Here’s the breakdown of the assembly: there are eight holes drilled in the rear of the Mola Demi—four for mounting a plate that holds the speed ring in place, and four for the diffuser plate inside the Demi.
I was going to write the June blog about these 2, showing test images and my impressions as I introduced this to my workflow, that, of course, turned out to be for another day.
The Mola Demi I received was, unfortunately, extremely flawed; this was by no means a problem that B&H Photo could have foreseen, nor any of the good folks at Promark’s/Mola offices. This was a tooling issue from the factory. Here’s the breakdown for assembly. There are eight holes drilled at the rear of the Mola Demi. 4 holes are to mount a plate that holds the speed ring in place, and the other four holes are for the diffuser plate held in place on the inside of the Demi.
As I started assembling the Demi, I noticed that 3 of the eight holes did not align with the mounting plate. I tried different orientations for the plate—45 degrees and 90 degrees—but each time, the same issue occurred: the holes were at least 1/8 inch away from the center.
At this point, I am admitting defeat and trying to keep my frustration in check. I locate the go-to person through the Mola website—Herb Pletcher—to discuss a very obvious quality control issue. First, I email Herb, and shortly afterward, we speak by phone. After several attempts to make this work, we finally conclude that there are only two options left: 1. drill new holes to accommodate the holes that are 1/8 of an inch off, or 2. return it for an exchange with B&H Photo. Of course, I went with option 2. I was planning to write a June blog about the Elinchrom RX and the Demi, but that will have to wait another day (sigh). Now, I wait for it to arrive again.
Here is the contact info if you have purchased a Mola beauty dish and encounter an issue. Herb Pletcher email: herb.pletcher@promarkbrands.com
New Gear : Elinchrom RX & Mola Demi
With all photo projects on hold, it gave me some time to rethink some of the photo tools at my disposal, and to get rid of what I didn’t need or wasn’t using enough of and bring in some much needed new gear.
With all photo projects on hold, it gave me some time to rethink some of the photo tools at my disposal, and to get rid of what I didn’t need or wasn’t using enough of and bring in some much needed new gear.
The first new arrival was a “22 Mola Demi beauty dish (white) from B&H Photo in New York. It arrived about a week or so before the start of this blog. I wanted to replace my 17” silver Elinchrom beauty dish, which I decided to keep; just in case I need to add a little crispness to my images. I engaged renowned fashion photographer Melissa Rodwell in an earlier offer she made about helping me purchase a Mola Beauty dish and based on a photoshoot she did with the Demi (the video can be seen below) it made my decision that much easier to make my purchase.
**Though the video above shows content by Melissa Rodwell and her team, the YouTube channel it appears on is not affiliated with her brand.
The 2nd and last piece of new gear to arrive was an Elinchrom RX Speed AS (kit) This battery-powered system rates at 1100 ws of power, more than enough to overpower the sun. I fell in love with the Elinchrom system a few years ago when I sold off my Paul C Buff lights in place of something more portable and lighter, I bought the Elinchrom Quadra Hybrid and the Quadra RX soon after, and love them. So why the decision to get the RX? Well, it wasn’t that tough of a choice. Before the purchase of the RX, I was using an older Elinchrom monolight with my Quadra set up; the Elinchrom EL-1000. I still had my old Paul C Buff battery pack, the Vagabond II, minus the battery, which I was going to sell (still am) and take those funds to get another Quadra, As it goes, I saw the RX was listed at a steal with B&H Photo in New York. Here’s the link:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/532562-REG/Elinchrom_EL_10287_Ranger_RX_Speed_AS.html
“Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS Asymmetrical Battery Powered Pack This is the Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS Asymmetrical Battery Powered Pack. The “RX” signifies the ability to be fired by a remote control handset, or computer. The “AS” indicates the ability of the 1100Ws power pack to divide power to each of 2 heads asymmetrically.”
I would like to thank Melissa for her friendship and for being so approachable, it’s photographers such as her that makes me want to do more as a photographer., to explore and experiment outside my comfort zone. I’ve spent so much time on the road shooting events, I almost forgot what it was like to actually create something,.
You can see Melissa Rodwell’s amazing work at her web site, as well as in her Magazine ALICE. where she and her sensational team put out some amazing content.
Helpful links of these brands :
New Gear : Nikon D800 and Tether Tools
At the time when I had blogged my decision to switch, I was still using my trusty Nikon D200 and D2x, both cameras were not supported by Adobe Lightroom for tethered shooting, Capture One did support my gear. As the months passed, I decided to sell off my Nikon D200, convincing myself I really didn’t need 2 DSLR’s anymore: I was still leaning into the Capture One for tethered shooting;
It’s been well over a year since I had written and decided to switch to Capture One software; I have since had a change of heart.
At the time when I had blogged my decision to switch, I was still using my trusty Nikon D200 and D2x, both cameras were not supported by Adobe Lightroom for tethered shooting, Capture One did support my gear. As the months passed, I decided to sell off my Nikon D200, convincing myself I really didn’t need 2 DSLR’s anymore: I was still leaning into the Capture One for tethered shooting; I still had my Nikon D2x.
Well, I thought I was going to keep my D2x until about 2 weeks ago when an had opportunity had crossed my desk that I could not pass up, I found a Nikon D800’s at a very reasonable price and low shutter actuations, around 31k,
Sure the D800’s was a full frame camera with a whopping 36.0 mp, with dual memory card ports and much higher dynamic and color range versus my crop sensor D2x, the main selling point for me was it was compatible with Lightroom cc. So I listed my D2x on eBay the next morning and by that evening it sold; I placed my order for the D800, and headed over tho Tether Tools web site to place my order for my tether cable and a few other accessories.
The D800 arrived first, followed by the tether cable a few days later, I had already set up my strobes for my first real test shoot, using D800, Adobe Lightroom cc, and the newly acquired tether cable and a tether block. (this secures the cable to the camera body with a plate and mounted on my Arca Swiss B1 monoball on the tripod.) This prevents the cable from being jerked out of the camera and cause damage.
First image I shot with the new camera, non tethered, Equipment used: Elinchrom Quadra w/ 1 head in a 35x140cm strip box with grid, Silver 4x6 reflector panel behind subject., Nikon D800 w/ a Elinchron Skyport HS transmitter , 85mm f1.8 , F16 @1/3200
Now the real test shoot came when I connected the D800 to my laptop per the tether cable. communication between Lightroom cc and the D800 took less than a minute (probably less cause I was looking at the prompts that appeared on the screen) I was ready to shoot.
My lovely wife sat for me for this test shoot, which by the way is part of a personal project I have been wanting to do for quite some time. During our session I was quite pleased with what I was seeing on the laptop, I was able to make better decisions on adjusting the amount of light, posing and critical focus.
The 2 images below are from the tethered session, Both images had basic yet minor adjustment done in Lightoom, with the exception of the second image I decided to slightly desaturated just for effect. I kept my set up simple and took full advantage of the high sync on the D800 and Elinchrom'; we shot at F16 with a shutter of 1/3200, using 1 Elinchrom pack and strobe with a socked 17” beauty dish.
And there we have it, this blog was not about one editing software being faster or better than the other, but more about using what I already had with a more updated camera. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want to give Capture one a spin around the block. Who knows, that might be a future blog; Lightroom cc versus Capture One.
What’s in my bag
Here's a peek at what I currently use both in-house and on location. My whole Elinchrom system is actually the newest addition I have added since switching from the Paul C. Buff units, and it was worth the switch.
Often at times I never get asked “what’s in my bag”, well that’s not entirely true, when doing events is when that question would arise……at times.
Bags & Cases:
Timbuk2 Medium Messenger Bag (custom)
Domke F7 (black)
Domke F1-x little bit bigger bag (tan)
Elinchrom Hardshell Case
Tenba Hardshell Waterproof Case
Anvil Heavy Duty Flight Case
Cameras, Lenses:
Digital 35mm:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 85mm F1.8 D Lens
Nikkor 80-200mm F2.8 Lens
Sony Alpha A7R II
Sony FE 135mm F/1.8 GM
4x5 Film:
Toyo GII (4X5 camera)
Schneider Symmar-S 180mm f5.6 MC (Large Format Lens)
Riteway 4x5 Film Holders
Medium Format Film:
Rolleiflex MX series TLR
Mamiya RB67 Pro SD
Mamiya Sekor 50mm C f4.5
Mamiya 140mm F4.5 macro type “C” Lens
Mamiya K/L 90mm f3.5 Lens
Mamiya K/L 180 f4.5 Lens
Mamiya CDS Prism Finder
Mamiya Model 2 Prism Finder
Mamiya RB67 Waist Level Finder
Mamiya (RB) 6x8 Motorised 120 Film Back (2X's)
Mamiya (RB/RZ) 6x7 Motorised 120 Film Back
Lighting:
Elinchrom Quadra Pro Flash Head
Elinchrom Quadra Action Flash Head
Elinchrom Speed AS A Head
Elinchrom EL-1000 flash Head
Elinchrom Quadra Hybrid Battery Pack (400ws)
Elinchrom Quadra RX Battery Pack (400ws)
Elinchrom Ranger RX Speed AS Battery Pack (1100ws)
Elinchrom RQ Adapters (2X's)
Elinchrom Deflectors set
Elinchrom Maxispot Reflector
Elinchrom Rotalux 39" Deep Octabox
Elinchrom 17" Silver Beauty Dish
Elinchrom Basic 8.25 Reflector
30-degree Grid Spot (8”)
Elinchrom Skyport Plus HS Transmitter (Nikon)
Elinchrom Skyport Plus HS Transmitter (Sony)
Elinchrom EL-Skyport Transceiver
Elinchrom EL-Skyport Receiver
Honey Grid 40cm- 25-degree Grid Spot
Vagabond II Battery Pack (used w/Elinchrom EL-1000)
Mola Demi 22” Beauty Dish (White)
22” spot grid for Mola Demi (20 Degree)
Photek Softlighter II
Phottix 35cm X 155cm Strip Light
Nikon SB-26 Speedlight
Misc:
4'x 6' California Sunbounce w/ Silver/White Reflector Panel (2x’s)
42"x78" PVC frames (2X's)
42"x78" Calumet Translucent 1/2 stop Fabric
42"x78" Calumet White/Silver Fabric
Savage Seamless Paper (Thunder Gray) 86"x 36"
5x7 Canvas Backdrop Olive/Medium Texture
Rosco Color Gels
Bogen/Avenger Rolling Stand
Matthews Century C+ w/Turtle Base (Black)
Matthews Baby Runway Stand with Wheeled Base
Matthews 40” Hollywood Head/Arm (black)
Matthews 40” Hollywood Head/Arm
Matthews Half/Full Size Apple Box
X-rite ColorChecker
Workflow:
Dell XPS 17” Laptop
Dell XPS Desktop (32GB memory) Dual 27” Monitors
Wacom Intuos Pro (Medium) w/ Pro 2 Pen
WD External Drive 500GB
WD External Drive 3T
WD External Drive 6T
WD External Drive 8T
Adobe Lightroom cc
Adobe Photoshop cc
Adobe Photoshop CS3 Master Collection
Capture One
Accessories:
Mamiya G2 Lens Shade
Tokina Lens Shade
Nikon Lens Shade
Sandisk Type II & III CF Cards (10X's)
Sandisk Card Reader
Nikon Battery Charger
B+W UV Filters (8x’s)
Sekonic L-358 Light Meter
Bogen 3021 Tripod (bought this in 1991)
Bogen 3030 Head (bought this in 1991)**retired
Arca Swiss B1 Ballhead
Arca Swiss Universal Plates (4X's)
77mm Neutral Density Filter