580 II flash softbox

looking for something that attaches to a 580 or a 550 flash to soften flash. let me know what your using and if you would recomend it. if you can attach an image or a link would be awesome.

Thanks
--
Marty Mosley

Google is your friend.

There are tons of things out there.

For true diffusion, there's Stoffen Omnibounce or Gary Fong Lightsphere just to name a couple.

For flash deflection, there are the Demb Flip-its, various Gary Fong accessories, Honl Reflectors, etc.

TIS

Here is a link to several options. I have the soft box mini but have not really tried it out yet.

http://www.samys.com/c/Flash-Filters--Diffusion/start_1/3/160.html

Hi,
Lumiquest have a good reputation.
http://www.lumiquest.com/

note some are intended to use with a speedlite freestanding , others, with it on-cam.

Also, I like;
http://www.speedlightprokit.com/products/kits/
the Pro Kit Pro-Set.

Not quite so keen on (nice light but they flop about a little);

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110773893375?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Good luck

If you want soft light on a subject the diffuser must be close to the size of the subject or larger.

Placing a small 6"x6" softbox on a flash or using even the largest strap on reflector/diffuser, the LumaQuest Big Bounce, won't give you soft light if the flash is beyond about 2' from the subject. Even then about all you can use it for is a tight head shot.

The Tupperware diffusers like the Omnibounce and the Gary Fong Light Sphere send light in all directions. It is light that bounces off of near by walls or a low ceiling that soften the light from your flash. You are better off just rotating and tilting the head of your flash so YOU can control where the light bounces from.

Outdoors those Tupperware diffusers are less than worthless - they steal 2-3 stops of flash power without improving your flash softness at all because there is nothing for the light to bounce off of.

If you want soft light from your hot-shoe flash you need to get it off of the camera and use a larger diffuser. This is what David Hobby of the Strobist Blog did. He built his career as a photojournalist on the fact that his location portraits were better than the competition's. He did it by placing his hot-shoe flash on a collapsible stand or hand held monopod held away from the camera and diffusing the flash with a 24" umbrella.

I strongly suggest you study Lighting 101 on David Hobby's Strobist site before wasting your money on those small softboxes, reflector/diffusers, or Tupperware diffusers.

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/

Marty Mosley said:

looking for something that attaches to a 580 or a 550 flash to soften flash. let me know what your using and if you would recomend it. if you can attach an image or a link would be awesome.

Click to expand...

It's not just a matter of softening a light. Front soft is just as flat as front hard light. It also about the direction of the light.

Has anybody tried? http://www.spinlight360.com/ Expensive but does it really work? If it really works then it's worth it, if not...

I often use bounce and/or Gary Fong

--
Thanks
http://foto-biz.com
The Business of Being a Photographer -- Lightroom Q&A

thanks for everybodys input, some great stuff.
--
Marty Mosley

I have a Lumiquest model - it works.

Any system that softens the light will be better than the original sharp harsh light
--
Kari
SLR photography started in 1968, 40D since 2007, and now 7D !
60.21 N 24.86 E

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1025&message=40432262&q=demb&qf=m
Here is a Lumiquest comparison test to look at.

Thanks
--
Marty Mosley

Marty Mosley said:

Thanks
--
Marty Mosley

Click to expand...

Sailor provided a very good explanation. When I read ANITIX87's reply about the lightsphere and "true diffusion I was going to post a similar reply but sometimes I get tired of debating that subject. The sphere are omni bounce are "bounce adapters" and require something to bounce off. Like Sailor stated diffusion is all about the size of the diffuser and distance the subject. The lightsphere is larger than the flash head but is no where near large enough in size to provide enough diffusion on it's own. It will help but it really needs walls, ceilings, etc.

Here is an interesting article.

http://russellspixelpix.blogspot.com/2008/11/flash-diffusers-no-need-to-spend-big.html

I'm not saying not to buy a diffuser, just don't waste your time and money on trying to find the latest and greatest miracle diffuser. It does not exist. Light is simple physics - it travels in strait lines.

Products like the flip it, etc are good tools to help out. Learn about light and why you flash head rotates.

--

Weaseling out of things is important to learn! It's what separates us from the animals. Except the weasel.

Homer Simpson

The biggest mistake I see (probably because it just stands out so much) is someone w/an expensive camera and flash using a flash bounce diffuser outdoors. I don't think many people understand this. All they're doing is reducing the light output from their flash, not what you need outdoors.

I think that is wrong. Using modified flash rather than direct flash to fill shadows produces much more natural looking results. A portrait rather than just a flash picture. Direct flash flattens the features and contours of the face. It's not just the quantity of the light which counts. It's the quality of the light. I urge everyone to compare and see for themselves.

Joe Demb said:

I think that is wrong. Using modified flash rather than direct flash to fill shadows produces much more natural looking results. A portrait rather than just a flash picture.

Click to expand...

Your right, and your wrong when you imply that a Tupperware diffuser like the Stofen Omnibounce or Gary Fong Light Sphere will modify the flash enough to make it worth using outdoors. As has already been said several times, it doesn't provide any direct softening of the light the way a large diffuser does, all it does is send light off in all directions to bounce off of near by walls and ceiling. If those near by walls and ceiling aren't there (outdoors or in a large room) then all the Tupperware diffusers do is lower the amount of light reaching the subject by about 2 stops.

Joe Demb said:

Direct flash flattens the features and contours of the face. It's not just the quantity of the light which counts. It's the quality of the light. I urge everyone to compare and see for themselves.

Click to expand...

Yes! You are absolutely correct. Direct flash is flat without shadows and it is not flattering.

To get modeling of the face with shadows to turn a 2D image into something that the mind interprets as 3D you need those shadows. The softness of the main light, as well as the amount of fill light, determines the ratio of shadow to highlight. Flattering light has an in between ratio, not too high, not too low.

If you want good quality soft light for good portraiture you have to get the main light off of the camera and you have to use a diffuser that is close to the size of the subject or larger, and at a distance of 1 to 2 times the measured diameter of an umbrella or measured diagonal of a softbox.

If you think your shadow/highlight ratio is still too high (shadows too dark vs highlights) then you can add a bit of fill light with your on-camera flash, but it should never be used as the main light.

Note: The stated size of an umbrella is measured over the top, not across the open umbrella so you have to measure the diameter across the opened umbrella.

You are kind of right but a diffuser outdoors doesn't soften the light any.

The reason is that all the soft, off axis light doesn't reach the subject! The only light that reaches the subject is straight from the flash - and so is still harsh.

The reason it works indoors that that off axis light bounces off walls and eventual reaches the subject from a different angle, softening the light.

You can estimate how big a diffuser you'd need outdoors to have any effect using simple trig. Say you have a 1/4" wide shadow from a (LOL) 1" nose. You are 4 feet away. If you want to soften that shadow you need 1/4" * 4 12 1 = a 12 inch reflector absolute minimum. The numbers might be off, testing w/b more practical, but you get the idea. You need a much bigger diffuser than what they are typically selling you.

Joe Demb said:

I think that is wrong. Using modified flash rather than direct flash to fill shadows produces much more natural looking results. A portrait rather than just a flash picture. Direct flash flattens the features and contours of the face. It's not just the quantity of the light which counts. It's the quality of the light. I urge everyone to compare and see for themselves.

Click to expand...

--
http://ktophoto.blogspot.com/
http://la-photos.blogspot.com/

It's a fabric conditioner bottle with tin foil. Really cheap

I plan to upgrade: paint the back of the inside white.

https://secure.flickr.com/photos/efs2008/6228745819/in/pool-399630@N23/

In this shot, the Flip-it rendered the shadows and highlights of the face in a very natural way, IMO. If direct flash had been used instead, the face features would have been flattened, no matter how much the direct flash had been dialed down in intensity. With the Flip-it, if the image in the back of your camera looks too specular, you may back off the angle of the reflector a degree or 2, retake the picture and see the change with your own eyes. You may keep adjusting until you are satisfied that the specularity is the way YOU want it. I am talking about artistic control in the field. I respect your scientific theories, but fear all your talk about trig and huge reflector requirements is scaring away newbies who are trying to learn and get better. People deserve more than this. They deserve exact control, differences which they can see with their own eyes so they can advance their individual styles - what they want things to look like. Lots of my users produce results which are more specular than I would have done. But I have given them a tool to adjust to their taste, not mine. I have to respect that. I have been listening to opinions on outdoor flash from both sides for years. One one side I hear that this is too complicated and hard for ordinary people; on the other that this is so simple it can be created with a business card or a sweat sock. My belief is that with a proper adjustable tool and a pair of eyes any motivated person can develop their flash photography quickly, easily, and enjoyably.

Before spending money on expensive flip-its or fong-dongs try making one yourself. Here is a link to a DIY diffuser that you can make for about $2 in 20 min.
http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/
It may not look as sophisticated as the others but works as well or better.

Only a device which has a continuously adjustable hinge will provide the whole range of variation of the flash effect. There is nothing wrong with that design. I respect it, but it is not the same thing.

That's a nice shot, but it looks to be indoors, or have reflecting surfaces. No question that the mentioned tools work in that situation.

I'm only pointing out that in the wide outdoors, they don't do much. For example, I was at an outdoor parade, middle of the street, middle of the day, and people had diffusers on their flash. Doesn't do much if anything, plus you need the full power of your flash to combat the sun, so the diffusers actually hurt.