Why buy an Omnibounce?

[txdude35]

I think I found this trick here in the forum, but can't seem to find it. I attached a 4x6 index card to my 420EX and bent it over about 2" above the flash. Wow!! Unbelievable results! It looks pretty funny, but it's not like I'm shooting weddings or anything. The first shot was taken with a bounce off the ceiling, the second with the index card "omnibounce" from 20' away.
Thanks to whoever it was that shared that tip.

[Jesper]

Yes, bounced flash almost always better than direct flash...
Did you notice that In your first photo, the top half of the photo is much lighter than the bottom half?

[scottbergerphoto]

Photographers have been using 3x5 index cards held to the back of a flash with rubber bands for many years. Nikon puts a plastic card inside their flashes that you pull out like an index card.
Scott

[txdude35]

Yes, bounced flash almost always better than direct flash...
Did you notice that In your first photo, the top half of the photo is much lighter than the bottom half?

Yes, definitely. The photos I took with the index card have a much more even lighting, kind of a glow to them.

[scottbergerphoto]

You can rectify the problem of the top half being much brighter by adjusting the angle of the flash. As you move closer to the subject the flash head needs to be straighter (closer to 180 deg.).
Scott

[DaveG]

You could apply self adhesive Velcro strips to both the flash and the fill card. Then you won't be running around looking for a rubber band. I also prefer to use corregated plastic, and a white election sign works fine. They are light and since you WILL lose them cheap to replace.

[Todd Jacobsen]

You could apply self adhesive Velcro strips to both the flash and the fill card. Then you won't be running around looking for a rubber band. I also prefer to use corregated plastic, and a white election sign works fine. They are light and since you WILL lose them cheap to replace.

Or buy the 580EX which comes with the white card as part of the device.

[RichardtheSane]

Or buy the 580EX which comes with the white card as part of the device.

You logic fails me there... the 550 EX is not cheap, a few bits of white card etc. are. SO why buy a really expensive flashgun in order to avoid buying a few bits of card? :) :)

[Carzee]

I will have to try this card bouncer trick once I can get a flash.



;) Incidentally, hold on to the top photo... in case there's a comp coming up stipulating a "mug shot" portrait theme...

[RAitch]

You logic fails me there... the 550 EX is not cheap, a few bits of white card etc. are. SO why buy a really expensive flashgun in order to avoid buying a few bits of card? :) :)

It's not like he said it would be the same... just that if you buy the 550 better flash, it happens to come with the atachment. Buy the 550 for what it is not to avoid using some white cards.

[Todd Jacobsen]

You logic fails me there... the 550 EX is not cheap, a few bits of white card etc. are. SO why buy a really expensive flashgun in order to avoid buying a few bits of card? :) :)

If'n your going to buy a flash, buy one with the things you'll use...

[Tom W]

The popup 17 mm diffuser on the 550EX can serve the purpose if its extended just short of its full position. You'll get bounce with a little direct catchlight. Of course, the index card is useful as well. As is the Lumiquest setup when used with the 80/20 attachment.

[magicmikey]

I've been using a white index card bounce card with my flash units for 22 years. I've always gotten great results but, I have to admit, I find that using it with the 420EX does seem to be more difficult. I had never had much problem with the bounce cards on my other flash units. (In the past, I have used them with a Metz 402, a Vivitar 285 and my Pentax AF500FTZ.) The lighting was always even and I rarely noticed any darkening in the lower part of the photos.

When I got my 420EX, I quickly made a "heavy-duty" bounce card. (Two index cards rubber cemented together.) My excitement diminished as I saw many instances of the lower sections being darker. I finally just bought an Omnibounce EX and find it works much better.

I don't know what it is about the 420EX but it's the first time I've seen this happening consistently.

[bachscuttler]

Or buy the 580EX which comes with the white card as part of the device.

The whole purpose of the pull out white card on the 580EX is to create catchlights in the eyes so it would have the opposite effect ;)

[Todd Jacobsen]

The whole purpose of the pull out white card on the 580EX is to create catchlights in the eyes so it would have the opposite effect ;)


?? Someone was looking for a black light effect? The 580 white card does not make the scene more dark. An index card will also make a catch light.

[kdoc]

So could someone please explain exactly how you position the flash card?

kdoc

[tim]

The same position as the pull-out white card on the 580EX, only larger.

[EOSX]

I still prefer the StoFen type of product to soften the flash; the flash is less harsh.

[jrsforums]

I have combined the Omnibounce with a "white card" using velcro strips on the Omnibounce head and the card. I cut the card from the heavy plastic cover of a white 3-ring binder, the width of the 580 and long enough to extend about 150% of the width.

I do use the Omnibounce almost all the time. I find that for typical indoor shooting it gives much softer lighting and is easier to use than any other product I have seen or tried. There are times when the shadows fall where I don't like them. I can then slap on the card to alter the balance of bounce vs. front directed light. I have tried just the 580's card, and in many cases I find it works fine, but I find it has more limited flexibility...however it is in my "arsenal".

I also made a larger card (some day I'll post pics). I used a wide piece of velcro on the card and added a strip of (black) velcro to the 580, just below the Omnibounce (white) strip. This wide card really works well when shooting flash outside. It provides a nice larger light source to broaden/soften the light. It is much easier to slip this out of my bag and slap it on than to assemble a mini-softbox or Lumiquest type modifier....and think it works as well...maybe better...but it's probably case dependent.

John

[tim]

I use either:
- An on-camera soft box
- Lumiquest 80/20 bouncer
- A LightSphere 2
- Bare flash

depending on the effect i'm trying to achieve, and how lazy I feel.

[GovtLawyer]

I've posted about the index card before, so maybe you heard it from me. However, as another poster pointed out, photographers have been using it for years; I heard it from someone else 30 years ago.

If you put two cards together in a "T" formation and tape them together, you can then put rubber bands around the flash head and insert the narrower end of the "T" into the back of the flash. It then stands up perpendicular to the flash. You point the head to bounce, and the white card catches some of the light and reflects it forward. Again, as mentioned before, it is the same as the pull out card on the 580, only bigger and larger than the flash head, for more reflection forward.

Another thing mentioned by someone had to do with the impression this setup might make when using it to shoot a wedding. Probably a lot better than having a frosted fishbowl or lamp at the end of the flash head.