30º lighttools grid for chimera strip: a mini review

as a few of you may already know i own a few of the Lighttools eggcrates/grids for my softboxes, i really like the quality of this product

recently i bought a 30* grid for my Chimera stripbox so i thought i would test it out to see/learn how it works and how it controls the light at different distances

here are some results i wanted to share with you, these images are for comparison purposes and are as accurate as i could make them with no processing

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here are a couple of shots at 6' from the wall for comparison

first shot is the stripbox with no grid, next with the grid

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ok next up is a comparison 4' from the wall

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now i have a shot at 3' foot from the wall and also a side shot of the light falloff pattern

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here is a sample shot, stripbox 3' away at camera left and 45*, first no grid and then with grid

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Sweet!!!

Looks great Martin. 30 degree grids are serious business. Thanks for posting.

That's an amazing amount of control in the image that's 6' from the wall with the grid. Wow!

I'm a little surprised at the lack of lighting on the vase of the bouquet at 3' with the grid. The whole idea of the CU is to provide light coverage from the full face of the softbox from 1x diagonal distance to .5x diagonal distance of the softbox. Three feet puts it within to the 1x to .5x diagonal distance range of that 14x56 stripbox. Is the "subject" centered in the coverage area of the stripbox?

PacAce wrote in post #11914302
I'm a little surprised at the lack of lighting on the vase of the bouquet at 3' with the grid. The whole idea of the CU is to provide light coverage from the full face of the softbox from 1x diagonal distance to .5x diagonal distance of the softbox. Three feet puts it within to the 1x to .5x diagonal distance range of that 14x56 stripbox. Is the "subject" centered in the coverage area of the stripbox?

What makes you think this is a "CU Focus" grid, Leo? Did I miss something?

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #11914564
What makes you think this is a "CU Focus" grid, Leo? Did I miss something?

Dave F.

Doh! Good point, Dave. As soon as I saw this thread, I just jumped to the conclusion that it was going to be a review of the CU Focus grid because of this:

https://photography-on-the.net …p=11870458&post​count=5298

PacAce wrote in post #11914664
Doh! Good point, Dave. As soon as I saw this thread, I just jumped to the conclusion that it was going to be a review of the CU Focus grid because of this:

https://photography-on-the.net …p=11870458&post​count=5298

Your assumption makes perfect sense then, Leo.

Dave F.

PacAce wrote in post #11914302
I'm a little surprised at the lack of lighting on the vase of the bouquet at 3' with the grid. The whole idea of the CU is to provide light coverage from the full face of the softbox from 1x diagonal distance to .5x diagonal distance of the softbox. Three feet puts it within to the 1x to .5x diagonal distance range of that 14x56 stripbox. Is the "subject" centered in the coverage area of the stripbox?

I was a little surprised at first, as well. However, if you look at the "before" photo, it looks like the softbox is feathered. Notice the shadow line at the bottom of the vase.

For other CU Focus grid neophytes like me, check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=OtI2SSht9cg

TMR Design wrote in post #11914084
That's an amazing amount of control in the image that's 6' from the wall with the grid. Wow!

thanks Rob, i was actually very surprised at how broad the strip light was without the grid

PacAce wrote in post #11914302
I'm a little surprised at the lack of lighting on the vase of the bouquet at 3' with the grid. The whole idea of the CU is to provide light coverage from the full face of the softbox from 1x diagonal distance to .5x diagonal distance of the softbox. Three feet puts it within to the 1x to .5x diagonal distance range of that 14x56 stripbox. Is the "subject" centered in the coverage area of the stripbox?

slow down Leo, i'll do a similar comparison just for you when i get time, but just so your not disappointed

here is the vase with the "CU focus grid" on the large Chimera

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