Hobo Lighting 85″ (215cm) Parabolic Umbrellas now available
Gloucestershire: British photographic retailer CotswoldPhoto have released the latest and largest umbrella from Hobo Lighting. The silver 85″ (215cm) umbrella follows the 42″ and 64″ models released earlier this year. These modifiers offer a more tightly focused beam than conventional reflective umbrellas, effectively providing a higher intensity of light on your subject. For more accurate positioning of speedlights in the centre of the umbrella, an L-bracket is also available.
The Hobo Lighting Silver/Black 85″ (215cm) Parabolic Type Umbrella is available now from the CotswoldPhoto eBay store for £49.99 including a 12 month warranty. Shoot-through versions and diffusion panels are in development.
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But not for Elinchrom users as the tube diameter they used is greater then 7mm.
Wondering why they went with tubing and didn’t use a solid shaft like the Softlighter….
Since the umbrella is a ripoff from PCB’s design making it 100% identical to theirs.
Hi CreV
It is not 100% identical. I also think the use of the word ‘ripoff’ is a bit emotive. We have our own tooling and use different cloth material. PCB only took an existing idea already in production for non-photographic use and converted it to photographic use. There is no need to get upset on Paul’s behalf; I am sure he is big enough to shout up for himself (as he had done on his own forum). All the other sellers of this type of umbrella have used the tooling PCB paid for at Neo. We have not done that as it would be unethical (but not illegal under Chinese law, but then what is?).
The world is full of examples of near identical products. Do we think Energizer is ripping off Duracell’s battery designs? Or vice versa? There are literally millions of examples of look-a-like products. It is the way of the world. The fact is, PCB can’t keep up with demand for the Mk2 PLM, and I say good luck to him.
As to the 7mm question. We used the standard hollow umbrella shaft so that we could use the standard stay open catch. A solid shaft meant using a more expensive catch design. You might ask why on earth Elinchrom went down the non standard 7mm route?
Do we innovate like PCB? Is it needed? Sometimes. Take a close look at the strobe in the picture. Whose is it?
Trevor
The viewfinder versions are 7mm if you want that size.
Should also be mentinoed that the 85 inch refers to outer arc of
the umbrella, not the face dimension.
Any clue when the front covers will be available? (specially the 64inch one)
I have what I hope is the final prototype with me now I have to make a couple of changes to it and send it back to our factory to get production going.
Can they be bought here?:
http://www.hoboonline.com/lighting/hobolighting.html
Just kidding…
Seriously though, I’d consider buying one if I knew the diffuser panel was available. Looking forward to seeing these listed when you have them.