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Old May 17th, 2003, 01:04 PM   #1
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What's better? Rifa or piece together? Here's the facts.

That caught your attention I'll bet. Here ARE the facts, but not the answers. Those, I hope, will come from you.

I keep seeing where people say that the main aversion to the Rifa is the cost. Then they follow it up by saying that they will put a Tota in a softbox or something like that.

Now I'm sure that if you ALREADY OWN the Tota, then this makes financial sense, but here's a little "for instance"... using B&H's prices.

Tota... $110
Photoflex speed ring... $74
Photoflex softbox... $130 for 16x22 cinedome

Total cost $314

Rifa 250w 16x16 $295

So if you are starting with nothing, what's better? I'm assuming the Rifa, but I'll be all ears if you guys want to set me straight.

Thanks... Matt.
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Old May 18th, 2003, 11:49 PM   #2
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16x16" aperture max wattage 250 watts. What was your question Matt? The difference between a 16x16 aperture and a 24x32" is considerable. the latitude to lamp from 250 to 750 watts is there as well. The Photoflex also includes the mask and louver kit.

A 21"x21" max 500 watter is $410
A 25x25 can take a max wattage of 750 for $480.

There not a bad price. I just see the Tota as being more versatile and the photoflex as having a larger surface area.
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Old May 19th, 2003, 12:15 AM   #3
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Bryan's right on both counts. The Lowel Tota is very light-weight and versatile. The Photoflex box is also excellent. (I own both.)

I think the main advantage of the Rifa is its speed of setup / tear-down and its ease of transport. The Photoflex and its speed ring always take a bit of wrestling to set up. The Rifa is almost like an umbrella to set-up and it folds down into something nearly as easy to carry as an umbrella.
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Old May 19th, 2003, 07:07 AM   #4
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Sorry Matt, I just re read and saw that 16 x 22 small photofl;ex. Well I still have the same opinion.

I'm not saying anything negative about the Rifa .

Another observation though. The Rifa has a glass envelope as a safety, which does net you more light as opposed to a wire safety screen. (70% loss for wire on the Tota)

The Rifa needs more cool down time than the Tota before you can disassemble the unit.
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