FreshDV Review of Lowel Rifa eXchange Light at FreshDV

FreshDV Review of Lowel Rifa eXchange Light

Published by Matthew Jeppsen November 15th, 2007 in FreshDV, Hardware, News, Reviews

FreshDV recently had the opportunity to review the full Lowel Super Ambi kit, and one of the components included was the Rifa eXchange softbox. This is a unique softbox solution with a twist…you can swap out the lamps from tungsten to fluorescent on demand. The benefits seem obvious…you now have the choice of outputting daylight or interior balanced light from your softbox, and of course flouro lamps are much more energy efficient. In this video, Kendal Miller walks through the features and construction of the Rifa EX, shows how lamps are swapped, and finally we measure and compare output from both lamp options.

Lowel Rifa EX Review [4:49m]: Download

You can view the video in either H.264 MOV format (right-click the link above) or as a Flash video stream (watch embedded below). Note that the above Quicktime version is higher resolution and quality.

Lowel Rifa eXchange Review. Pricing and info at www.lowel.com

FreshDV would like to thank the following for their involvement in making this segment possible:
Bruce Allen for providing a Sekonic cine light meter.
Lowel for providing a fully-loaded production lighting kit.

4 Responses to “FreshDV Review of Lowel Rifa eXchange Light”

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1 Guy Nov 16th, 2007 at 7:57 am

Another great and informative video guys! I was curious how you like the Rifa lights compared to a Chimera. Obviously the Rifa can be more self-contained, and Chimera is flexible with partnering with various lights, but in terms on actual production use, do you have a favorite?
2 Matt Jeppsen Nov 16th, 2007 at 3:03 pm

Thanks Guy. You are correct, a Chimera can be used more universally. However, I personally much preferred the quick setup of the Rifa, and the option for cool daylight-balanced flourescent lamps is sheer brilliance.

-Matt Jeppsen
3 HD Motyl Dec 31st, 2008 at 8:37 am

Thanks. Very helpful in terms of setup. We were given the light without any setup instructions and couldn’t figure out how to make it taut. You should us; we’re happy.