If you're using Godox, you need this...

[puredrifting]

I just bought the Godox SA-17/SA-P Projector Kit. I've always enjoyed messing with Lekos and Dedos
but they are either large and heavy (Leko and the Aputure Leko attachment, both weigh a ton and are large)
or they are expensive (who doesn't love Dedos, but for me, they are an occasional rental).

If you have any Bowens mount COB (well, most, this Godox adapter will not fit the Aputure lights, the depth is too shallow
on the Godox SA-17 Bowens mount adapter). That said, this thing works well on the VL300. I would say skip this if you only
have the VL150 or VL200, you don't have enough horsepower to use it in most situations, other than dark rooms or
with tabletop. The downside of this adapter is it eats (wastes) a lot of output, which makes sense if you look at the
diameter of the adapter and the tube that feeds the lens. I knew this going in, but I was hoping that the higher output
of the VL300 would still make it useful.

As you see from my test image, I am projecting a pattern right next to a brightly lit glass door panel with afternoon sun
streaming through it and to stack the deck, I also inserted a fairly dark gel into the projector too and the pattern is still
at the perfect level although this is with the VL300 output at 100%.

Godox has dozens of Gobos available. Besides the stock set that came with it, I purchased the window set I have pictured.
The unit comes with the 85mm f/2.8 projector lens but for $139.00 Godox also offers a 150mm f/2.0 lens if you need to
project from greater distances. I also purchased a shutter/cutter set for creating wedges and slashes, a scrim set that
reminds me of the scrims for my Arri 150, really small, high quality. It comes with single, half single, double, half double
and three layer graduated scrim that is pretty cool. All for $17.00. If these were Arri scrims they would cost ten times that.

The Harbor Freight Apache 4800 hard case contains the whole kit and was on sale for $59.00. The main reason I bought this was
as a time and labor saving device. I can do almost of these effects without this using real gobos like blinds, scrims and cucloris. But then I also need addtional
C-stands, distance/room size and time. I can deploy the VL300 and this projector in less than 5 minutes and with the focusing
mechanism, I can make the patterns or slashes as sharp or soft as I would like. The dimmer on the VL300 is there to instantly
dial in the output intensity.

Overall, this is an incredible time saver, a great creative tool and very flexible. You pay the penalty for the low cost and light weight
with the reduced output, this is nowhere in the neighborhood of a real Leko or the Aputure projector but for my use case which is
most often interview BGs, I don't need the huge output or huge size and weight, it would be overkill.

Well worth a look if you are a Godox VL300 user.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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[ahalpert]

Thanks puredrifting - I was considering something like this earlier this year and now you've pushed me over the edge

Some have an EF mount and come with a Yongnuo 50mm but you can substitute your own lenses, sort of interesting. I might get the Godox since you like it. It's pretty dumb how aputure Bowens mount doesn't play nice with other people's attachments isn't it

[Eric Coughlin]

This will be great for mimicking 90's styles interviews!


Would it work with the CLAR lights? I've gathered the CLARs are just re-branded Godox, if I understood that correctly.

[Paul F]

Oh Yea! That is the answer to life. I've been hanging onto my ellipsoidals because there is nothing like them. The one thing I like about the ellipsoidals I have is the ability to zoom the size of the circle. I'd like to see that added instead of changing lenses.

Let's hope more clever solutions like this start showing up.

[ahalpert]

This will be great for mimicking 90's styles interviews!


Would it work with the CLAR lights? I've gathered the CLARs are just re-branded Godox, if I understood that correctly.

AFAIK standard bowens attachments work with most Bowens mount lights. Aputure is an exception due to the different depth of their mount. All my bowens attachments work with all my different branded bowens mount fixtures

[scotchtape]

As a continuation from the other thread a while back about this... these cheapo projectors absolutely kill the output.
Can still be useful with interior light levels (no window or ambient).
I still haven't used mine yet (bough this like half a year ago now), it looks fun but in actual use it's a bit limiting because of the output... and if you use this at close distances (within like 10feet?) and want to angle it, one side will be much brighter than the other because of the fall off.

My suggestion would be to buy the Aputure Spotlight / 300D if you need to go beyond interior light levels.

[puredrifting]

This will be great for mimicking 90's styles interviews!


Would it work with the CLAR lights? I've gathered the CLARs are just re-branded Godox, if I understood that correctly.

I wouldn't term Chiaroscuro, slashes and wedges for BG lighting as a 90s thing, kind of evergreen I thought?
What's your latest lighting style on lighting your BGs? Quasar tubes and instruments in the image?

Can you post the link for the CLAR COBs? All I can find is that CLAR is Adorama's line of panels and ring lights?

[puredrifting]

As a continuation from the other thread a while back about this... these cheapo projectors absolutely kill the output.
Can still be useful with interior light levels (no window or ambient).
I still haven't used mine yet (bough this like half a year ago now), it looks fun but in actual use it's a bit limiting because of the output... and if you use this at close distances (within like 10feet?) and want to angle it, one side will be much brighter than the other because of the fall off.

My suggestion would be to buy the Aputure Spotlight / 300D if you need to go beyond interior light levels.

Yep, agreed, lots of caveats with this setup, but if you do smaller interior setups or even large sets where you can hide lights, it's cheap and useful.
I just can't get into the size and weight of the Aputure set up, it works pretty well but it's big and heavy in comparison.

[Eric Coughlin]

I wouldn't term Chiaroscuro, slashes and wedges for BG lighting as a 90s thing, kind of evergreen I thought?
What's your latest lighting style on lighting your BGs? Quasar tubes and instruments in the image?

Can you post the link for the CLAR COBs? All I can find is that CLAR is Adorama's line of panels and ring lights?

I sometimes do slashes, but most of the time I find I don't need a background light as it makes things look artificial. Often the key light provides just the right amount of light on the background to avoid the subject looking overlit from the key. Other times I'll throw a soft-light on the background to balance it out with the foreground, perhaps making it just a tad less bright, but not enough to make things look too lit.

I think those background patterns are a useful tool to have, but can easily lead to an artificial looking background, in a bad way. Like any tool, one must chose wisely when to use it or not.

I don't own any tube lights at the moment. I think their uses for corporate and doc work are rather limited.

https://www.adorama.com/clilmax500sl...adl-gbase&br=1

[puredrifting]

I sometimes do slashes, but most of the time I find I don't need a background light as it makes things look artificial. Often the key light provides just the right amount of light on the background to avoid the subject looking overlit from the key. Other times I'll throw a soft-light on the background to balance it out with the foreground, perhaps making it just a tad less bright, but not enough to make things look too lit.

I think those background patterns are a useful tool to have, but can easily lead to an artificial looking background, in a bad way. Like any tool, one must chose wisely when to use it or not.

I don't own any tube lights at the moment. I think their uses for corporate and doc work are rather limited.

https://www.adorama.com/clilmax500sl...adl-gbase&br=1

I try to be subtle with the background patterns, that's why I like this projector, you can soften any of these into something really abstract,
more like just a texture and you can just use a corner of it or a portion of it. You would probaby like the cutters that let you make any kind of slice or wedge.
I don't like having tubes in a shot unless you are doing something sci fi or futuristic and as far as lighting with them, they mostly have pretty low output.
They are cool for music videos, fashion or commercials where you needs that look but I rarely shoot any of those styles.

I find these really useful when you have flat, boring BGs, like the dreaded white/beige/gray wall that seems to get forced on you in some corprate shoots. At least a gradient or colored slash of light can make
it looks less ugly or boring.

In the end, this is just a tool, it's up to us to use it tastefully in a motivated way.

Those CLAR lights seem like a hell of lot of output for little money.