Mola Dishes and the perferated aluminum disk.

[TMARK]

Why the aluminum disk?  My Molas all came with the opal glass.  How does the disk affect the light?  Seems like a racket, as you have to pay an additional $75 for the glass to et the REAL Mola look.

[Dustbak]

I have a Demi and a Seti, what I notice with the Alu perforated disk is that it takes out part of the light in the center. More so than the Opal glass, not sure if I see a real big difference besides the catchlight being a little different. I never took the time to investigate the differences really extensive.

I do find I use the Demi more often than the Seti.

[TMARK]

I have/had them all.  I was about to buy another Demi but saw that it has the disk and I balked.

It is an amazing dish.  The Demi is the best modifier for a one light set up, unless you have a Briese Focus 77.

Thanks for the info.  i think i'll go ahead and get it without the opal and see if there is a difference.

TM

I have a Demi and a Seti, what I notice with the Alu perforated disk is that it takes out part of the light in the center. More so than the Opal glass, not sure if I see a real big difference besides the catchlight being a little different. I never took the time to investigate the differences really extensive.

I do find I use the Demi more often than the Seti.

[Sheldon N]

I've got the Demi and I used the perforated aluminum disk (PAD) underneath the opal glass with a small 1" gap between the two. I find the PAD does a good job of knocking down the intensity of the center without giving a dark ring, and helps scatter light through the dish. The opal glass does a nice job for diffusion on top.

Even spread of light, no hot spot or dead spot. I've got pics of the setup and light if you want to see.

[K.C.]

This discussion is missing one important point from each poster.

What head are you using in the Demi ?

Bare tube, covered tube, clear or white if covered ?

It makes a significant difference.

I have one of the original Mola Demis and a brand new one. The reflectors are identical but the original has an opal glass that is 1.25 inches in diameter larger, 8.25", than the current ones which are 7". My new Demi has the PAD, or perforated aluminum disk.

Guess which one is more even from center to edge and has lower contrast overall ?

Yes, you guessed it. It depends on the head you use.

The Demi with the PAD and a Profoto Pro 7 head, with the standard white glass envelope over the tube, is very even from edge to edge and provides the classic Mola beauty light look. The older Demi with the opal glass works well with an Elinchrom Ranger S head. The shorter, more recessed circular Elinchrom tube disperses more lateral light and sits further back from the opal glass. It's much more even than with the PF Pro 7 head behind the opal glass. These respective combinations are very close to each other, but that opal glass is always hotter in the center.

The PAD was developed as a more durable / less breakable diffusor for the Molas so that they're easier to travel with. Then someone stacked them and liked the results. Mola took that idea and ran with it. Now they can sell you both. I've tried it. It has a negligible effect in my opinion. And I've tried it with Broncolor, Profoto, Comet, Dynalite, Elinchrom and Norman heads.

Funny isn't it. You look at the opal glass and PAD and just immediately assume the glass is going to create a more even light. it doesn't.

[Dustbak]

I started out with Einchrom heads. these fall a bit more back into the Mola. Nowadays I use profoto Pro and acute heads. The glass is the white type, some of them are the shorter versions for the 250watts modelling light, some have the longer cover glass.

Yes, heads do have impact on the Mola behaviour too. I like the way the Profoto heads act.