Lencarta Safari 600 Ring Flash

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alexg

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Hi there,

I'm extremely close to purchasing the Safari 600 Ring Flash, but was wondering if anyone has had any experience with it.
The price tag compared Bowens or Profoto equivalents seem like a no brainer, but a REAL concern for me, is that although you can control it's power on the battery pack, at it's lowest setting even with an aperture of f22 on camera, it is apparently much too powerful to get in close, as you could do for example with a standard pro ringflash.
I'd love to hear from anyone else who has purchased it regarding this issue, and see some examples of work shot with it.

Thanks guys.
 
Also does anyone know if any newer versions of this ring flash are planned which may address this issue?
 
Not surprisingly, I can answer all your questions:)
No new versions planned for quite a while.
The full to 1/8th power is more than adequate for most situations and when it isn't you simply stick a neutral density filter to the front. I use a 0.9 (3 stops) which reduces the effective minimum power from 50 to 6J. If you get the optional diffuser the ND fits inside it very nicely.

See this real-world review by a customer. He uses the studio heads with the generator pack, not the ringflash, but the principle is the same
 
Hmm...ok thanks for that Garry, the ND filter certainly does seem to be a solution, I'll give you that :). Do Lencarta make ND filters? or is there a brand you would recommend?
Also I currently use Bowens heads, and would be including the ring flash in that set up..
is there any difference in colour temperature between the two?
 
No, Lencarta doesn't make ND gels but you can get them very easily via Ebay or Lee Filters.
There will be differences in colour temperature between Bowens & Lencarta but it will be too small to matter. The bare head differential will probably be less than 200K, but of course modifiers such as softboxes and umbrellas can mess things up...
Maintaining colour temperature integrity is the main reason why Lencarta limits the range of adjustment. Some manufacturers take colour temp consistency more seriously than others
 
Thanks Garry, you've been very helpful but I'm slightly stuck on the colour temperature point to be honest..

I do use lots of modifiers, and was planning to incorporate the ring flash into a set up which could use up to four or five other lights with all sorts of grids, softboxes, umbrellas etc.

I'm gonna have to do a lot of thinking..
 
alexg said:
Thanks Garry, you've been very helpful but I'm slightly stuck on the colour temperature point to be honest..

I do use lots of modifiers, and was planning to incorporate the ring flash into a set up which could use up to four or five other lights with all sorts of grids, softboxes, umbrellas etc.

I'm gonna have to do a lot of thinking..
Click to expand...

If you do have a problem then you'll have it regardless of the make/model of equipment, because it will be caused by the modifiers not by the flash itself.
There are only 2 possible workarounds - either renew any of your modifiers that have yellowed with age or test them for colour temp and fit colour correction gels as necessary.
 
This might help and although I think the Safari outfit is a great bit of kit, I am thinking of parting with mine as I do not really use it enough, and I have the ringflash with diffuser and two heads. I also have a Sunpak ringflash that I picked up cheap on ebay for my macro stuff.

I have used the Safari kit with a couple of Bowens Gemini heads and you would not be able to tell which was which.

This shot was taken using 2 Geminis and 2 Safari Heads
 
EdBray - That was an excellent review, so thanks for that!

Garry - I think I'm simply paranoid due to my tight budget at the moment, I obviously don't want to make a purchase I'll regret, but between the two of you I'm pretty much sold to be honest.

Also I've just been figuring out exactly what a Bowens Ring Flash setup would cost. From Calumet - the new ring flash and a compatible battery pack comes to about £2700 and the old one with a compatible battery pack £2,200.
So yeah. Sold.

Garry - I read somewhere on this forum that it's possible to test out Lencarta gear at your studio.. is that still on offer?
 
alexg said:
EdBray - That was an excellent review, so thanks for that!

Garry - I think I'm simply paranoid due to my tight budget at the moment, I obviously don't want to make a purchase I'll regret, but between the two of you I'm pretty much sold to be honest.

Also I've just been figuring out exactly what a Bowens Ring Flash setup would cost. From Calumet - the new ring flash and a compatible battery pack comes to about £2700 and the old one with a compatible battery pack £2,200.
So yeah. Sold.

Garry - I read somewhere on this forum that it's possible to test out Lencarta gear at your studio.. is that still on offer?
Click to expand...

Yes, no problem - but I'm away at the moment, visiting the factory. Should be back about Wed next week. Probably best to drop me a PM with your contact details, I'll then get in touch.
 
david1701 said:
he needs time to hide the bodies ;)
Click to expand...
The things they say about me on this forum...
David, would you like to come shooting with me when I get back? I'm a pretty good shot:lol:
 
david1701 said:
hmmm, do I get to wear a flack jacket?
Click to expand...

Good idea - I've always wanted to test one against a shotgun - do you think it would help?:lol::lol::lol:

The sacrifices I make 4 business - 2 weekends of clay shooting missed...
 
I'm very close to purchasing studio RingFlash such as Lencarta Safari Ring Flash.
Up to now I've seen several units they are look the same (or similar)

Lencarta Safari Ring Flash
JinBei RD 600
Falcon Eyes

Does anybody know what is a difference between these units?

They are same or not with exception brand name and logo?

What is the shortest focal lens usable with this piece of equipment?

Is that possible to use accessories such as diffuser from Lencarta to JinBei or Falcon Eyes?

regards
 
I would suggest to give the Goldenshell webpage a look (they produce the Jinbei)

http://www.goldenshell.com.cn/en/productsDetalis.asp?id=332

and ask the resellers of the other brands where their goddies are assembled. :cool:

Can't say anything about the ring flash but I have a portable Jinbei system with a conventional RD400 bowens mount flash head in use for a couple of weeks now and I am very pleased (even more since the whole set was around 300 Euros from an online distributer in th NL). They also offer the Ringflash for 149 Euros but don't have the battery packs in stock. However, have heard they charge 50 Euros for shipping to the UK... :'(

Here are some pictures of my mobile setup, might be helpful to get an idea about what you get for the money, even though the ringflash needs the stronger battery pack of course.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/laternamagica/sets/72157623679557432/

P.S.: Just for the sake of clarity, I am just a user, without any commercial interest or affiliation with Jinbei or the NL shop selling the stuff. - In fact would be interestin if anybody is aware of another distributor for Jinbei in Europe since the NL store almost permanently is old out.
 
Diogenes,

As I've said in another thread, Lencarta are not rebadged Jinbei products, whether you choose to believe that or not.
I'm not knocking the Jinbei products, but there are major differences between the components used by the different Companies, even though the body shells are bought from Jinbei.
 
Garry,

as I stated, I have zero commercial interest here but isn't it just fair for customers to ask why do things at least look the same since it is hard to deny that they do?

Than, based on the sets of information given by the manufacturer or the reseller of specific brands, everybody can draw his or her own conclusions and decide what to buy.

A forum like this just helps customers to collect information from different sources and enrich them with their own experience as users of specific products

Am I wrong?

BTW, the very positive thing about Lencarta seems to be that the whole product range is available while it is relatively hard to shop for Jinbei, at least in Europe.
 
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