Fresnel vs Open face lights
- Thread starter Indyreel
- Start date
Cool Lights
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If a softbox is a rough kind of parabola, no solution works well unless the bulb itself is sticking into the softbox right into the sweet spot of the parabola. Thus any light which is totally behind the softbox will work but is not tuned to the utmost.
Fresnels and open faced tungsten lighting fall into this category of being behind the softbox. But it works well enough that its a good tradeoff to allow you to have a flexible tool that can be either used as a focusable hard light by itself or quickly softened up with a softbox attachment.
The best solutions for softboxes are like the starlight tungsten bulbs that stick into the softbox, K5600 hmi par which has the removable reflector exposing the bulb, or flo bulbs like our 200w 8U bulb, all of which end up inside the box.
Fresnels and open faced tungsten lighting fall into this category of being behind the softbox. But it works well enough that its a good tradeoff to allow you to have a flexible tool that can be either used as a focusable hard light by itself or quickly softened up with a softbox attachment.
The best solutions for softboxes are like the starlight tungsten bulbs that stick into the softbox, K5600 hmi par which has the removable reflector exposing the bulb, or flo bulbs like our 200w 8U bulb, all of which end up inside the box.
Jokerswild
Well-known member
I just used 3 of Richards Fresnels in a factory situation where it was lit overhead by lots of fluorescents and I gelled the daylight bulbs of the Fresnels with green. I then did a custom white balance but found that autobalance did a slightly better job. Actually the color balance was pretty close between the two and it all balanced in very nicely. The Cool Lights were a pleasure to work with.
I also had a battery powered Frezzi light on a stand that was battery powered. I used this setup for quick run and gun interview work in the factory..I managed to knock down the stand the Frezzi hit the floor pretty hard...Much to my surprise, I stood it right back up and it worked fine. Those things are made like tanks.
I also had a battery powered Frezzi light on a stand that was battery powered. I used this setup for quick run and gun interview work in the factory..I managed to knock down the stand the Frezzi hit the floor pretty hard...Much to my surprise, I stood it right back up and it worked fine. Those things are made like tanks.
ThereIsNoLimit
Active member
With fresnels you have to have a deeper softbox because the beam angle is less than the beam angle of an open-faced light.
Also the fresnel lens itself loses its meaning with a softbox and is just wasting light whereas with open-faced there is no lens which means more light.
So no, a fresnel does not work as well as an open-faced. But the basic principle is similar and depending on the softbox of choice, the beam angle difference is almost meaningless.
Also the fresnel lens itself loses its meaning with a softbox and is just wasting light whereas with open-faced there is no lens which means more light.
So no, a fresnel does not work as well as an open-faced. But the basic principle is similar and depending on the softbox of choice, the beam angle difference is almost meaningless.
I usually use an open face light with a Chimera and save the fresnels for adding accents to the set. They are better suited for that because they are easier to control and have a better beam. You can get away with an inexpensive Redhead, Lowel D or Tota in a Chimera when you just need some raw light to punch into the box.