Deep Parabolic Umbrellas Anyone using ?

[Eddie1]

Anyone here using deep parabolic umbrellas for portrait lighting ?
What are the advantages over regular umbrellas ?
I've never used them and am curious to see what they do, if you can post or share examples I'd love to see them too.
Thanks in advance
Ed

 

[Michael Batten]

It’s a more directional light and much cheaper than a softbox equivalent.

 

[Eddie1]

Thanks, have you any examples of what light looks like with parabolic compared to normal brolly ?

 

[LongLensPhotography]

It’s a more directional light and much cheaper than a softbox equivalent.

But somehow much more expensive than normal brolly. Many softboxes in fact cost very similar.

The light spill from behind is a bit more controlled. That's unlikely to be much of a difference for portraits. For lighting interiors I can see it would be helpful in certain spaces

 

[Garry Edwards]

The energy (light in this case) from a true parabola is extremely well controlled and doesn't spread out. So, in theory at least, the light from a reflective parabolic umbrella will go exactly where it's pointed and nowhere else.

But, for this to actually work, firstly the design would need to be a real parabola, and secondly, the light would need to be positioned perfectly within it, neither of which is likely to happen.

Or, to put it more bluntly, all of the "parabolic" umbrellas and softboxes that I've personally tried haven't been parabolic at all and the term seems to have been used just as deceptive marketing hype.

 

[Graham W]

The energy (light in this case) from a true parabola is extremely well controlled and doesn't spread out. So, in theory at least, the light from a reflective parabolic umbrella will go exactly where it's pointed and nowhere else.

But, for this to actually work, firstly the design would need to be a real parabola, and secondly, the light would need to be positioned perfectly within it, neither of which is likely to happen.

Or, to put it more bluntly, all of the "parabolic" umbrellas and softboxes that I've personally tried haven't been parabolic at all and the term seems to have been used just as deceptive marketing hype.

And they take up a lot of space.

 

[Eddie1]

Ok thanks all
think I'll stay with my ordinary brollies and soft box then

 

[Richard King]

And they take up a lot of space.

Why should they be large? Parabic surfaces are used in all sorts of applications... Car headlights, torches

Garry hits on the real issue, if the curve isn't perfect, the whole effect falls to bits, and the difference between perfect and no good is very small, which is why fabric based parabolic reflectors don't really behave like it says on the tin

 

[Graham W]

Why should they be large? Parabic surfaces are used in all sorts of applications... Car headlights, torches

Garry hits on the real issue, if the curve isn't perfect, the whole effect falls to bits, and the difference between perfect and no good is very small, which is why fabric based parabolic reflectors don't really behave like it says on the tin

A decent size parabolic soft box tends to be quite a bit deeper than standard.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Parabola objects can vary greatly in curvature and still be true parabola.
You can get gently curved parabolic object such as sky satellite dishes then there are steeply curved parabola e.g. the reflector in a car headlight, both examples are true parabolic shapes.

Agreed, but that's missing the point really. A lot of the photographic products aren't truly parabolic at all, it's just a term that's widely used as marketing hype.
And in the examples you quote, the light or other energy source is in a fixed and correct position, is essential and which doesn't happen in photographic lighting modifiers.