Blind comparison V2 PLM, V1 PLM and off brand Deep Octabox

Rob (TMR) observed in another thread that unless we are looking at various light modifier output without knowing which modifier, there is too strong an inclination to like the light from the modifier we like. (I think that makes sense.)

Anyway, I had some time this afternoon so I did a quick comparison of three modifiers I had handy. This was also partly to see how the off-brand Deep Octabox I have performs.

First the particulars:
Camera 5D2
Shutter 1/200
Auto White Balance set in camera.
CST trigger on camera, CSXCV transceiver on Einstein.
F Stop as appropriate based on the modifier for full power from Einstein V1.
Exposure was determined with light meter and verified on white square of Color Checker tapped to Mannie's neck. (Mannie is the good looking guy camera left.)
The images were made with the camera tethered to Lightroom V3.2. A develop preset was applied the includes 5D2 camera calibration, White Balance As Shot, 0 black compensation, strong tone curve and Photokit Sharpener Med-Edge input sharpening. Everything else is Adobe default.

Both my Cyber Commander and my Minolta flash meter read about 2/10s less than the light output. That was consistent for all the shots compared to Color Checker verification so I think its meter calibration.

I convinced the ugly guy camera right to get into the shots for skin tone and hot spot comparison.
The setup shot is 1/40 at F4.0 with the Einstein dialed down. That's about about 4.5 EV from where the strobe exposures start, so there is no ambient pollution.
The room has a 10 ft ceiling.
The light stand is 10 ft from Mannie's stand. That means the Octabox was in front of the stand and closer to the subjects, while the PLM reflective surface was behind the stand.
Mannie and his friend are about 3 feet in front of the fire place.
The wall camera right is about 9 feet from the camera lens axis.
The light stand was positioned so the light would be approximately 30 and 30 from the lens axis. This position was dictated by the window wall camera left and the ceiling when the 86" PLM was mounted.

Here is the setup shot.

Then 4 sets of images made with and without any diffusion fabric on the modifiers.

The images include a shot with PCB 8 1/2" reflector, 51 and 86 inch PLMS and Pro Studio Solutions 36" EZ-Pro Octabox. (Its the one that opens with an umbrella like mechanism.)

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First 2

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next 2

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the 3rd pair

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the last pair

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Thanks for doing this

Post 3 B that one is a pretty hard light

Most importantly the guy isnt bad looking (The one on the right)

You're welcome. It was an interesting experiment.

So which modifier for 3B?
And which modifiers and diffusion combinations for the others.?
Probably most important, which light do you (anyone looking) find most pleasing of the options.
There certainly can be better lighting than is presented here.
This is just to compare some options at a given distance, in a given situation.

Ok, I cheated... I can see which modifiers by the reflections in his glasses :0

dmward wrote in post #11335227
You're welcome. It was an interesting experiment.

So which modifier for 3B?
And which modifiers and diffusion combinations for the others.?
Probably most important, which light do you (anyone looking) find most pleasing of the options.
There certainly can be better lighting than is presented here.
This is just to compare some options at a given distance, in a given situation.

Deep octa no diffusion?

I remember Mannie from the focal length distortion, I think

It's difficult to compare by scrolling up and down, but, my preference for light quality is the bottom image in message #4. Of particular note is the shadow cast by the X-right on his shirt. In that image the shadow doesn't have any hard edges relative to the other images.

It will be interesting to know which modifier was used for each image. But, if I had to guess, I'm betting the one I chose (lower image in message #4) was shot with the 86" PLM with the diffusion fabric in place.

Mark

The bottom two are my favorite also

I think the thing to do is let this cook for a few days, see which ones are preferred most often.
Then I'll add a key with the modifiers identified.

Kurt you're spoiling the fun But, looking at the images, I'm not sure how much that gives away.

HI David,

Thanks for doing these tests.

My preference for the way the skin is rendered and the quality of light would be the third pair.

Based on the softness of the shadow edge and transition from diffuse to highlight, highlight to shadow and shadow to diffuse, I would think that would be the largest light source, which in this case would be the 86" PLM, but if there are 2 layers of diffusion on the off brand Octa it could easily be that modifier.

TMR Design wrote in post #11335412
My preference for the way the skin is rendered and the quality of light would be the third pair.

Great minds think alike!

Mark

You're welcome Rob.
Nice way to describe how the light can be evaluated.