Rifa opinions

[Shootblue]

I've got a couple chimera softboxes already, but even "preassembled" they take some time to set up.

I was looking at the Rifa as a quick, light, easy alternative. A couple things I don't like/have concerns about-

It's expensive.

Will it slowly fall apart like other Lowel gear?

Why are the grids so expensive?

Is it easy to downlamp the 500 to 250?

Is it worth it?

[Ace Of Nothing]

I've had a Rifa 55 for about 8 months now and I like it. I work local news so I don't get a chance to use it as much as I'd like. The shop I work in is pretty run and gun so lighting often gets neglected due to time.

However, it is pretty fast to step up and it's still in good shape but as I said before, I haven't used it much.

I am going to pick up a lower wattage bulb for it since most of the time it has more kick than I need (I have a 500 in now).

Is it worth it? Depends on what you want to use it for. I wanted a quick to assemble soft box to use as a key for interviews and to light a reporter for a live shot. The 55 is almost overkill and I would have gone for the 44 if I had the choice (I didn't, I get what they give me, not that I'm ungrateful, I love my light!).

Overall I like it and think it was worth asking for (it's company property so I didn't pay for it).

[Jonathan]

They are easily the best lights Lowell makes. I have the 1000watt, it is pretty quick to setup, the grid while expensive is tough and works well. I also like Kino Flos since they are quick, compact and offer daylight balanced bulbs. Though the Rifa lights do put out considerable more light.

Get a different brand stand than Lowell, they break to easy and most aren't heavy enough to stay standing with a heavy light on top like the Rifa.

[1911A1]

I've had a Rifa44 for a number of years now and it's a great little light.

The only problems I've had with it are that the "bows" (or whatever the umbrella-looking parts are called) have broken off at the base a couple of times. Sent it back to Lowel and they fixed it pretty quickly both times.

[FlandersVision]

I absolutely love my rifa44......its is the quickest and easiest setup and breakdown lite I've ever worked with......I don't have the grid but I know it would be better for stopping down the extraneous spillover lite I sometimes have trouble with but with a dimmer I can get it down to a very nice level. The lite comes with a bag and I add a bogen(I may be wrong on the brand) foldup stand that fits perfectly into the bag for the lite.....I use a 125 watt bulb that I use also in my normal pro lites......I essentially us eit as my quick and dirty lighting bag and setup literally takes seconds so you can always have that nice lighting even when you are in a rush. I love it especially for daily grind. I use a mix of chimeras with prolites and arris with background projections for my projects bag. I find the prolite chimera the easiest of the chimeras to work with and find the cost about the same for the whole rig chimera with prolite vs. rifa. Can't say enough of my rifa!!

[Sportsguy]

As others have said, the Rifa 44 is quite nice. Very portable, quick setup and a nice quality of soft light. I really like mine. Great for live shots- especially if it's a little windier and you can't throw up an umbrella. I use a 55, too, but often find it's a little too much light for night lives.

That being said though, I don't have the egg crates for them, and really think they're a necessary accessory if you plan to use the light in a confined space at all with as little spillover as possible.

[Nino]

I have several Chimeras and also several Rifas, 1/88 2/66 and 2/55. The Rifas are the indoor lights that I use the most. The main advantages are that they are compact to store and fast to set up. Each Rifa is about the size of a Chimera but the light is built in. Granted the system is not cheap but well worth the price. Rifa now is also available with several bulb options http://lowel.com/rifaexchange/ making it a very versatile system.

[Sportsguy]

Nino,

Have you tried the fluorescents in there? If so, how are they?

[Nino]

Nino,

Have you tried the fluorescents in there? If so, how are they?

I've seen it at NAB but did not use it. I think it's a great idea, modular systems is the way of the future but not for me. The new bulbs are daylight color and much bulkier. The new version also takes the standard tungsten bulbs just like the older brother. When I need to balance for daylight I use HMIs or Lowel Caselights. Also the new bulbs defeat my needs to use Rifa in the first place, and that's the compactness and the weight of the Rifa that makes it ideal for storage and air travel.