Calumet Genesis Accessories..

hawk911 wrote in post #5181330
Randy, did you try the umbrellas yet in your DL2s? Did you buy the reflector for the D-lite?

Geoff, I haven't tried umbrellas yet. I only have a Photek Softliter II with an 8mm shaft so it can't be used with the D-Lites. I haven't bought a reflector yet, I'll probably wait until I need barndoors. I have purchased through ebay 2 Photoflex speed rings for Elinchrom lights. I have those and an Amvona softbox in transit at the moment.

weegee wrote in post #5181353
thanks, bsawle.

thanks for that info Randy. Noticed from your sig, you have the Dlite kit. How would you rate the stands and the softboxes that come with it?

If I do decide to get an umbrella or two, then are you stuck buying Elinchrom's model?

There was some stuff I liked about the Dlites over the Genesis. For instance, I think replacement bulbs, etc. were cheaper. Also, there's that issue of the model lamp sticking out. And the Dlites come with a case. And most importantly, they're in stock : )

I'm so confused. Finding these forums has been an information blessing and a financial curse ; )

I bought my kit from B&H and the kit they sell has Manfrotto 3333 light stands. They are not heavy duty, but they aren't light duty either, so they must be medium duty. They are certainly sturdy enough for the lights and Portalight softboxes.
The Portalite softboxes were a big surprise to me. I really didn't expect them to be useful, but these things put out amazing even light. I like them a lot.
Photek and Lastolite are two other brands that I know that make 7mm shaft umbrellas.
The Elinchrom D-Lites put out consistant light pop after pop. The color is very accurate with no noticeable color shift. I recommend them highly.

what about the case for the lights? Any problems with the zipper?

I have one of the amvona SB with universal speed ring. This will not fit on the Genesis kit so I ordered an adapter for the inner ring. The Amvona speed ring comes in two parts. I will use the outer part to connect to the SB and the new adapter (s - type) that will connect to the lights. I believe this can be done on the Dlites too.

thanks again, Randy.

What other brands of SBs can be used with the Dlites. The Elinchrom options are few and expensive. Glad to hear the ones that come with the kit are of good use though. I need more of a strip box as well. Can I use the SP Systems line with the $10 speed ring (kind of what I was planning on doing with the Genesis ligths)

slimninj4 wrote in post #5181833
I have one of the amvona SB with universal speed ring. This will not fit on the Genesis kit so I ordered an adapter for the inner ring. The Amvona speed ring comes in two parts. I will use the outer part to connect to the SB and the new adapter (s - type) that will connect to the lights. I believe this can be done on the Dlites too.

Thanks, Slim. How much for the inner ring adapter? What exactly did you buy and from where?

I'm new to this so still trying to figure out the logistics of all the pieces.

hawk911 wrote in post #5181720
what about the case for the lights? Any problems with the zipper?

No problems, but I could tell from looking at it I needed to handle it with kid gloves.

weegee wrote in post #5181933
thanks again, Randy.

What other brands of SBs can be used with the Dlites. The Elinchrom options are few and expensive. Glad to hear the ones that come with the kit are of good use though. I need more of a strip box as well. Can I use the SP Systems line with the $10 speed ring (kind of what I was planning on doing with the Genesis ligths)

There are quite a few brands that can be used on the Elinchrom lights. Usually the maker of the softbox will make a speed ring that fits the various lights. I bought these speed rings from mpex. They are the main vendor on the strobist site. I just made sure that they would work with Photoflex and Amvona boxes and they assured me they would.
http://cgi.ebay.com …Name=STRK:MEWA:​PIC&ih=003

Amvona makes a strip box, but you will need a speed ring similar to the one I linked above. Either that one or a Photoflex speed ring will work. You can't use the supplied Amvona univeral ring though.
I've seen pics of the SP ring and I can't really tell what it's for. It doesn't have the correct notches to mate to the Elinchroms so I don't know how it works.

Okay, thanks. That's a better deal than the $80 per each one for the genesis lights.

I'm assuming those softboxes referenced below the speedring are compatable. Those are decent prices for that size.

Maybe I'll get a couple Dlites a la carte, add in some heavy duty stands, and get a couple of these softboxes with speed ring.

Just noticed the Dlites don't come with reflectors, in the kit either. What exactly does the reflector do? Is it necessary with SBs, only used with umbrellas, etc?

I sent an email to the company about this ebay offer, but looks interesting. Anyone know if this will fit the Genesis 200 or Dlite 2 directly without need of an additional speed ring?

http://cgi.ebay.com …Q_trksidZp1742.​m153.l1262

They've got a few bigger sized SBs at decent prizes. Shipping is a killer of course.

Here's a close look at an SP Studio Systems speed ring:

Thanks for posting, Dave. This is all starting to make sense now.

How about the SB I posted above from Ebay. Vendor says SB is made for Elinchrom, which should then work for Genesis. The ring they have pictured looks very similar to what you posted.

If this works, then this is a great deal. Even with $40+ shipping, you're getting supersized boxes, with grids. Saving that $80 for Calumet rings is worth it alone.

weegee wrote in post #5183382
Thanks for posting, Dave. This is all starting to make sense now.

How about the SB I posted above from Ebay. Vendor says SB is made for Elinchrom, which should then work for Genesis. The ring they have pictured looks very similar to what you posted.

If this works, then this is a great deal. Even with $40+ shipping, you're getting supersized boxes, with grids. Saving that $80 for Calumet rings is worth it alone.

I've been looking at those Konova eBay listings for a while now myself. The products seem to get good feedback from buyers. Those shipping costs are definitely a bitter pill but, even with the shipping, the Konova softboxes seem to be about the best deal going.

The mounting system looks to be very much like the SP Studio Systems approach: a simple presssed metal speed ring held captive to the back of the softbox. However, Konova provides no information about how these boxes are assembled or held together. Typically, a softbox is assembled by inserting tensioned fiberglass wands into holes in the speedring. The speed ring, then, is responsible for a good part of the rigidity of the assembled box. As the Konova speed ring plays no part in the structure of the softbox, how are they held together? The SP boxes, I know, open like umbrellas. Are the Konova boxes similar? Beats me but my best guess is that there's a secondary ring that receives the structural wands and the Elinchrom adapter ring clamps onto that. This is the approach found in the $80 Calumet/Elinchrom speed ring.

In any case, even if these Konova SB's are not the cat's meow, it wouldn't be the worst financial mistake you ever made. Right?

Dave F.

Dave, I think I read in one of the Q&A sections, someone asked the question of construction. And I believe the answer was "umbrella like" or something to that effect. I'll see if I can find it again. I think they asked if they were similar to X model, and the rep responded, no, they're more like Y model.

GIven that these are a lot bigger than the SP ones, I wonder how sturdy they will be with that washer technique?

Anyway, I asked them if they'll fit directly onto a genesis or elinchrom, and am awaiting the answer.

Since you're a bit more (well actually a lot more) technical than I, you should ask them a few questions to clarify. You can do so directly on the ebay site.

Anyway, I can't do anything until Calumet gets them back in stock anyway, so I have about 3-6 weeks to change my mind about 100 times : )

Here's the Q&A quote. It's Chinese to me, hopefully helps you figure the set up better.

Q: Hello. Is the Quick Release Corner system similar to Elinchrom's Quadra system, which makes putting it together very fast? Feb-19-08
A: Dear Sir: Elinchrom Quadra system is a reflect style,and the quick release corner seems to a system of Photoflex. Our ones is as a umbrella and u can set it as a umbrella and it's fast. Thank u Frank

weegee wrote in post #5182717
Okay, thanks. That's a better deal than the $80 per each one for the genesis lights.

I'm assuming those softboxes referenced below the speedring are compatable. Those are decent prices for that size.

Maybe I'll get a couple Dlites a la carte, add in some heavy duty stands, and get a couple of these softboxes with speed ring.

Just noticed the Dlites don't come with reflectors, in the kit either. What exactly does the reflector do? Is it necessary with SBs, only used with umbrellas, etc?

The Photoflex SB's and Amvona SB's should work with the speed ring I linked to . I'm sure a bunch of different brands would too.
You don't use reflectors with softboxes. You would use reflectors with umbrellas, or possibly when lighting up a background, or when using a light as a hairlight and adding a grid. There are many more uses for reflectors also.

weegee wrote in post #5184871
Here's the Q&A quote. It's Chinese to me, hopefully helps you figure the set up better.


Q: Hello. Is the Quick Release Corner system similar to Elinchrom's Quadra system, which makes putting it together very fast? Feb-19-08
A: Dear Sir: Elinchrom Quadra system is a reflect style,and the quick release corner seems to a system of Photoflex. Our ones is as a umbrella and u can set it as a umbrella and it's fast. Thank u Frank

Hmmm. Well that clears up everything

However, I think their secret is revealed here:

http://****/2j84nn

This is another one of Konova's octoboxes on eBay. However this listing has photos of the internal construction. It looks almost exactly like my SP soft and octaboxes. Apparently these things open just like an umbrella and the appropriate speed ring gets clamped onto the back.

By the way, why did you select "Weegee" as your nom de guerre? I wonder how he would have lit all those dead mobsters he photographed if he'd had a softbox on his Speed Graphic.

Dave F.