A recent dramatic price DECREASE on certain Elinchrom reflectors induced me to purchase a Maxilite a few weeks ago from Amazon. There are several enthusiastic Maxilite owner/users on the forum so I thought I'd give this big reflector a try. Now, since I own both Elinchrom 600RXes and PCB Einsteins, whenever possible, I try to adapt the unique Elinchrom light modifiers for use on the Einsteins. I've already adapted my 17" square. The Maxilite would be next.
Some Elinchrom reflectors are particularly good candidates for hybridization as their original mounts are separate pieces riveted to the body of the reflector. The 17" square is one such reflector; the Maxilite is another.
Of course, drilling out the rivets and removing the original elinchrom mount is only half the battle. You still need to find a suitable AB mount. Jerry Kacey to the rescue! His AB/White Lightning adapter is ideal for this operation. At least it would be if it were 5-1/2" in diameter instead of a bit over 6". The Kacey adapter is made of steel, not aluminum, and is VERY difficult to work with. I'm certainly not equipped to cut this ring down to the required size. Fortunately, I was able to locate a local engine rebuilding shop that was willing to perform the surgery for me. Even then, it took them three tries to cut the ring. Eventually, they were able to cut it properly on a lathe.
With that out of the way, the rest of the mod is easy. The finished product:
The Kacey adapter must be cut down to 5-1/2" in diameter so that it will fit in the "well" where the original Elinchrom mount was seated:
The cut down AB ring is held in place with three 6-32 machine screws and wing nuts. The AB and original Elinchrom mounts are quickly interchangeable:
The 3/8" hole in the AB ring seen at the 12 o'clock position in the prior photo was added to permit use of a deflector:
If you're motivated to try something like this, it's easy to do IF you're able to get the tough-as-nails Kacey AB adapter trimmed down to the required size (actually, the full-sized Kacey adapter can be used as is but it has to be screwed to the outside of the reflector). Other than that, all that's involved is drilling out the three rivets holding the original Elinchrom mount to the reflector and drilling three appropriately placed holes in the cut down AB ring. One additional 3/8" hole will make the mount AB deflector friendly.
Thanks for making this possible, Jerry.
Dave F.
