Fill flash diffuser experience?

[treeman]

I'd like to know of anyones experience with diffusers on the flash, when using it as fill-in outdoors.
I've used the little plastic cover that comes with the SB-800, but it doesn't seem to make a great deal of difference in softening the light.

Can anyone recommend something?

 

[Garry Edwards]

Used outdoors for fill, diffusion isn't needed and does nothing and reduces the effective power of the flash.

They are for diffusing the light when used as the only/main light source.

 

[HoppyUK]

Garry is right. For fill in, the flash should be so subtle that it is only noticeable to you. If it starts to cast strong shadows of its own, it begins to look unnatural so when it is that weak any kind of diffuser will go largely unnoticed anyway. Even the simple on board flash is usually fine for portraits at close range.

I use a LumiQuest Quik for indoor portraits when the flash increasingly becomes the main light, balanced with the ambient using slow sync technique. There are plenty of other devices around, and some of them might be slightly better for specific effects, but this little jobbie is so easy to carry (it folds flat) and to use that I find myself using it all the time.

It gives nice diffused flash light with a good highlight in the eyes, plus bounce/fill, and the way it fits means it works in both horizontal and vertical camera positions. It is also more efficient than some other types which waste light out of the sides and back (eg Fong). It's here £43 http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-lumiquest-quik-bounce/p1031217

 

[Garry Edwards]

I could/should have given a more complete answer.

There are a lot of different flash diffusers on the market, in a range of shapes and they are all very expensive for what they are, but they all work in much the same way. Flash diffusers work, not so much by diffusing the light as by bouncing it around, i.e. some of the light hits the subject directly, some hits the ceiling first and bounces off that, some may bounce off a wall etc. It's primarily the bounced light that makes the light softer - the diffusers are physically too small, and too distant from the subject, to make the light softer without the bounce.

So it follows that if a diffuser is fitted to a hotshoe flashgun outdoors the diffuser does nothing because there is nothing for the bounced light to actually bounce off of - but the light is still leaving the flashgun at all sorts of angles, looking for something to bounce from, so a lot of the power is wasted.

 

[HoppyUK]

I could/should have given a more complete answer.

There are a lot of different flash diffusers on the market, in a range of shapes and they are all very expensive for what they are, but they all work in much the same way. Flash diffusers work, not so much by diffusing the light as by bouncing it around, i.e. some of the light hits the subject directly, some hits the ceiling first and bounces off that, some may bounce off a wall etc. It's primarily the bounced light that makes the light softer - the diffusers are physically too small, and too distant from the subject, to make the light softer without the bounce.

So it follows that if a diffuser is fitted to a hotshoe flashgun outdoors the diffuser does nothing because there is nothing for the bounced light to actually bounce off of - but the light is still leaving the flashgun at all sorts of angles, looking for something to bounce from, so a lot of the power is wasted.

Garry, which particular reflectors/diffusers/shapers do you rate for hot shoe guns, and why?

 

[PerfectSpeed]

Can anyone recommend something?

Yes.

It's about all I need and is free and in unlimited supply

 

[Garry Edwards]

Garry, which particular reflectors/diffusers/shapers do you rate for hot shoe guns, and why?

I'll leave this for someone else to answer better - my main field is studio flash.

 

[HoppyUK]

I'll leave this for someone else to answer better - my main field is studio flash.

You don't have a view on the strobist attachments that are available for hot shoe guns these days?

I'll just say that the main thing which alters the effect of the flash is the size of the light area, relative to the subject. Bigger is softer, and almost always better, reducing harsh shadows.

If you use a larger diffuser/shaper close to the subject it is much softer than from a distance. Further away it becomes rapidly much smaller and therefore increasingly ineffective.

Bounce flash works because the size of the flash effectively becomes a large pool of light on the ceiling, which is very soft, but it then tends to cast shadows under the eyes, or under the brims of hats at a wedding maybe. That's when a bounce card like that from PerfectSpeed above provides a perfect amount of fill. That combination does work extremely well indoors. Some better flash guns have a mini bounce card built in and it's all you need for a lot of things.

 

[Garry Edwards]

You don't have a view on the strobist attachments that are available for hot shoe guns these days?

I'll just say that the main thing which alters the effect of the flash is the size of the light area, relative to the subject. Bigger is softer, and almost always better, reducing harsh shadows.

If you use a larger diffuser/shaper close to the subject it is much softer than from a distance. Further away it becomes rapidly much smaller and therefore increasingly ineffective.

Bounce flash works because the size of the flash effectively becomes a large pool of light on the ceiling, which is very soft, but it then tends to cast shadows under the eyes, or under the brims of hats at a wedding maybe. That's when a bounce card like that from PerfectSpeed above provides a perfect amount of fill. That combination does work extremely well indoors. Some better flash guns have a mini bounce card built in and it's all you need for a lot of things.

I do have a view, and I don't disagree with what you say above. It's just that I think a lot of other people know more about hotshoe flashguns and their accessories than I do, which is why I usually only wear out my keyboard on studio flash questions

 

[HoppyUK]

I do have a view, and I don't disagree with what you say above. It's just that I think a lot of other people know more about hotshoe flashguns and their accessories than I do, which is why I usually only wear out my keyboard on studio flash questions

I'm not at all sure that's true Garry You understand light, which is what matters, and know marketing bullpoo when you see it

 

[pellepiano]

I use a transparent umbrella when shooting outside, to diffuse the light. I also use the Flash off camera, triggering it with a cheap Cactus V4 radio transmitter.

Sigma 500 Super in umbrella.