beamshots with balls and reflectors

i was bored last night, and decided to mess around with an acryllic ball in my 3aa brinkman mod.

i had used the ball before, but was curious what would happen if i coupled the ball with the reflector. i had both a *ini *ag reflector and the brinkman reflector, and decided to modify them so i could use them with the ball.

this...is what i did to the reflectors in order for them to fit when used with the .75" ball:

this top view shows how the "rim" has been sanded off of the top of both reflectors (brink on the left, *ag on the right). i haven't yet had time to smooth off the top and sides to look better, but as it is, it doesn't affect light transmission.


this is a side view of the reflectors (again, brink=left, *ag=right) they have not been carfully sanded, just lobbed to appropriate size to allow the led to go throught the hole.


this is a picture of the light output from a 3/4" acryllic call without the reflector...the beam is fairly accurate, but the camera missed a lot of the light that was bouncing of my walls and lighting up the entire room. (new camera...haven't figured it out yet)


this picture shows what the beam looks like...yes, i am holding it with my foot.


this is a sideways picture of the beam from the brinkman reflector coupled with the 3/4" ball.


this is a beamshot from the brink and ball...again, it is being held with my foot.


this shows the ball being used with the *ag reflector...very similar to the brinkmann reflector from this shot...

there is a picture of the *ag beam also, but only 8 pictures are allowed in a post, so...

...soooo...here is the last picture:


this is beamshot of the pattern from the *ag-ball.

(my legs aren't really as fat as they look in these pictures, it just looks like it because my knee is supporting my leg...)

the side pictures were taken from about 8ft and the beamshots were taken from about 7.

i believe the reason the light is coming out this way is because without the reflector, the light is more or less coming straight from the bottom, without much sidelight...wheras with the refector, a lot of light is coming from the sides also.

these reflectors also work with the nx-o5 optics now, but i didn't notice much of a pattern change, and the increased light is rather minimal.

Rothrandir,

Great shots! And BTW, your legs look just fine!
Actually these are some of the truly funniest beamshots I've EVER seen on the CPF too!

Ah... the things we flashaholics do... *LOL*

man, I like the ball, I was just wondering how much light loss is there...

Most impressive!! I definitely have to try this (the reflector, not the foot ).

Nice work Roth, that's inovativive thinking at it's best.

you think that's bad...try holding a 5d *ag mod between your toes...

you like the legs huh? here's a better picture:


thanks guys...you would be surprised what kind of crazy things dance in my head...and their not sugarplums...

when using the ball, the lux readings will be higher, but you do loose a lot of overall light output...i didn't really notice the hotspot being any weaker when using the reflector, so i think using the reflector, while not making the hotspot any brighter, actually increases the overall light output.

if anyone has half a ball (acryllic that is...), i would be interested in seeing the results when used with a reflector.

i wonder if the mcflood reflector would fit...it makes a smooth beam, and i wonder if that would give you a "tight flood"...probably not...

Brinkman 3 AA mod, two reflectors, shiney balls...$50.00.

Pedicure, foot powder, Dr. Sholes...$75.00.

Inovative thinking...priceless.

Rothandir, I think you may have just captured the flashaholic/foot fetish market.

Let us know if you get rich...

On second thought, dont tell us.

ohhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

i just found another reason to use a reflector...

...i was getting out of the car...i heard a "thwack"...i breathed a few choice words...i picked up the light...i clicked it...i said a long string of a few choice words...

the light had fallen straight on it's pretty little head and smasked the led to bits...i *really* wish i had a reflector in...

crap anyhow!

Huh? I tot LEDs are Shock proof? :wink:

You mean your ball smashed the LED to bits and pieces? Say is it a 1 watter or 5 watter? Be glad that it's not a 5 watter..

Try looking at that last foot-held beamshot as if you were not a flashaholic and didn't know what you were looking at. The effect is quite stunning, in a weird sort of way. It might set the art world all atwitter....

The last beam shot with the foot... looks like the foot had a halo around it... ROFLMAO...

All hail the holy foot....

Rothrandir - I was liking the "in the dark" leg shots WAY more. Now that the lights are on, I'm afriad. Very afraid.

But seriously (as good as it gets with me, anyway) those really are stunning beam shots. I don't know anybody else who's been able to capture all the corona nuances so perfectly. I know EXACTLY what that beam looks like. AT least I think I do. And now, of course, I also know EXACTLY what your hairy little legs look like. I can tell already that I'll be trying to push that image out of my mind as I fall asleep tonight.

Um... If yer a woman, it's time for a shave...