FOBA Baby FOBA

[Nokton48]

I hoped that at least you got the deal....😂😂😂
I messaged him on a other offered item with a generous offer to be still in consideration but still didn't get any answer...

We will see if the seller will list it again... I am ready for a new offer 😒


Here my newest addition... a early predecessor of the famous RANOO lamp (or F1000) with the "Wegweiser"-logo.
Probably from the 50ies or early 60ies....? One of my oldest FOBA items...

Since the seller restores old lamps I told him to change the red cable with a black one, I don't like this red... so I have to wait an other week or two to bring my new baby home.
I like the metal ring on this model. So you can mount it on a light stand or it can stay on the table... my intended use.
I have to check if the light stand (early model of STAPI) already has a female COMBITUBE connector on the bottom...


View attachment 4883996 View attachment 4883999

View attachment 4884000

This early FOBA F1000 Lamp is a great find. Love it. Retro now. I'm so glad I grabbed all my early FOBA stuff. when I had the chance. I have a couple of F1000's and I should take them to a lamp specialist I think for rebuilding. Mine works OK but could be better. Yes with thick black cords, mine are 120V.

 

[Nokton48]

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

My new plan is to attach these to an aluminum base with three bolts. I have this one on order to make a prototype:

Pardon Our Interruption...

I'll then put a thick furniture pad underneath to go on my glass shooting table.

 

[Nokton48]

New to Me Broncolor Fibrolite 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

New to Me Broncolor Fibrolite 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr


Santa dropped this down the chimney today. Broncolor Fibrolite with four Light Pipes and Four Optical Lenses. It's a rental, so it shows some use. This is going to be fun. Takes 3200J Broncolor Pack, I will either use my Primo 4, or my Graphit A4+.

 

[FOBELIO]

I hoped that at least you got the deal....😂😂😂
I messaged him on a other offered item with a generous offer to be still in consideration but still didn't get any answer...

We will see if the seller will list it again... I am ready for a new offer 😒

He relisted today... I wrote him a message and until now silence...
I simply don't understand...😶🙄😑

 

[FOBELIO]

Happy new year to you all! Stay save and in health, have fun with your camera!
🤩🥳😌

Does anybody what the difference is between Broncolor Hazylight 2 and the Soft Hazylight?
Perhaps any examples?
Thank you!

 

[FOBELIO]

Hi Elio! I was about to post this....... Happy New Year!

Modified Three Ways Norma Monocular Viewer by Nokton48, on Flickr

I modified one of my Sinar Norma Monocular Viewers, by three ways. I trimmed down the rubber eyecup (I wear eyeglasses), and used Goodyear Pliobond to permanently attach it to the monocular. Then I used Brown Military Grade Electrical Tape, to attach the Monocular to the Norma Rubber Bellows. It's not coming apart now. Finally I cut strips of black foam rubber, and added them to the inside of the Rubber Bellows. So now, no light leaks around the outer edges of the bellows. Once I lost an eyecup while photographing an icy cold waterfall, then went back the next time six months later, and I found the Eyecup next to a rock 🙂 This particular viewer works great outside, right now this particular Norma has a 520mm Apo Ronar on it, so about a 4X telephoto or so on 4x5.

Thank you! 👍


This is also a rubber bellow... still going strong after many years?
Sinar intended to use the loupe with this bellow? Or where can I attach the loupe?

In thinking how to replace the broken eye cup I discover that 3D printing in rubber or silicone is a thing... since I am still beginner in creating 3D models it can be a too big challenge...

 

[Nokton48]

I ran out of luck...😣😖🥺

In the process cleaning the loupe I broke the weakest part... the rubber hood...
After more than 50 years it was already brittle with a lot of cracks but still one piece...
Now the crack is through the entire ring... perhaps a cable tie can help?

Any ideas? Are there any replacement for such a old part?


View attachment 4884149

If I were you, I would gather a bottle of "Contact Cement", over here I buy "Goodyear Pliobond". Useful for sticking things together. I cut off the "flapper" piece of rubber, so it becomes a circular ring. Then I slather on a kinda thick amount of Pliobond, it hardens in 24 hours. It's also great stuff for sticking down camera leather and such.

I'll bet you could squeeze together that crack, slather on the cement, and then tape it good, to hold it until it dries. Wouldn't be pretty, but it saves it and it works fine. I have some original Norma Instruction Books, I can show you, there are several options to mount to your Sinars, I'll wager.

Sinar Norma Instruction Book 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Sinar Norma Instruction Book 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Here is the wide Norma Bellows, that fits the Monocular Viewer. I have a bunch of bag bellows, have paid as little as $25. Pinholes in the bellows won't affect your viewing unless the holes are big.

Here is the Norma Bag Bellows that fits the Monocular Eyepiece.

Sinar Norma, F & P 4x5" Original Wide-Angle Bellows. Tested. Made In Switzerland | eBay

Sinar Norma, F & P 4x5" Original Wide-Angle Bellows. Made In Switzerland. ======================================.

www.ebay.com

 

[FOBELIO]

If I were you, I would gather a bottle of "Contact Cement", over here I buy "Goodyear Pliobond". Useful for sticking things together. I cut off the "flapper" piece of rubber, so it becomes a circular ring. Then I slather on a kinda thick amount of Pliobond, it hardens in 24 hours. It's also great stuff for sticking down camera leather and such.

I'll bet you could squeeze together that crack, slather on the cement, and then tape it good, to hold it until it dries. Wouldn't be pretty, but it saves it and it works fine. I have some original Norma Instruction Books, I can show you, there are several options to mount to your Sinars, I'll wager.

Sinar Norma Instruction Book 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Sinar Norma Instruction Book 2 by Nokton48, on Flickr

Here is the wide Norma Bellows, that fits the Monocular Viewer. I have a bunch of bag bellows, have paid as little as $25. Pinholes in the bellows won't affect your viewing unless the holes are big.

Here is the Norma Bag Bellows that fits the Monocular Eyepiece.

Sinar Norma, F & P 4x5" Original Wide-Angle Bellows. Tested. Made In Switzerland | eBay

Sinar Norma, F & P 4x5" Original Wide-Angle Bellows. Made In Switzerland. ======================================.

www.ebay.com

Thank you! Make more sense now... The rubber bellow looks great... are they rare? Never saw one offered. Would be great if somebody would produce them again....

 

[Nokton48]

Thank you! Make more sense now... The rubber bellow looks great... are they rare? Never saw one offered. Would be great if somebody would produce them again....

Hi Elio!

Not extremely rare. Was used more as a Lens Hood, I have collected four or five. Makes a good bellows up front too on the Norma Standard.
Keith at Custom Bellows (he's in the UK) made the original bellows for Sinar Norma. He's made quite a few for me. But not rubber.

 

[FOBELIO]

Hi Elio!

Not extremely rare. Was used more as a Lens Hood, I have collected four or five. Makes a good bellows up front too on the Norma Standard.
Keith at Custom Bellows (he's in the UK) made the original bellows for Sinar Norma. He's made quite a few for me. But not rubber.

Thank you again!
I heard about Custom bellows in the UK... Can you recommend it?
Can you please show how the part of rubber bellow is made where the loupe goes? Thank you!!!

 

[Nokton48]

Yes I recommend Keith he is the greatest. But he doesn't make rubber bellows I think. His camera bellows are as good as you can get.



Rubber Bellows connect to these Norma pieces by Nokton48, on Flickr

On the left is a Norma Square Bellows. The Ocular will clip directly into this. On the right is the back side of the Rubber Bellows, you can see in the center the metal ring that the Ocular clips into.

 

[Nokton48]

Shell Sweep Table Makina IIIR PanF D23 1to1 by Nokton48, on Flickr


Shell Sweep Table Broncolor C171 Beauty Light Plaubel Makina IIIR with 100mm F4.2 Orthometar. The sharp, not soft Makina lens. Yellow Makina Filter. PanF+ in Makina 6x9cm 120 back D23 1:1. 8x10 Arista RC #2 Dektol 1:2 Omega DII laser aligned 180mm black Rodagon. Handheld

 

[FOBELIO]

I spent last night cleaning my "new" old Broncolor Rondo... very dusty, spider nets... 🙄

There is almost no information about the Rondo. Most I found out is in a old catalog scan in "Broncolor flash bonanza" post in an other forum (@Nokton48: I think you post it?) and the Phoxene website, where you still can get new flash tubes for the special Rondo lamp (similar to the special Hazylight lamp just a bit shorter).

Yes, I replaced my first one with a "new" old Rondo months ago. The silver coating on the first one started chipping away. Probably I am too picky. The little coating defects will probably not affect the light but I like my stuff in great condition.

Paid almost nothing and the Broncolor special stand called "Varistand" was also included, which allows a convenience of rotation in the horizontal axis. In this way you can rotate the whole lamp to the desired angle. With the bracket joints you just fine tune the right/left position of the lamp, no need to rotate the whole stand.

Playing around in Illustrator I made this graphic to visualise what I mean




here with the double diffusor attached



here a snapshot how the light looks front face... the shadow of the front deflector is noticeable, similar to a beauty dish



When I have time I want to compare it to a large beauty dish since the Rondo has around 80cm in diameter and is around 36cm deep.
I expect similar light characteristics but nothing compares to test with real results...

A first test, an old FOBA clamp in the glory of the Rondo light! 🙂
Unlucky me my Pulso 4 generator and the Rondo lamp don't like each other...no flash at the moment instead only the modelling lamp works.
I need to find out what cause the error on the Pulso 4...😕 Broncolor will probably not service the lamp/generator anymore... too old. Wish me luck...
So a comparison Rondo/beauty dish has to wait.

 

[Nokton48]

Amazing. Love the Rondo what a great snag! I wonder if this is the Olde version of the Satellite Staro? Looks similar in design maybe? Broncolor Guy says the Staro has a "filmic Look" to it. Hard to describe but there. The way that Rondo Ring articulates is really cool. Great for in close, I bet.

 

[FOBELIO]

Amazing. Love the Rondo what a great snag! I wonder if this is the Olde version of the Satellite Staro? Looks similar in design maybe? Broncolor Guy says the Staro has a "filmic Look" to it. Hard to describe but there. The way that Staro Ring articulates is really cool. Great for in close, I bet.

I will compare it also to the Satellite Staro but I don't think they are so similar.

The Staro is built using the same shell as the Satellite (I have both) and instead of the silver shiny surface it is just white and came with a sandblasted acrylic diffusor on front. Of course the lamp is mounted on the back.
Similar could you do with a P70 or P65, paint inside white and use a thick diffusor foil on the front and you have a mini-Staro... (I have some beaten P70 laying around... that is an idea 😉)

Build in this way you have a centre weighted light on the Staro. The Rondo and beauty dishes have instead this deflector on front of the flash tube so the centre is a bit dimmer than the peripheral areas. The light then wraps around the dimmer centre. The Rondo deflector seems to me a bit smaller than in other beauty dishes...

Here a little graphic to show what I mean.

 

[dxp]

I will compare it also to the Satellite Staro but I don't think they are so similar.

The Staro is built using the same shell as the Satellite (I have both) and instead of the silver shiny surface it is just white and came with a sandblasted acrylic diffusor on front. Of course the lamp is mounted on the back.
Similar could you do with a P70 or P65, paint inside white and use a thick diffusor foil on the front and you have a mini-Staro... (I have some beaten P70 laying around... that is an idea 😉)

Build in this way you have a centre weighted light on the Staro. The Rondo and beauty dishes have instead this deflector on front of the flash tube so the centre is a bit dimmer than the peripheral areas. The light then wraps around the dimmer centre. The Rondo deflector seems to me a bit smaller than in other beauty dishes...

Early last year a damaged (but repaired) Satellite Staro appeared on the used market not far from me for something silly like 50€. I passed it up due to the size, but regret that now as the lighting characteristics would suit a lot of the shooting I do.

I've seen a few cheap Rondos advertised as well but they (and their stands) seem a bit bulkier, so I think I'll hold out for a Satellite Staro.

 

[Nokton48]

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

On the left I have attached Adhesive Furniture Pads to the bottom of the FOBA Base unit. On the right, is a prototype of a five inch diameter Aluminum Puck one inch tall, purchased on Ebay for $20. The idea is to bolt this together, and then put the furniture pads similar to what you see here. Seems to be heavy enough, we will see. Could put two of them together for more weight, not sure if needed.

 

[Nokton48]

SONY DSC by Nokton48, on Flickr

This is a FOBA Spring Clamp, I have about a dozen of these. It fits -perfectly- the Broncolor Projection Lens, for the Broncolor Fibrolite unit. Cut off the tabs top and bottom, it fits like it's made for it. Thinking of attaching it to some Gooseneck that will fit the FOBA Bases I have.

 

[Nokton48]

Here's a Broncolor Video on the Satellite Staro:

 

[FOBELIO]

Early last year a damaged (but repaired) Satellite Staro appeared on the used market not far from me for something silly like 50€. I passed it up due to the size, but regret that now as the lighting characteristics would suit a lot of the shooting I do.

I've seen a few cheap Rondos advertised as well but they (and their stands) seem a bit bulkier, so I think I'll hold out for a Satellite Staro.

I think to remember something...
Was this the Staro in question? 😉
A heavy duty repair!




The attachment point of the bracket to the plastic shell is a weak point of the Satellites!
My Satellite has the same defect... need to be repaired. My Staro instead is the improved version with a metal plate.

Here on the left my Satellite with one of the four cracks... 😖
On the right my Satellite Staro has already this metal plate for reinforcement. I think to remember there is also version with two plates on the inside as outside...



If you want a Satellite keep an eye on this weak point! 👁️
You can get also the older Satellites which are full metal but possibly also heavier...

V1
Here an early version of the Satellite (perhaps the first one?), there is no bracket and the full weight is on the lamp.
Positioning must be a bit difficult since very front heavy... 🫤
Note the convenient handle on the back!



V2
Here probably the following version with the bracket...
I think strange the joint point goes through the logo.
Since everything is metal the cracking problem of the plastic version is probably not present.



V3
Later versions lost the handle on the back and don't have the logo anymore on the rim just on the bracket.
The bracket serves now as a handle if you need to carry it.
I had once one of these but not in best condition (the rim rivets falling apart). Paid 50CHF for this AND the plastic one and then sold for 50CHF so the plastic version was virtually free but still need to be repaired... 😐🙄



V4
Then I assume the following version is with the plastic shell.
The joint points are not reinforced.



V5
I was not sure if there was a reinforced version but with a quick research I found this. Clearly this is a reinforced Satellite.
Here the bracket is mounted on reverse... probably by the user for better balance?



and of course for the Satellite you need the smallest reflector made by Broncolor.
I ended having 3-4 of them.



One more thing: the bracket of Satellite has one centre hole, where a junior pin can be mounted.
There are also other four smaller holes. Can you guess for what?




It is for this part here.
What is this may you ask... this is the joint point for the Varistand!
The Rondo-bracket attaches here. You see the scrub marks that indicate the horizontal rotation which I discussed in one of my recent post.