This Fresnel attachment any good?

HoppyUK

HoppyUK

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To all you Fresnel fans, what do you make of this low cost Fresnel attachment? It's Bowens mount, zoomable 10-40 degrees, £48. Robert Hall, who usually knows what he's talking about, says it's very handy, replaces several honeycomb grids, and is especially good for backgrounds
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IAdDLnDhw


I can't find the exact one he's using on sale in the UK, but this Nanguang branded version from Amazon looks identical and comes with a set of coloured gels https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NCE9Y2G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2TNBFP6IC5IZ5&psc=1
 
HoppyUK said:
To all you Fresnel fans, what do you make of this low cost Fresnel attachment? It's Bowens mount, zoomable 10-40 degrees, £48. Robert Hall, who usually knows what he's talking about, says it's very handy, replaces several honeycomb grids, and is especially good for backgrounds
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IAdDLnDhw


I can't find the exact one he's using on sale in the UK, but this Nanguang branded version from Amazon looks identical and comes with a set of coloured gels https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NCE9Y2G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2TNBFP6IC5IZ5&psc=1
Click to expand...

I have one, oK for the price

Mike
 
At that price, it must be worth a punt:)
I very much doubt whether it could do for anything except backgrounds though, because of its tiny size (which isn't even stated).
A long time ago I had one made by Bron, 14" lens and massive, but brilliant. Years later I used a Lencarta one, 9" lens and OK but nowhere near as good, and I tried the Bowens one, 8" lens and definitely too small for glamour portraits.
 
Cheers guys. I'm not seeing it as anything like a proper Fresnel spot as Garry has pointed out, but more of a handy/zoomable background light, maybe an effect light (hair accent?) or similar to a honeycomb grid on a small reflector as RH describes his video.

Anyway, I found a crazy cheap one for £24 shipped from China! Can't go far wrong at that, and it might even be here before Xmas :)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nanguang-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
 
I use my small Fresnel for product shots all the time and it's brilliant - mine is a fixed focus point (optimised for Multiblitz heads) but has a variable iris.
Fress.jpg

Paul
 
paul williams said:
I use my small Fresnel for product shots all the time and it's brilliant - mine is a fixed focus point (optimised for Multiblitz heads) but has a variable iris.
View attachment 113649

Paul
Click to expand...
And an adjustable iris is arguably the best way of doing it, that's what my old Bron one had.
 
For what use?
I bought one just like that... too big for what I wanted (pin spot) and too small for most other uses. And I don't think it actually zooms nearly as much as advertised (although I haven't used it much). Add to that the fact I still can't see any discernible difference to the characteristics of a fresnel lens, it's kind of wasted money IMO... at least for me. A DIY snoot/mask works better/just as well (but eats power).
 
sk66 said:
For what use?
I bought one just like that... too big for what I wanted (pin spot) and too small for most other uses. And I don't think it actually zooms nearly as much as advertised (although I haven't used it much). Add to that the fact I still can't see any discernible difference to the characteristics of a fresnel lens, it's kind of wasted money IMO... at least for me. A DIY snoot/mask works better/just as well (but eats power).
Click to expand...

I've bought it really because it's so cheap, and on the strength of Robert Hall's video as a zoomable background light for portraits. If it does that, I'll be happy; if it does anything more (maybe like a small honeycombed light) I'll be well pleased. If it's useless, at least it won't be my most expensive waste of money ;)
 
I've got one but it don't fit any of my Bowens heads, however it does fit the Godox bracket with "S" fitting, works well as a spot on back grounds for portraits using the AD360.

I have toyed with the idea of trimming the lugs down to make it fit which will make it much more usable, in fact I'm down at the studio today so I will give it a go and report back.
 
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Toxic said:
I've got one but it don't fit any of my Bowens heads, however it does fit the Godox bracket with "S" fitting, works well as a spot on back grounds for portraits using the AD360.

I have toyed with the idea of trimming the lugs down to make it fit which will make it much more usable, in fact I'm down at the studio today so I will give it a go and report back.
Click to expand...

I've been using a number of different Bowens-fit heads and modifiers recently, and not all of them fit eachother, including Bowens own brand. It's the lugs as you say, just a tiny bit too big. It's only a fraction of a mm and you want a nice snug fit to stop the modifier from flopping around, easily fixed with a file, but very annoying.
 
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simonbarker said:
Considered that one, I liked that they have a few different attachments for it like barn doors but I figured it would have much the same output as the other unit and it's starting to get expensive enough it's no longer something you don't have to think about.
Click to expand...
I have one of those - it's too small to use with a studio flash head really - you get a nice ball of light but with a focused image of your flash tube in the middle, especially at the spot end. Works well with small light sources (LED chips, tungsten bulbs or small flash). On a speedlight (via a clamp type S-fit speedlight adapter) it produces a nice ball of light with similar fall-off to a grid, but with crisper shadows. It does have holes in the side though which may be an issue if you're shooting wide, as light leaks out all over the place. Standard barn doors for a 7" reflector will fit on it just fine btw.
 
just got hold of an old fresnel halogen lamp for very little money which still works as it should but i don't think it produces enough light to be of any real use
iv'e been looking at ways to modify it to take a small flash but not sure how successful it's going to be
still it only cost 12 quid so worth a play :)
 
cosmicma said:
just got hold of an old fresnel halogen lamp for very little money which still works as it should but i don't think it produces enough light to be of any real use
iv'e been looking at ways to modify it to take a small flash but not sure how successful it's going to be
still it only cost 12 quid so worth a play :)
Click to expand...
Well, if the shutter speed is long enough it should have enough power.
If it's really old, it may fetch a lot of money as a home decor item, the old ones sell for insane amounts...
 
cosmicma said:
just got hold of an old fresnel halogen lamp for very little money which still works as it should but i don't think it produces enough light to be of any real use
iv'e been looking at ways to modify it to take a small flash but not sure how successful it's going to be
still it only cost 12 quid so worth a play :)
Click to expand...
Is it big enough for a small proper flash head or an AD200
 
Garry Edwards said:
Well, if the shutter speed is long enough it should have enough power.
If it's really old, it may fetch a lot of money as a home decor item, the old ones sell for insane amounts...
Click to expand...

i don't think it's that old or at least not old enough to have any real value

BclPsES.jpg


it's a bit tatty but it will clean up quite easily and it works just fine

i was hoping to use it as others have suggested for lighting up the background with a coloured gel or maybe try that Hollywood lighting i keep hearing about :)
 
Phil V said:
Is it big enough for a small proper flash head or an AD200
Click to expand...

not really big enough for a proper flash head and the price of the AD200 would put the project out of reach
i was thinking more along the lines of a small portable flash and an optical trigger which i have floating around somewhere

i want to keep this as cheap n cheerful as i can :)
 
getting back to the fresnel thing iv'e finally converted the old halogen fresnel lamp to flash
it's a bit untidy at the moment but i just wanted to see what the results are like and if it was worth the effort

it works as an optical slave and unfortunately there's no control over the flash power but it seems to work
total cost around 25 quid

taken at f 7.1 iso 200 1/250th shutter
JnrUi24.jpg

taken at f8 iso 200 1/250th shutter
lqhf0bB.jpg


taken at f10 iso 200 1/250th shutter
DGbZbpf.jpg

i will tidy the gubbins up inside the lamp and try with different coloured gels

i still have the halogen internals and when i get more time i will compare the difference
 
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HoppyUK said:
To all you Fresnel fans, what do you make of this low cost Fresnel attachment? It's Bowens mount, zoomable 10-40 degrees, £48. Robert Hall, who usually knows what he's talking about, says it's very handy, replaces several honeycomb grids, and is especially good for backgrounds
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07IAdDLnDhw


I can't find the exact one he's using on sale in the UK, but this Nanguang branded version from Amazon looks identical and comes with a set of coloured gels https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NCE9Y2G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A2TNBFP6IC5IZ5&psc=1
Click to expand...

Well it's arrived, but since I've loaned my Bowens-mount flash heads to a mate, I can't test it for real.

It's a pretty basic device, but decently made and looks quite robust. I've cobbled it on to the front of an Elinchrom, just using the modelling lamp, and I'm seeing pretty much what's shown in the video with a very soft-edged pool of light, also like Cosmicma's images above. It's similar to a grid on a small reflector, but the way I'll probably use it, mainly for backgrounds, the zooming feature will be very handy. You can basically put it where you want, or where you have a bit of spare space, then zoom for best effect instead of having to move it back and forth. Well worth £24 :thumbs:
 
cosmicma said:
i don't think it's that old or at least not old enough to have any real value
Click to expand...
Do a few web searches for "upcycling" and I think you would be pleasantly surprised about its value.
 
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redsnappa said:
Do a few web searches for "upcycling" and I think you would be pleasantly surprised about its value.
Click to expand...

the ones i have are a pretty basic affair made by a lighting company in oxford in the mid 70's and retailed for around 45 quid at the time
they were mainly aimed at schools and the small theatre groups and are reasonably easy to find today
 
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