Softbox vs. Flash Bender

Sailor Blue · Jan 29, 2015

Paulmorgan said:
Sailor Blue said:

Don't bother with either a FlashBender or the softbox if the dogs are moving.

Click to expand...

They will be dog portraits.

This sort of thing only outdoors.

For that type of portrait a 24" softbox should be large enough to provide good light.

A less expensive alternative is this brollybox, which was priced at $24/pair. I just checked and unfortunately they are unavailable at this time. If they become available again you might try them.

Amazon.com - PBL Photo Studio 42" Reflective Umbrella Softboxes Photo Lighting Umbrella Set of 2 Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting: Camera & Photo

As low as the price was they were still of fairly good quality. If a stand & one of these brollyboxes gets blown over by the wind the price was low enough that they could almost be considered disposable.

If you check Adorama and eBay for "reflective umbrella softbox" you will find lots more similar brollyboxes in the sub $30 each price range.

Paulmorgan · Jan 30, 2015

Sailor Blue said:
Paulmorgan said:

Sailor Blue said:

Don't bother with either a FlashBender or the softbox if the dogs are moving.

Click to expand...

They will be dog portraits.

This sort of thing only outdoors.

Click to expand...

For that type of portrait a 24" softbox should be large enough to provide good light.

She`s looking for fill, a softbox would be overkill.

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www.pictureline.com

Sailor Blue said:
A less expensive alternative is this brollybox, which was priced at $24/pair. I just checked and unfortunately they are unavailable at this time. If they become available again you might try them.

Amazon.com - PBL Photo Studio 42" Reflective Umbrella Softboxes Photo Lighting Umbrella Set of 2 Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting: Camera & Photo

As low as the price was they were still of fairly good quality. If a stand & one of these brollyboxes gets blown over by the wind the price was low enough that they could almost be considered disposable.

If you check Adorama and eBay for "reflective umbrella softbox" you will find lots more similar brollyboxes in the sub $30 each price range.

--
Living and loving it in Pattaya, Thailand. Canon 7D - See the gear list for the rest.

Sailor Blue · Jan 30, 2015

Paulmorgan said:
Sailor Blue said:

Paulmorgan said:

Sailor Blue said:

Don't bother with either a FlashBender or the softbox if the dogs are moving.

Click to expand...

They will be dog portraits.

This sort of thing only outdoors.

Click to expand...

For that type of portrait a 24" softbox should be large enough to provide good light.

Click to expand...

She`s looking for fill, a softbox would be overkill.

http://www.pictureline.com/blog/rogue-flashbender-review-and-giveaway-with-bry-cox/

The largest FlashBender, the XL, is only 13"x16" in size. Even if you could use the entire surface as a reflector/diffuser it would provide soft light only to subject to diffuser distances of up to about 5'. Beyond that the light is so hard you might as well use the bare flash and gain back the 2 or more stops lost by using the FlashBender.

In direct sunlight flash is the fill light, used to reduce the darkness of the shadows. Since you are already dealing with hard light from the sun you might as well just use the bare flash for the fill light.

With the subject in shade the flash becomes the fill light and the ambient light is the fill light. Here is where using a diffuser makes sense. The 24" softbox would provide nice soft light between about 3' and 6'. The light has some softness between about 6' and 9' but the light quickly becomes hard and flat. Beyond about 9' the bare flash is just as good.

A 42" brolly box (actual diameter is about 40") is a bit larger so it provides soft light between about 3.5' and 7' but beyond about 10' you might as well use a bare flash.

keano12 · Feb 8, 2015

SKersting66 said:
Debbielea said:

I'm trying to find out what my best option would be for doing outdoor pet portrait session using either a softbox or the flash bender. I normally just use natural light but in some situation I could benefit from using off camera flash. I've never used either one and wanted to get some advise on which one would work the best.

I have a Nikon SB700 Speedlight..

I came across a Neewer 24x24 Softbox as well as the Flash Bender...Not even sure what size would be best of either...

Any advise would be great appreciated!

Click to expand...

Neither/Either... it fairly well doesn't matter. Both are too small to be really useful in providing soft light. They are "make shift" solutions.

Personally I use a large flashbender with the stock diffuser (stofen) on the flash for "run and gun" type shooting.

But, for off camera flash I use proper/larger modifiers. For speedlights my preference is for this type of reflective octabox w/ grid. It is best to use it with RF triggers that can adjust the flash power remotely; otherwise they are a bit of a PITA.

keano12 · Feb 8, 2015

pieterv said:
I did some comparison shots with small softbox (like Ezybox), large flashbender with diffuser and flashdisc, and found the light very similar. The flashdisc used properly is a bit more efficient with your light (i.e. loses less).

The flashdisc has the advantage that it is very small when packed away and quicker to use than the softbox.

Just looked up the flash disc pretty cool so it was similar to the flash bender? Tho I like idea of adjusting the flash bender at choice.

ScratchDisk · Feb 9, 2015

Hi things move on ..

There's now Roundflash's 'Dish'. It certainly produces beautiful light with a round catchlight. Strictly it's a softbox or perhaps a dish with a permanent sock. Diameter is 44cm making it larger than the FS Flashdisc.

My choice, anyway.

DavidNJ100 · Feb 9, 2015

This is the video:

I have the Flashbender...and it seems ok for a head and shoulders portrait IF it is within 2 feet or so of the subject and attention is placed on getting the fill correct.

The big Flashbender advantage is the options. It can be used as a bounce with a big fill; the ceiling bounce key can be very effective in combination with the fill.. It can be bent to basically make flags on the fly. The penalty is weight; one trick is to reverse the flash head so it can't bend down.

The others are small diffusions only. The Dish and the Ring are about the same diameter which is about 50% larger in diameter than the Flashbender ProXL. It still isn't a 37" or 47" octagon. Or a 50" Wescott Apollo. But it folds much smaller than the octagons or Flashbender, it is lighter and big enough that it is probably a decent choice for portraits.

keano12 · Feb 9, 2015

The Flash Disc looks nice by F-Stoppers

DavidNJ100 · Feb 9, 2015

I have one of those also...12" diameter...really too small.

It is light and very small collapsed. However, the elastic band that holds in on isn't very solid. That limits its use on camera. On a stand, the Dish would probably be better and not that much bigger. Without a stand (e.g. the feet that came with the flash), the Flashbender is bigger and more configurable.

As an aside, Chinese knockoffs exist for the F-stoppers disc.

Paulmorgan · Feb 9, 2015

keano12 said:
SKersting66 said:

Debbielea said:

I'm trying to find out what my best option would be for doing outdoor pet portrait session using either a softbox or the flash bender. I normally just use natural light but in some situation I could benefit from using off camera flash. I've never used either one and wanted to get some advise on which one would work the best.

I have a Nikon SB700 Speedlight..

I came across a Neewer 24x24 Softbox as well as the Flash Bender...Not even sure what size would be best of either...

Any advise would be great appreciated!

Click to expand...

Neither/Either... it fairly well doesn't matter. Both are too small to be really useful in providing soft light. They are "make shift" solutions.

Personally I use a large flashbender with the stock diffuser (stofen) on the flash for "run and gun" type shooting.

But, for off camera flash I use proper/larger modifiers. For speedlights my preference is for this type of reflective octabox w/ grid. It is best to use it with RF triggers that can adjust the flash power remotely; otherwise they are a bit of a PITA.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/skersting/

Click to expand...

How does a speedlite with the reflective octabox w/ grid look on portraits as one light any samples? also curious about the grid too on it.

On the large flash bender for on the camera shots say at a club or bar how do you angle it? Do you turn the flash head to 10 o'clock to its not directly on them, some shadow is good?

You can do what ever you like, angle it back and bounce of a ceiling, angle it to the side and bounce off a wall, bend the front over, turn it into a snoot, the possibilities are almost endless.

keano12 said:
Thanks

Ken______ · Feb 9, 2015

DavidNJ100 said:
The big Flashbender advantage is the options. It can be used as a bounce with a big fill; the ceiling bounce key can be very effective in combination with the fill.. It can be bent to basically make flags on the fly. The penalty is weight; one trick is to reverse the flash head so it can't bend down.

Nice tip re: reversing flash head so FlashBender doesn't tilt flash head down. I have had this problem and will definitely try your tip next time I use the Flashbender.

Thanks.

Ken

Paulmorgan · Feb 9, 2015

keano12 said:
pieterv said:

I did some comparison shots with small softbox (like Ezybox), large flashbender with diffuser and flashdisc, and found the light very similar. The flashdisc used properly is a bit more efficient with your light (i.e. loses less).

The flashdisc has the advantage that it is very small when packed away and quicker to use than the softbox.

Click to expand...

Just looked up the flash disc pretty cool so it was similar to the flash bender? Tho I like idea of adjusting the flash bender at choice.

The problem with the ring flashes is that each only serves one purpose, one`s a ring light and the others a beauty dish, these can work out pretty expensive in the long run.

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Softbox vs. Flash Bender

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