Commitment Anxiety - Light Modifier Mounts

Adam_M

Adam_M

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Hi All,

Firstly I shoot from the air and haven't looked into lighting kit for half a decade. I've forgotten most of what I had learned years ago.

One thing that has always put me off getting into studio lights has been that they all seem to have different mounts. It's one thing choosing between Canon & Nikon, but all these lighting companies... ! It would absolutely suck to sink in a few thousand in lighting gear and then realise, oops, should have gone with someone else.

However, I have noticed that the Bowens S mount seems to be used by many of the smaller companies/cheaper brands. Lencarta, Elemental, Camulet gear... all Bowens S. And of course Bowens own gear as well.

Are there any other companies making modifiers with Bowens S mount? I'm starting to think that this is the mount I should be investing in. And does anyone know any reason why the S mount is so popular with these companies?

(If only Alien Bee gear was a decent price in the UK! I'd just buy those)
 
S-fit is popular for a reason. Years ago, when we didn't have big softboxes, heavy beauty dishes and the like, just about any mount would do. It didn't much matter if it didn't have a positive lock, if it couldn't take the weight or was fiddly. But it does now, and so S-fit has been adopted by a very large number of manufacturers and probably outnumbers all others combined - it isn't going to go away:)

The only other popular fitting in the UK is Elinchrom. The only other popular fitting in the U.S. is Balcar. Personally I think it's a horrible fitting but it's the one that Alien Bees use, and they are market leaders in their own country.
 
Garry Edwards said:
S-fit is popular for a reason. Years ago, when we didn't have big softboxes, heavy beauty dishes and the like, just about any mount would do. It didn't much matter if it didn't have a positive lock, if it couldn't take the weight or was fiddly. But it does now, and so S-fit has been adopted by a very large number of manufacturers and probably outnumbers all others combined - it isn't going to go away:)

The only other popular fitting in the UK is Elinchrom. The only other popular fitting in the U.S. is Balcar. Personally I think it's a horrible fitting but it's the one that Alien Bees use, and they are market leaders in their own country.
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I thought you might have the answer ;) thanks Garry. When I first looked into studio lights I had Elinchrom's shoved down my throat but now it feels like there's more options.

I wonder, is it possible to modify a S mount into an Elinchrom mount? I've seen a modification for turning it into a Belcar mount by drilling some holes...

I wish they'd all use the same!
 
treeman said:
Check out ebay, lots of different adaptors on there.

Do you want to use Elinchrom modifiers on S fit strobes?
Click to expand...

I'll have to soon!

I was thinking more S fit modifiers on Elinchrom strobes. I'm pretty sure that I'll be buying S fit modifiers, but it'd be nice to know if I can somehow use them on Elinchrom if I switch in the distant future.
 
Quite a few softboxes have interchangeable rings, so you can swap the inner ring at a later date.
However, if you want to purchase S fit outright, and then use an adaptor to your Eli heads, there are adaptors available such as this one.
Just watch out for the increased depth from flash tube seat to opening of the softbox, as this can effect the way the light behaves within the softbox.
 
IMHO part of the beauty of Elly lights is their range of modifiers. The Rotalux softboxes are superb.

If you're seriously thinking you may end up with Elinchrom, could you not push a little now and get even a basic set of Elly lights?
 
Thanks Michael!

Mark it's much more about stopping me from feeling like I'm locked into one system than anything else, and being able to use whatever I buy now on possible future purchases. And maximum bang for buck, of course.

Though speaking or Rotalux, they are gorgeous looking...
 
Adam_M said:
Mark it's much more about stopping me from feeling like I'm locked into one system than anything else, and being able to use whatever I buy now on possible future purchases. And maximum bang for buck, of course.
Click to expand...

Its a fair point, but you've already made one expensive decision with your camera choice, and TBH the difference between the major lighting companies is probably less than the camera manufacturers. I suppose it depends on what you want to do with them at the end of the day.

Roughly speaking, it's not until you start getting into super short flash durations, very fast recycling or ease of hire that you start to see the major difference in brands.
 
There are few mounts that a Dremel, a roll of duck tape and a positive attitude can't adapt :)

I heard a story a long time ago that Bowens didn't patent their mount so any 3rd party that made modifiers would make to match Bowens to get access to their customers and avoid getting sued. Somebody else told me this was an urban myth.
 
Adam_M said:
I'll have to soon!

I was thinking more S fit modifiers on Elinchrom strobes. I'm pretty sure that I'll be buying S fit modifiers, but it'd be nice to know if I can somehow use them on Elinchrom if I switch in the distant future.
Click to expand...

I've got a pair of Elinchrom D-Lites and a pair of Lumen8s (S-Fit).. I was a little worried about modifiers on a budget etc..

As it turns out, things have been easy.. with the cheap modifiers I have
- Some of them, I can directly swap the Bowen S ring for the Elinchrom ring, the holes for the rods is all the same for the ones I have..
- The adapters work really well and are cheap enough.

I do generally buy S-Fit though, as you have noticed, you have more choice down the 'cheap' end.. I then have 2 adapters and numerous mounting rings of both types to use on the more generic softboxes..
 
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