Best adapter ring for Speedotron Beauty Dish?

Good thing I saw this thread...might be getting the Chimera speed ring instead of the Norman

+1 on the Chimera ring when using Eli lights. Used it on a Mola Demi and Eli lights before going to Profoto lamps. Nice tight fit on the bayonets and gets the tube right into the base of the dish.

What I call the 'offset' or the distance from the bottom of the "J" shaped female side of the Eli bayonet to the actual mounting flange that goes on the dish (as the earlier photos show) is as minimal as is likely practical to have.

The Chimera flange is also flat. On some inserts the offset LOOKS minimal in pictures of the insert, but the flange isn't flat. While it will mount fine on a Mola as they supply hardware for mounting almost any type of insert, the shape of these flanges (typically projecting towards the dish) pushes the slot further away from the base of the dish than you'd think by looking at an image of the unit on a vendor's website.

The Chimera is more spendy vs say a simple Redwing, etc insert, but you can always adapt the resin holder it comes in/with to use a speedlight with a small softbox.

the insert from a chimera speedring will work fine, i did one last week

Does anyone have a comparison shot of the 2 adapters and any difference in light? Is it enough to even worry about?

Every time I look for the Chimera insert I can't find it. I see the full speed ring and I see some inserts that are intended for fresnel's.

Can someone show me the link to a Chimera insert for strobes (Elinchrom)?

TMR Design wrote in post #9727187
Every time I look for the Chimera insert I can't find it. I see the full speed ring and I see some inserts that are intended for fresnel's.

Can someone show me the link to a Chimera insert for strobes (Elinchrom)

That's the problem with using the Chimera insert, Rob. It isn't available by itself. As was pointed out in another thread, it has to be cannibalized from the Chimera 2170 resin speed ring assembly (https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=9570370&p​ostcount=7).

At $57 for the ring, using the Chimera insert becomes an expensive proposition. The question remains, how much is that additional 1cm you stand to gain worth to you?

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #9727235
That's the problem with using the Chimera insert, Rob. It isn't available by itself. As was pointed out in another thread, it has to be cannibalized from the Chimera 2170 resin speed ring assembly (https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=9570370&p​ostcount=7).

At $57 for the ring, using the Chimera insert becomes an expensive proposition. The question remains, how much is that additional 1cm you stand to gain worth to you?

Dave F.

Has anyone checked to see if the insert is available as a replacement part through Chimera?

TMR Design wrote in post #9727246
Has anyone checked to see if the insert is available as a replacement part through Chimera?

Ahem, I actually emailed them with that very question. I await their reply.

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #9727235
That's the problem with using the Chimera insert, Rob. It isn't available by itself. As was pointed out in another thread, it has to be cannibalized from the Chimera 2170 resin speed ring assembly (https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=9570370&p​ostcount=7).

At $57 for the ring, using the Chimera insert becomes an expensive proposition. The question remains, how much is that additional 1cm you stand to gain worth to you?

Dave F.

Well I am not an engineer specialized in optics nor light. I did however took a few courses on light and lasers back in engineering school and the parabolic shape of a modifier like a BD is designed for a certain position of the flash tube, 1 cm can certainly be quite a dramatic change... Common we spend big bucks on the strobe and BD so cutting down $30 on the speedring adapter is really not common sense in the whole context ..is it?

telles75 wrote in post #9729965
Well I am not an engineer specialized in optics nor light. I did however took a few courses on light and lasers back in engineering school and the parabolic shape of a modifier like a BD is designed for a certain position of the flash tube, 1 cm can certainly be quite a dramatic change... Common we spend big bucks on the strobe and BD so cutting down $30 on the speedring adapter is really not common sense in the whole context ..is it?

A bit harshly worded don't you think, Rafael? Is David Tejada lacking in common sense because he uses a DIY beauty dish made from a Home Depot flower pot in preference to an expensive commercial product?

Inherent in your post are a few assumptions that have not been established as fact. First and foremost is that the Speedotron dish is a parabola. Is it? Do you know that for a fact? Does it have a single point of focus as a true parabola would? Even if it is a true mathematically correct parabola, it does not necessarily follow that placing the light source at the exact point of focus would produce the most desirable photographic result. It would produce the most highly collimated light but that might not be the most flattering.

Since you seem to be passionate on the subject, here's a thought, why don't you buy a Speedotron dish along with both a Norman insert and a Chimera speed ring and try the experiment yourself. Then you can report back whether that $57 centimeter produces a measurable difference in light output or dispersion and whether is is of any photographic significance. If it does not and is not, then saving the $57 would have made very good common sense indeed, wouldn't it?

Dave F.

telles75 wrote in post #9729965
Well I am not an engineer specialized in optics nor light. I did however took a few courses on light and lasers back in engineering school and the parabolic shape of a modifier like a BD is designed for a certain position of the flash tube, 1 cm can certainly be quite a dramatic change... Common we spend big bucks on the strobe and BD so cutting down $30 on the speedring adapter is really not common sense in the whole context ..is it?

tetrode wrote in post #9730359
A bit harshly worded don't you think, Rafael? Is David Tejada lacking in common sense because he uses a DIY beauty dish made from a Home Depot flower pot in preference to an expensive commercial product?

Inherent in your post are a few assumptions that have not been established as fact. First and foremost is that the Speedotron dish is a parabola. Is it? Do you know that for a fact? Does it have a single point of focus as a true parabola would? Even if it is a true mathematically correct parabola, it does not necessarily follow that placing the light source at the exact point of focus would produce the most desirable photographic result. It would produce the most highly collimated light but that might not be the most flattering.

Since you seem to be passionate on the subject, here's a thought, why don't you buy a Speedotron dish along with both a Norman insert and a Chimera speed ring and try the experiment yourself. Then you can report back whether that $57 centimeter produces a measurable difference in light output or dispersion and whether is is of any photographic significance. If it does not and is not, then saving the $57 would have made very good common sense indeed, wouldn't it?

Dave F.

The flashtube in a beauty-dish isn't at the point of focus for a parabola no matter what speedring you use. The DEFLECTOR is roughly at the point of focus though. This is why I've always preferred the results from a large deflector further away from the tube than a small deflector close to the tube - the former will flood the dish more evenly and create a more even beam.

As for the speedrings, I use the chimeras for everything now and prefer them to anything I've used before - mainly because the mount and the mechanical connection that can be made with such a large ring are very secure. I used a calumet speedring (much more recessed) with the speedo dish for many months because that's all I could buy locally - worked fine, pictures still sold/published, e.t.c. nothing to stress over if you don't have the budget for a chimera ring.

And speaking of Chimera rings, good news. Here's the response I received from Chimera this afternoon:

"Hi David,

Yes it is possible to buy the insert for the Elinchrom ring separate. It is part # 21702000 and is $35.00.

Best regards,
Laura"

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #9730702
And speaking of Chimera rings, good news. Here's the response I received from Chimera this afternoon:

"Hi David,

Yes it is possible to buy the insert for the Elinchrom ring separate. It is part # 21702000 and is $35.00.

Best regards,
Laura"

Dave F.

How do I order the part, Dave? Don't hold out.... lolol

TMR Design wrote in post #9731049
How do I order the part, Dave? Don't hold out.... lolol

That's the entire text of the email I received, Rob. I was planning to ask the friendly folks at B&H if they could order the part for me. If they cannot or will not, I'm sure a call to Chimera will do the trick.

Dave F.

Well Dave you got a good point and since the Norman insert is inexpensive I might just do that and buy both specially since the Chimera might be $35 after all. I think Hermes might be into something with his reasoning that the focal point might be the deflector itself. Of course measuring the differences in lighting will be very hard to measure so at the end using either inserts might give the same exact result. But aside from the light if the Chimera gives a better fit and less play in the locking part then that alone will be worth the extra $$ at least for me.