Gary Fong's Lightsphere

Actually, he's doing that to grab as much ambient light as possible to fill in the shadows and smooth things out. You don't need much flash output to balance a low light exposure.

At the same time, you don't need to spend money on a plastic gimmick to balance an exposure.

Bimthecat said:

Notice in his instruction video: He has the ISO raised to 400 and
up...
and he is shooting at too-wide-apertures !

This means: the fonger-ators all suck-up too much power.

Click to expand...

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Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

i shoot weddings and use the lightsphere extensively at receptions (uncontrolled events). It does everything it is supposed to do. Like any accessory, you have to learn to use it and use your head. Some of the comments here seem to be from people who didn't bother to learn how to use it. This link is to a photo shot with the lightsphere: http://www.pbase.com/rpetty/image/54042341

See the link below for my home made flip it. It seems to work about the best because it is more adjustable. The light sphere loses a lot of flash power because the light goes 360 degrees. In some rooms that might be OK, but not in others.

The better bounce card throws the ceiling bounce forward if the camera is shooting down on the subject.

The flip it works the best for me.

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D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D. Love it.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash
8000+ pictures with the D50
User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop

My home made FlipIt type bounce card:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=21007710

"I also have the Joe Demb device ( http://www.dembflashdiffusers.com/ ) but haven't liked what I get from it, light seems too harsh. I've not played with it as much though."

The flip it card (or its clones) can throw a surprising amount of light forward. In practice, most of the time I am shooting with the card angled back from straight up to cut down on the amount of direct light.

My main complaint about the better bounce card was similar. Too much light forward, too directional.

Tilt the flip it card back further to get less direct lighting.

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D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D. Love it.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
SB600 Flash
8000+ pictures with the D50
User of Gimp and Ufraw on Linux instead of Photoshop

My home made FlipIt type bounce card:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=21007710

Your gary fong shots look pretty good actually.

--
Meow
http://public.fotki.com/LindoPhotography/

I have the betterbouncecard for indoors with ceiling, and I should have the product below in a couple days for indoor/outdoor shots without a ceiling available.
http://www.fjwestcott.com/products/halosapollos/microapollo.htm
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My new logo will be featured here shortly. After getting my SB-600, I decided to now call my business 'All Means Photography'

Wishing I had photoshop skills. Period.

http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/free/gallery.asp?memberID=162336

Oh don't get me wrong, I like it, I just don't think I've got the hang of it yet. I've played with it outdoors as a fill light (had issues, still arguing with my high speed sync mode on the 550EX/5D) to try and get rid of shadows, etc.

I just was a bit disappointed in the misleading edit on the website vs. the actual training documentation type of thing. The website makes it look more miraculous than it is when it was camera + lightsphere that got the results, not just stickin the lightsphere on.

I've also bought several of Gary's videos and been impressed with the information contained within. Working on setting up a photography business and trying to line up as much as I can before getting started.
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http://public.fotki.com/trekkie
http://www.thescribeoflight.com

I decided to spring for the $50 a couple of months ago, and I've been very happy with it. I sometimes use the flash on a bracket PLUS the lightsphere.

It's VERY easy to carry in your camera bag (I fold it slightly and wedge it into one of the lens compartments. When you put the top back on it, it recovers its round shape) It also gets you a lot of interest/taking you seriously from your subjects, which is generally a good thing, IMHO.

Lately, I've been experimenting with a piece of aluminum foil inside to reflect more of the light forward. They have a similar device on the Fong website, although they claim that it doesn't work with the clear lightsphere (which is what I have). My homegrown "solution" seems to gve me a bit more light, so I don't know what they're thinking of.

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Forrest Milder
http://forrestmilder.com