A Flash Accessory?

ghache · Sep 21, 2010

Like mike said,

a bounce card is really usefull and works really well,

i use my aurora bounce card for fill and bounce in a house or small places inside....

Big Mike · Sep 21, 2010

supraman215 said:
So which one of the 3 (lumiquest 80-20, Demb or Lite Genius) do you recommend purchasing first?

I know your next question will be depends on what kind of photography you're doing. So I do a lot of indoor portraits of my daughter, not studio stuff but just fun, and I have just one speedlight. I really like the Lite Genius and the fact that I can use it with my umbrella as well, but the Lumiquest looks pretty versatile if you pick up the pro kit. The lumiquest with the pro kit and the Demb look pretty similar, what's the key diff here?

It's really a personal preference...and I know, it's hard to know which you would prefer, without using them first.

The Lumiquest, with the kit, is pretty cool, but I honestly don't use it much at all. I prefer one of the other two.
I like the Demb Flip it because I can easily adjust the angle of the panel. If I want just a bit of forward fill, then I can angle it straight up. Or I can angle it down to 45 degrees to throw almost all the light forward. Or I can flip it all the way back and out of the wall, so that I can use bare flash. It does come with a front diffusion panel, but I main use only the flip/bounce card.

The Light scoop is best used when you don't have the option to bounce. Because it largely increases the size of your light, it gives you decently soft light. I do like that is has an internal metal frame that allows it to bend, which makes it versatile like the Flip It.

I don't want to take any money away from the guy who makes the Lite Scoops, Bob is a great guy. But you can make something very similar for only a few dollars. I made one, from THESE instructions, and it worked well enough. It just didn't look professional so I only used it at home. And it didn't have the metal frame so I couldn't shape it like the Scoop.

The thing about these big reflectors, is that they are big (especially the Super Scoop). And you may not want to be walking around with this huge thing on top of your camera, even at home. The others are more compact...especially the Flip It, which can be bent back.

Big Mike · Sep 21, 2010

ghache said:
Like mike said,

a bounce card is really usefull and works really well,

i use my aurora bounce card for fill and bounce in a house or small places inside....

Good point. A simple bounce card can really help when bouncing the flash indoors. You don't even have to buy anything, just attach a white card to the flash with a rubber band.

supraman215 · Sep 21, 2010

So the bigger ones that work better outside are more of a challenge to haul around when going somewhere, outside. That doesn't make my decision easier, however since it's super cheap I'm going to build one of those home made jobs.

supraman215 · Sep 21, 2010

Now I'll muddy the waters even more, what about something like this:

Westcott Micro Apollo Softbox - 5x8" (13x20cm) 2200 - B&H

or this instead

Honl Traveller8 Softbox

Obviously both increase the size of your source. Neither offer any kind of bounce though I guess that's the big diff.

Big Mike · Sep 21, 2010

So the bigger ones that work better outside

Keep in mind that the bigger the reflector/diffuser, the more it spreads the light out...the more light it uses...the less range you have. So 'better outside' may be misleading because you might be farther away from your subject when outside.

Big Mike · Sep 21, 2010

I was going to mention softboxes. But I don't have any first hand experince with them...not these small ones anyway.

They do increase the size of your lightsource, which we know will make the light softer. The question is how evenly they can spread the light. Being so close to the flash head, while it's shooting forward, you might end up with a big bright spot in the middle, and much less illumination around the outside. And just like the large reflectors, I don't imagine that it's too easy to shoot & move around with something like this stuck on your flash. Also, it looks like they would block the AF assist light, which comes from the red panel on the front of the flash.

supraman215 · Sep 21, 2010

un-Fortunately I have only a fully manual flash. LP160. No af assist light.

Big Mike · Sep 21, 2010

Ah sorry, I got you confused with the OP, who has a 430EX.

Dao · Sep 21, 2010

settons said:
Big Mike....thanks so much for the detailed answer.

I think I follow what you are saying. The problem I have is when I'm outdoors or in a large room I can't bounce the light off, I don't know how to position the flash. If I put it straight on, it looks I'm using my headlight system, but if I don't its too dark. What would you do in this type of a situation?

Of course, I 120% agree that Big Mike knows his stuff!!

This site also has good information regarding flash photography. Take a look.

http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-photography-techniques/

supraman215 · Sep 23, 2010

Ok I built it! It's awesome. Cost me like $8 but the thing works great. Could have done it cheaper the velcro dots for $3.49! they only came in a pack of like 30. Since I only photograph my family I'm not worried about looking professional. I put it on a flash cage like he suggested and boy it looks beautiful.

Here are some obligatory cat pics. I didn't PP them or anything just straight off the camera to show the light quality.

Thanks Mike!