Every man and his dog seems to sell parabolic-type lighting umbrellas these days. Following the lead of Westcott, Phottix, Adorama — among others — Lastolite have released their Mega Umbrellas series, comprising reflective and translucent brollies.
Each canopy is supported by fibreglass rods (versus metal ones, which are prone to bend and break) with an arc-length of 220 centimetres (86 inches), making the reflector a bit too big to be used in some smaller studios.
If you buy the white shoot-through umbrella then your light will be modified into a huge, soft source, while the silver version will take advantage of the “parabolic” shape to produce a wide focussed beam of light, popular in fashion photography.
The Lastolite Mega Umbrellas are available now, at £90 for the white shoot-through version, £108 for the silver one and £160 for a kit including a white model with a swappable silver cover. More information, including a list of dealers, may be found on the Lastolite web site.