Re: Diffuser: Cygnustech vs. AK vs. Popeshield
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I only have the Cygnustech so can't compare among the 3, but I can compare a little with a canon setup using the diffuser from Ian McConnachie via Macrodiffuser.com (that website seems to be down now. First I'll say that the form factor of the vertical/single diffuser vs twin flash diffusers for me has been a little less disruptive in terms of getting in close, the side to side and out front projection bumps into branches more for me than the further out, but only vertical, projection of these diffusers. That and the much lighter weight, smaller size means I've been using it much more than the Canon combination, but the Canon can work so well in manual focus I've put off going to just one system. Diffusion is good, but I will say I am still learning and tweaking, and need to be more systematic, because right now all I can say is sometimes it's clearly not pointing in the right direction, because I need ½ power to illuminate a scene, so I'm not getting the action-freezing without raising ISO past 800, other times it's happily at ⅛ or less at ISO 200. I need to experiment more and vary attachment angles, I think this is solvable. Also, I get better diffusion/aim/exposure with a Raynox added for higher magnification than with a 2X extender / extension tube on the 60mm macro, maybe just because of reduced aperture from the extender, but I think also some light aiming issues. Here's a few with the Cygnustech paired with the Raynox, all sharpened with Topaz lab Denoise and Sharpen
iso 200 f/14 1/100
iso 400 f/14 1/100
iso 400 f/14 1/100
iso 400 f/14 1/100