Small, portable beauty dishes

Jaffster

Jaffster

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I am looking to purchase some small portable beauty dishes which preferably fit onto a konig lightstand, or somehow attach to an umbrella mount.

Is there such a thing out there?
 
You can buy Bowens S-fit adapters for speedlights (assuming that's what you want to use the BD with) on Ebay, which will allow you to use any of the accessories produced for that system.
 
I think that by definition a proper beauty dish is neither small nor portable.

If it is, the light won't be the same at all. You might like to look up McGillicuddy http://www.art4artssake.co.uk/light-modifiers/36inch-multimodifier.html

Edit: don't want to get into an argument about it, but the light from a silver brolly 'can' under 'some cicumstances' be very similar to a BD.
 
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HoppyUK said:
I think that by definition a proper beauty dish is neither small nor portable.

If it is, the light won't be the same at all. You might like to look up McGillicuddy http://www.art4artssake.co.uk/light-modifiers/36inch-multimodifier.html

Edit: don't want to get into an argument about it, but the light from a silver brolly 'can' under 'some cicumstances' be very similar to a BD.
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I wont use brollys outside after the last time when it blew over and destroyed my Sony flashgun :-(
 
Jaffster said:
I wont use brollys outside after the last time when it blew over and destroyed my Sony flashgun :-(
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Richard is right when he says
I think that by definition a proper beauty dish is neither small nor portable.
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. I used to use a 1.5m one, years ago, and it was a wonderful tool. In this game, there are always people who make tiny versions for hotshoe flashguns simply because some people will buy them, but the small ones don't behave like beauty dishes and don't even come close.

A beauty dish, used outside, will act as a sail just as an umbrella or a softbox will act as a sail. They're heavy so will take a stronger gust to get them moving but they'll come down with a dramatic bang - the answer is to use a combination of weights and guy ropes to make sure that the thing doesn't blow over in the first place.

In other words, if you're happy with the results you're getting from umbrellas, don't replace the umbrella with a tiny beauty dish that won't work, just use the umbrella safely.
 
As Flash in the Pan said I'd look for speedlite S mount adaptors - although using a large beauty dish will eat up a lot of flash power!

I'd echo Garry's statement - once you start making smaller modifiers for speedlites you lose the characteristics of the modifier. Small beauty dishes do very little unless you're photographing very small things!

In the past I've found beauty dishes that attach onto speedlites can put a lot of strain on the head itself, so if it does go over in the wind there's always a lot more damage than with a brolly (which tends to take the impact more).
 
What I want is some way to direct my light without using a snoot (it directs the light, but I don't want a straight line of light). Something which perhaps gives a 45-90 degree burst of light.

Any thoughts?
 
Jaffster said:
What I want is some way to direct my light without using a snoot (it directs the light, but I don't want a straight line of light). Something which perhaps gives a 45-90 degree burst of light.

Any thoughts?
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All lights travels in straight lines, and if you just want 45-90 degs of coverage, a hot shoe gun will do that.

What sort of lighting effect fo you want, under what circumstances (subject, distance)?
 
The elinchrom 70cm deep octa is regarded quite highly for it's ability to give similar light shaping qualities to a beauty dish. I have seen it used with a metallic mesh deflector which gives very appealing results. I don't however know about adapters to make it fit flashguns.
 
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