The Broncolor parabolic reflectors are some of the most unique and versatile lighting modifiers out there, with their true parabolic shape creating a beautifully sculpting light and their focusing rod feature allowing one to change the hardness and contrast of the light on the fly. Today only, B&H is offering a rare discount on all sizes, with 20 percent savings across the board.
If you're wondering what size to get, the 88 is the most portable and great for location shooters, while the 133 also travels well and can handle full-body shots a bit better while still maintaining the optimal subject distance. The 177 and 222 are very large (the numbers correspond to the diameter of each reflector in centimeters) and are thus best suited for a studio with a lot of space, but they offer spectacularly unique light (particularly the 222, which can completely envelop a model in light).
And as you can see below, you don't need Broncolor lights to shoot with the Paras.
- Broncolor Para 88HR Reflector F Kit (Heat resistant for continuous lights, comes with focusing rod)
- Broncolor Para 88 Reflector Kit with Focusing Rod F
- Broncolor Para 133 Reflector Kit with Focusing Tube
- Broncolor Para 133HR Reflector F Kit (Heat resistant for continuous lights, comes with focusing rod)
- Broncolor Para 177 Reflector F Kit (Heat resistant for continuous lights, comes with focusing rod)
- Broncolor Para 222 Reflector F Kit (Heat resistant for continuous lights, comes with focusing rod)
- Broncolor Para Adapter for Pulso Bayonet Mount Heads (Pulso, Unilite, Litos, MobiLED, Siros)
- Broncolor Para Universal Adapter for non-Broncolor Heads
- Broncolor Para Adapter for Profoto
Yes, they're expensive, but you have to remember you're essentially getting multiple lighting modifier in one piece of kit and they're incredibly well designed, plus they cut down significantly on post-processing time by giving you a straight out of camera dodge and burn look. I proudly own two of them myself and highly recommend them. If you'd like to read our thoughts more in depth, check out our review of the Para 88. Just a note: the Paras work best with lights with a fully exposed flash tube. I've used them with Profoto lights successfully and the results were perfectly fine, but the optimal effect will be achieved when you have an exposed tube. The deal ends tonight at 11:59 p.m., so jump on it now!
'...you said it was expensive, but I didn't expect it to be EXPENSIVE!' ~borrowed, and modified, from Roxanne
Hahahaha, but oh so worth it!
oh so worth it if you have clients that it can impress. Otherwise not so much.
price is without the strobe mount, want to save money get a Parabolix can basically get the equivalent to a Para 88 for under $850 with the strobe mount.
8 sections vs 24 makes a big difference. There are some other differences as well (not that it’s not a fine modifier).
I like the light much better on the Bron's than the Parabolix. You can see a comparison between both of them. Plus setup on the Bron is insanely fast. http://www.thebroketographers.com/blog/2016/9/19/comparison-broncolor-pa...
Another thing: look how much texture and unevenness you can see in the silver lining of the Parabolix. That's going to scatter a lot of the light and ruin a lot of the collimated effect.
16 panels and you can assume about performance all you like, from the comparisons I've seen from photographers I respect that own Bron I still think you get almost equal performance for a quarter the price.
I'm thinking of the Parabolix 30; I know some of their larger ones have more panels. And yeah, like I said, it's a fine modifier. I'm just giving my reasons for preferring the Bron version.
thats actually the one that I've seen a direct comparison against the Breise 77 and there was a little bit of difference in that one used the Breise head and the parabolix used a Profoto 8 head so comparable focus was a little different but neither was better than the other.
Rare? Bron usually has a 20% December discount annually.
I would call once or twice a year rare.
I guess this would come down to how you define things. For me, I wouldn't consider a predictable event that happens annually to be "rare" as I tend to take that term with the connotation that you might not see something like that again. Do you consider Christmas to be a rare event?
Predictable events can be rare. Halley’s Comet, for example. I used it in the context of how often discounts are typically offered on other brands and products, which is more often. Let’s not worry too much about one word. :)
Are you kidding? "Rare" is really the whole point of the article. And we have to nail down its definition before we can tackle "is"! ヽ(ಠ_ಠ)ノ
Sigh. Then see my explanation above. I considered it a rare discount given the discounts I typically see working in this industry every day. If you don't consider it rare, that's fine. There's obviously not a hard line of what constitutes the adjective's application and people will have different thresholds for said application.
Umm... I was kidding. Sorry.
No no, I'm sorry then. It's not always easy to gauge tone on the Internet. Now I'm actually laughing at your comment. :)
I was actually doing a poor imitation of a mutual friend. ;-)
BH has been offering that 20% discount on the Para's since Black Friday ;) Shame Profoto can't design their B1's to work with paras properly.
Yeah, the glass dome helps, but an exposed tube is what you really need.
agreed the exposed tube is the main thing an Einstein will be better than any of the recessed Profoto heads.
Yep. Odd design for the popular Profoto monolights.
Exactly. I'm confused a company as big and well known as Profoto cant have two versions of their strobes, one recessed for folks that want it, and exposed, for folks that need it for particular modifiers, specifically paras. A shame, bc i really want to dump my Elinchrom's for Profoto.
still a no from me. 2k+ for a modifier... LOL!
Yes and no. There are definitely certain styles that are prevalent at any given time, but just because you're using the same equipment doesn't necessarily mean that the results will look the same because so much of your results will come down to your individual settings such as power, angle, distance, etc.
Are these affiliate links in the article?
you know they are, I would venture to say 90% of things linked to this site are affiliate, the only ones that I don't think are affiliates are the ebay best deal on camera bodies.
Yes, they are.