4 x 4 diffusion with eggcrates in Europe

[zerocool22]

Hello,

Does annybody know some brands that sell 4 x 4 diffusion panels where you can apply a eggcrate/grid too? And where to buy them in Europe? Cheap (if quality is outstanding)  would be good

Thanks!

[M Carter]

Never seen one - I assume for these reasons - 

Diffusion panels use tubing; eggcrates need a deeper "edge" for the velcro, like - minimally - a recessed softbox face;

I assume there's an assumption that panels have all kinds of spill and bounce from the back of the panel, where eggcrates are used to cut even more spill than a softbox does (well, they function that way since they're directing the light to be more linear);

I've used panels as huge softboxes - but it usually means blocking the sides by using black panels, hanging black fabric, or standing up big pieces of black foamcore;

Eggcrates sag. Once you're on an Xlarge box, that's about it for the center of the eggcrate having the same hole size. As the fabric sags, the holes essentially close up. You'd need something like stiff wire here and there to keep the grid straight.

Still, I've mused about this. Buying 4 of the cheapest eggcrates I could find on eBay, rigging up something like coroplast frames with diffusion and velcro, and then mounting them in an array, and using stands in a backdrop config on each side to "softbox" the thing and prevent spill. But that would really be more of a permanently built studio contraption, make it with 1/8 plywood and mount it to a wheeled stand, etc. Might be a mess on location.

And - for me - the times I've wanted that look have been stills with strobes, and two 6' strip lights side by side are essentially a 3' or 4' by 6' gridded softbox, way easier to setup and deal with. Fotodiox makes a really nice 6 footer with grid for around a hundred bucks. (they've come a long way, many of their boxes beat Photoflex for quality). They say a max of 400 watts tungsten though, which is still pretty robust for a strobe box, but 400 ain't much in a softbox (unless it's a 400 HID which gets you into mogul globes and ballasts in a Photoflex Starlite). And I'd be leery of that much heat, regardless of what the manual says...

 

[Ed_David]

iight tools are the film standard:

http://www.lighttools.com/content/lighttools/soft-eggcrates-basic-eggcrates-do.html

call or email them - they make them in tons of shapes and sizes - I've used them on set on 4x4 frames, 6' and 8' - and on rifa lights and other soft boxes.

 

eggcrates are extremely useful at controlling spill

[zerocool22]

Thanks guys, yeah those light tools sure aint cheap

I looked into the photodiox ones, but couldnt really find any that fits my needs(awkward sizes). I would like to mount it to a c-Stand, and I dont see any grid or eggcrates on the panels. On the softboxes I do see them, but I am not really looking for a softbox as that limits my light usage. I would like to put the diffusion panel, before any light I can find (sun, fresnells, kinoflows, hmi's,...) 

[tupp]

Light Tools is the most expensive fabric egg crates.

 

There are others.  The Rag Place sells and rents egg crates in standard sizes, and will also custom design.  There was another fabric manufacturer at at the recent Cinegear show that also had egg crates.  Both manufacturers offered "pop-out" frames for their smaller sizes.

 

For awhile, there were a couple of grip manufacturers who had egg crates for their standard frames.  Also, there were companies in the late 1970s and 1980s selling large sheets of black aluminum honey-comb egg crates.  Don't know what happened to all of those items.

 

Can't help you with availability in Europe, but most of the egg crate manufacturing techniques are simple (yet labor intensive).  You could probably make your own, if you had the gumption.

[M Carter]

Ever take a look at how eggcrates are made? There are 2 ways to do it. One is the cheap chinese stuff - it's just sort of thin nylon ribbon material, threaded through holes with slits. Most low-cost eBay import softboxes have this style. Hard to describe but you'll get it when you look. Really cheap and they tend to ball up and get misaligned. The higher-end way (Chimera, Photoflex and lately Fotodiox) uses thicker fabric and much more sewing. Those are really a "WTF", how the hell do they sew that?!?!?

[tupp]

2 hours ago, M Carter said:

Ever take a look at how eggcrates are made? There are 2 ways to do it. One is the cheap chinese stuff - it's just sort of thin nylon ribbon material, threaded through holes with slits. Most low-cost eBay import softboxes have this style. Hard to describe but you'll get it when you look. Really cheap and they tend to ball up and get misaligned. The higher-end way (Chimera, Photoflex and lately Fotodiox) uses thicker fabric and much more sewing. Those are really a "WTF", how the hell do they sew that?!?!?

There are plenty more than just two ways to make egg crates.  For instance, my Light Tools egg crates are made with mating side slits with no sewing except for that on the outer perimeter.  I've also see slats with alternating glue points, which gives cells of a sort of diamond shape.  Plume used to offer louvres which were one ribbon threaded around posts on the edge of a rectangular aluminum frame.  Don't remember how the egg crates from the Cinegear rag houses were made, but they seemed rugged.

 

Then, of course, there are the metal, plastic and rubber egg crates, which can additionally be made by extrusion, welding, stretching, casting, injection molding, 3D printing, etc.

 

By the way, Chimera uses Light Tools egg crates.