I did. Since the Interfit grid that Hermes originally brought to the forum's attention has been changed in size slightly and is no longer compatible with the Maxilite (unless, like Simon, you're prepared to take heroic measures) it was necessary to find an alternate source.
I believe it was Brendan who first obtained a Maxilite grid from Nick at honeycombgrids.com. That first generation grid had a wide rim and loose fit that required Velcro tabs and/or padding around the grid's outer edge to secure it to the Maxilite. I wanted a grid with a narrower rim and one that could be inserted into the Maxilite and held in place securely by friction alone. No Velco allowed.
So, back in May, I contacted Nick and told him what I wanted. It took awhile until suitable materials to fabricate the grid were available. I started to worry when Nick asked me to measure the inside diameter of my Maxilite. Hmmm. Since grids for this modifier appeared on the Honeycombgrids.com site, I assumed the manufacturer knew what size they needed to be. I know; never assume.
Early in June, the first grid was shipped. Yes, I said "first". Despite my requesting a Velcroless grid, V1 came with Velcro. It was also much undersized and did not fit the Maxilite. Even with the leaf spring along the grid edge, it would not remain in place. The diameter was off by at least 1/4" in places.
I informed Nick of the problem and he set about making a V2 for me. A week or two later, V2 arrived. This one, alas, was fractionally too large to fit inside the Maxilite's rim. Starting to sound like Goldilocks and the three bears, no?
At this point, I sent the too small and too large grids back to Nick and sat back and waited for V3.
V3 (drum roll ....) is PERFECT. No Velcro and a snug and secure friction fit inside the Maxilite's rim. The rim channel is a narrow 3/8" so the Maxilite's business end opening is only minimally decreased when the grid is in place.
The grid material is lightweight plastic that, from the front, looks like soda straws rather than the hexagons we're used to seeing in aluminum grid material. Before you ask, I do not know how tolerant this material is of modeling light heat. That's a question for Nick.
Here's the nude Maxilite:
And here it is with the grid in place:
I believe Nick specs the grid material at 25-degrees. At four feet from the background, this is the pattern thrown by a gridless Maxilite:
And the pattern with the grid:
Here are two images showing the gridless and gridded patterns thrown by the Maxilite when a white Elinchrom deflector is inserted:
Clearly, the Honeycombgrids Maxilite grid does its job well. Now that (hopefully) the required grid dimensions are known, I would not hesitate to recommend Nick's product to anyone looking to enhance the versatility of their Maxilite reflector with the addition of an effective and affordable grid.
Nick's patience and perserverance are to be commended. Come to think of it, so is mine
Dave F.
