How to use Stofen omnibounce?

[toddb]

I just got my 550EX today and also got the Stofen omnibounce with it. What is the general usage of the omnibounce? I've been pointing the flash up at 60 degrees, but is it ment for shooting directly at the target? I just wanted to make sure I was using it correctly...I am doing various test right now as well.

By the way, the 550EX is awsome flash other then it being as big as it is. I shoot mostly my 18 month old daughter and have been bounce the light off the ceiling...what a difference that makes compared to the direct point flash...never red eye and lighting is perfect. The 10D has just gotten allot more interesting then it already was.

[sigler]

Todd....

I have a 10D, a 4 month son, and I want to buy the 550ex. Can you post some pictures? I would love to see how the flash works with some basic "snapshot" type pictures.

Thanks

Rob

[Jeppe]

Yes the omnibounce is made for bouncing the light off the celing or a wall. Its design will allow some flashlight to travel directly straight to the model, while most of the light will be bounced off the celing/wall. Therefore you ill have both a fill flash in the shadows and the soft light of bouncing.

So the omnibounce is just useful indoors and wont help you diddley outdoors. If you aim the flash dirctly on, the omnibounce will only take some light of the flash, rendering the flash to output even more power and thereby making the omnibounce virtually useless.

Also, you can try to pull up the W.A screen of the 550EX, just so far up that its not tilting over the tube. This will have a similar effekt since some of the flashlight will bounce off the W.A fresnel and reflect forwards, and beacause you have the fresnell screen out, the flash will be in its widest position and thereby spreading the light.

Pheew.... Okay ? :)

[RedShoesGirl]

toddb wrote:
I just got my 550EX today and also got the Stofen omnibounce with it. What is the general usage of the omnibounce? I've been pointing the flash up at 60 degrees, but is it ment for shooting directly at the target? snipped...

The omnibounce is designed to be used both at aiming straight up at the ceiling to achieve what is called the bare bulb look - light going all directions at once or pointed towards the subject at an angle - somewhere closer to straight up than straight forward, not sure what degree angle that is. I use the green one when shooting under flourescent light.

[toddb]

Thanks for all the helpful info.

sigler, here a link to a few pictures I took with the built in flash and a few pictures with the 550EX. I can't remember if I had the omnibounce on or not in these. When I get some more time I'll try and give some better experiment pictures.

One of the biggest things I notice right away is that I didn't need to worry about red eye because I was bouncing the flash off the ceiling in 550EX pictures. At this distance, if I was pointing the flash directly at her, I would get closer results. Also, notice that the the 550 when bounce lights the entire area instead of making the background dark and the subject lighter making the photo much more natrual looking.

Flash Samples (http://www.toddburke.net/d10/flash/flash.htm)