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Speed light in large modifier
I am planning to get a large (60"+) soft-box / octobox soon, so I have been looking at reviews on youtube, and different online stores (B&H and Adorama), and I haven't see where anyone has specifically use speed lights with these large modifiers. Can a speed light like a canon 580ex2 or similar size make full use of a light modifier in the 60"+ range? I do have regular studio lights that I will use with this, but I would like to make use of the modifier on location where I would have to use my speed lights. Thanks, Kent Jan 15 15 12:44 pm Link Douglas Photo 78 wrote: I think you would need 2 or 3 speedlights to accommodate a modifier of that size.I used a single speedlight in a 4ft softbox,and was not too pleased with the results...just not enough light power to do the job to my liking. Jan 15 15 12:59 pm Link I do it all the time but the deal is I only want a tiny amount of light. Just a very soft fill. So it will depend on what you're looking to do. Jan 15 15 01:06 pm Link find one that allows you to bounce in from the front, and then reflect out for better spread. Something like a westcott apollo 50. MUCH better for speedlite use than shooting straight in from the back. I personally use an 86" paraboilc umbrella (with a cover) for my large soft modifier, and I use it exclusively with speedlites. Jan 15 15 01:18 pm Link In general, the bigger the soft box, the more powerful light source you need. I am not familiar with your speedlight, so beyond what I said, I can't help you. I can also say that very large soft boxes can create lovely light -- light that emulates large window light. My biggest is 4 feet by 6 feet, and I use it often. Jan 15 15 01:25 pm Link -JAY- wrote: You are weird. Jan 15 15 02:30 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: 86" parabolic is ideal for speedlite use (IMO) due to the increase power effect they can have (or more accurately, less light lost to spillage) So I can shoot at lower power, higher aperture, even with a small flash. Toss three in it, and you can easily overpower the sun at less than full power (for fast recycle, longer battery life) at moderate distances. Jan 15 15 02:33 pm Link -JAY- wrote: The real issue is opening and positioning those huge mothers. Jan 15 15 02:59 pm Link Thanks for the good information! so a deeper parabolic modifier will disperse the light better with a speed light. Jan 15 15 03:38 pm Link I also had found that with a large PLM (64" semi silver in my case) that the power of a single speedlight wasn't an issue. At least indoors. I remember reading a detailed test some time back that debunked the idea that a lot more power was required for a much larger umbrella. There were differences but they were surprisingly trivial, power wise. And Jay has demonstrated before the ability to overpower the sun when combining a few at reduced power. Rather, as Herman touched on, the issue I had was fully distributing the light to evenly fill the entire PLM (due to the speedlight's "focus"). I solved it using a reasonably transparent sphere type diffuser on my speedlight. That, combined with some testing to get the best distance to evenly fill the PLM, provided some very even / large soft lighting. So much so that I found no need for a front diffusion cloth. I.E. I traded off the small light loss with the sphere diffuser on the speedlight (allowing it to fully and evenly fill the PLM) instead of using a diffusion cloth on the front of the PLM... Naturally every situation is different, but single speedlights with large modifiers aren't as far "out there" as many think. Jan 15 15 03:52 pm Link I'd second the PLM. Or forth,or whatever we're up to by now. You're not going to get much use out of an octo with a speedlite, since the source is so small and directional. You can use multiple lights, but then you have multiple small sources, and you still have hot spots. By the time you use 4 of them to overpower all the additional diffusion you've put in, you've got enough time and money sunk into it that you should have just bought a monolight and a battery. There's another option, if you planned on using the octo more-or-less level. I've had good luck using multiple speedlites with smaller boxes, grouped together to form a large grid or panel. It does cost more than a PLM or your average octo, but you do get more lights, in the event that you don't always need a wall of light. Jan 15 15 07:20 pm Link Get this http://www.amazon.com/Godox-Witstro-Ext … =godox+360 speed ring good to go Cheaper than a Canon 580 EX Jan 15 15 07:38 pm Link Light Dreams and Zack, those are some good hacks/modifications that I will have to try out. Jan 16 15 07:44 am Link jay, Thanks for the visual on that, it seems to have plenty of power too. Jan 16 15 07:45 am Link Yes, the PLM, especially the extreme silver is perfectly ok to be used with a speedlight. Its a very efficient modifier. When I use my studio strobes with the 86" extreme silver they are always on the lowest setting. Cheers. Jan 16 15 06:59 pm Link -JAY- wrote: Don't you see (from your own photo) that the speed light is not filling the area of the larger umbrella? You are not getting any softer light than you would from an umbrella half the size with that speed light. The suggestion that you feel an 86" umbrella is ideal for a speedlight is laughable. What you go on to state is just factually off-base. Jan 17 15 09:22 am Link Dan Howell wrote: Dan, I pointed that out in my post. Jan 17 15 11:57 am Link The problem with huge umbrellas on location will be wind. Weighing down your light stands won't do jack. I use three speedlites for location work. Two bare strobes below, but adding a third speedlite in a strip box, from front camera left, and i would expect the shadows to fill out nicely on the helmet.  Jan 17 15 02:43 pm Link Dan Howell wrote: Sketchy sense of humor there Dan. Jan 17 15 03:05 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: Correct. I don't always get my words across how I want. Parabolic umbrellas (regardless of size) are very good for speedlites, due to their efficiency, making their relatively lower power not as much of an issue. Jan 17 15 04:35 pm Link George Wong wrote: One reason I occasionally borrow a beauty dish. Less likely to suddenly do a flyabout to the mainland. Jan 17 15 05:44 pm Link |
