question on chimeras…and a bit on arris and moles

[John Sharaf]

Walken,

The Fabric grids are much better for news and doc work, as the honeycombs are fragile and require a case as large as they are and become cumbersome and bulky to store and transport.

As regards your choice of instrument wattage, you’ve got to know that if you intend to use a light with a chimera, that the chimera really sucks up the output such that they are really best with HMI’s and larger tungsten units (preferably open face like 1K or 2K). This relegates the 300 and 650’s to use without the chimera and as backlites or hard light key in dark interiors or night work.

JS

[Bob Cole]

John is as usual right about using open face units with the Chimera. Your Lowel Totalight would work well with the small Chimera, and it packs small, which is nice.

Re: fabric grids — mine are 40 degrees which seem to work fine.

— Bob C

[Walken5555]

Thanks John and Bob for your input.

[Vince Becquiot]

I’ve actually used both grids and honeycombs recently, and yes, honeycombs aren’t woth the trouble, unless you have a ton of time on your hands, and a large crew. I found that unless you need a pitch black background, as long as you have a least 8 feet between the talent and backdrop, the light really is barely noticeblae on camera with the velcro grid.

Vince

[Dennis Size]

As a long time Chimera user (who’s work has been featured in their catalogues), I’ve bought dozens and dozens of lightbanks over the years — and probably contributed to the sales of hundreds and hundreds. I’ll add my 2 cents.
I would never use a lightbank that didn’t have a light control grid; and given my druthers I would only use a honeycomb (my favorite for optimal control being the 30 degree).
DS

[Bob Cole]

[Dennis Size] “given my druthers I would only use a honeycomb”

Dennis, could you please elaborate? Is it because the honeycomb is more effective at keeping the light off unwanted areas (e.g. background), or is it because of the character of the light itself?

— Bob C

[Dennis Size]

There’s no point in spending all the money for a lightbank and a light source which new would cost hundreds of dollars (or thousands if you use them on 5k’s like I do) if you can’t control the beam.
You may as well join the ranks of our HOME DEPOT shoppers and buy a tungsten worklight, put a hunk of muslin in front of it, and be done with it. If you put a lightbank on an open-face source you’re getting a soft wash of uncontrollable light. You can achieve the same effect much, much cheaper by just buying a used scoop for $100.00 and putting 4 layers of tough spun or a silk, over it’s aperture. There will be next to no difference.
The honeycomb does more than just shape the beam, it provides true directionality to the beam … much more than fabric grids. I can achieve greater falloff without contaminating my backgrounds (very important when I’m dealing with projection surfaces behind the talent. I will concede they are heavier, more delicate, and not as easy to transport than fabric grids — but that is never a concern of mine. If the easier option is more important to you then go that route.

DS

[Walken5555]

Thank you for elaborating. This might seem like a trivial question, but I’ve never actually handled a honeycomb and am debating on which is better for me. I definitely want control, but I do a lot of doc work and am wondering exactly what it’s like to move a honeycomb around (how portable is it?)–how much does it weigh? Are you able to put it into some kind of a case with your other lights (an Arri or Mole sized hard case for example)? Or is this something more to equip a truck with?

And I’m still not clear on what the different degrees do. I understand that several people say 30 degrees or 40 degrees are fine for them, but what is the actual difference between these and say, 60 degrees?

Thanks in advance.

[Dennis Size]

A lightbank with a silk will take an already wide source and make it very soft — but to do that it makes it wider. As we all know a big (wider) source of light, close to a subject will be very soft. Unfortunately that wide wash often “sprays” all over, and where we don’t want it; and needs to be shaped and controlled. The Chimera honeycomb is a metal (aluminum) grid of honeycomb-shaped openings that are “honed” to direct a beam of light through their tiny apertures, effectively narrowing the beam to as tight as a 30 degree spot or as wide as a 90 degree beam. The 60 degree grid works very effectively for 2 people. A 30 degree from the same distance will only light one of those people — successfully keeping the light off the other person — allowing you to light him/her separately. See the advantage? Plus the light fall-off is so great (it’s still a softight source afterall) the background is barely affected — assuming your subjects aren’t right up against the wall.
Obviously reducing a soft wash of light through tiny 30 degree openings costs lumen efficiency, and you will find you need a stronger source if you require brighter output. If you needed a rough guestimation — a 30 degree honeycomb, on a 5000w fresnel, will yield about 40 footcandles on a subject about 12′-0″ away.
Because they’re metal they have a certain amount of durability but the honeycomb grid is very thin metal and can be easily “mashed” — reducing it’s efficiency. It’s similar to the cooling grill on the back of an air conditioner. It doesn’t take much pressure to crush it.

The honeycomb normally comes in a 1/4″ plywood box an inch bigger all around than the grid itself. It should continue to be stored and transported in this case for safety. Since it’s mostly air and aluminum, the honeycomb itself is not that heavy — depending on how big a grid you have — but it’s plywood box could be considered by some to be cumbersome. The honeycomb velcros to the inside of the lightbank like all other accessories. On the large Daylight banks you’ll find you have to safety tie the end of the light bank up to insure it maintains it’s focus, as it has a tendency to sag.
Hopefully this answers your questions. Feel free to ask more if it doesn’t. Check out the Chimera website for specs and photos of honeycombs in action.
DS

[Bob Cole]

Thanks Dennis for the explanation of honeycombs. The only thing I can say to Walken in favor of fabric grids is (1) they’re easier for small-crew location work, and (2) nothing says “We’ve wrapped!” like the sound of the Velcro’d fabric grids getting ripped off the Chimeras.

But thanks to Dennis’s explanation, I know more about where I’d want to use a honeycomb grid in place of fabric.

— Bob C