22" Beauty Dish for Speedlights

I came across this BD and thought it was a great price, especially compared to the Kacey BD.
I've found a few links about the Kacey Dish, but couldn't find anything on this one. Does anyone have any experience with it? It looks good, but I'm not too sure about the mount to the light stand, it looks a bit flimsy.

Here's a Link: http://www.ephotoinc.c​om …sh-honeycomb-brack22.html

Looks same as 16" one on eBay.

Most of the 16" dishes you see are from China, whether sold by retailers or ebay sellers, they're all pretty much the same. I wouldn't spend too much time trying to find reviews or comparisons. If a 16" reflector is what you want then get the one that you like or is cheapest.

I'm not so sure I'd classify a 16" reflector as a beauty dish, but that's for another thread on another day.

Same is true of the 22" dishes. Unless you get a brand name dish you're getting the same thing as is found everywhere.

The Kacey 22" dish not only gets great reviews but it's durable, lightweight and works very well with Speedlight's or strobes.

yeah, I see they sell it on ebay for the same price

Is one 580 speelight enough power to provide even lighting in a 22" BD, or do I need the 2 light adapter?

ShotByTom wrote in post #12547967
Is one 580 speelight enough power to provide even lighting in a 22" BD, or do I need the 2 light adapter?

It has enuff power to do a 22" BD.

Don't plan on killing the sun with it.

abbadon31 wrote in post #12548065
Don't plan on killing the sun with it.

That's what I'm worried about..I just don't know if a speedlight is going to be enough power. Not that I want to overpower the sun with it, but I'm just not sure.

Kacey sells the dual light adapter, but it's another $146, making the BD just over $300.

Hi Tom,

Keep in mind that adding a second flash and doubling the power is really only adding 1 stop of light.

If we forget about overpowering the Sun then a single Speedlight in a 22" beauty dish does a great job. Shoot in the shade and it's a beautiful thing. Shoot at a time of day when the Sun isn't directly overhead and things improve greatly. Wait until the hour or two before sunset and it's killer.

Rather than trying to combat the Sun, just work around it. Life gets easier.

TMR Design wrote in post #12548623
Hi Tom,

Keep in mind that adding a second flash and doubling the power is really only adding 1 stop of light.

If we forget about overpowering the Sun then a single Speedlight in a 22" beauty dish does a great job. Shoot in the shade and it's a beautiful thing. Shoot at a time of day when the Sun isn't directly overhead and things improve greatly. Wait until the hour or two before sunset and it's killer.

Rather than trying to combat the Sun, just work around it. Life gets easier.

That's my goal, I wan't something that will work really well in those circumstances. I'm not too worried about overpowering the sun, but Phamster makes me want to spend a fortune on lights!!

Thanks for that info, I didn't realize another speedlight would only add one stop, that will save a ton of money!

Yes. Double the power and gain 1 stop. It works just like shutter speeds, apertures, ISO's.

Not sure why Pham makes you want to spend a fortune on lighting.

When it comes to lighting, if you can get past the lust, it's best to look at what you want to accomplish and choose the best tools within your budget to help you get there. Forget what others use. Forget about the massive gear list you wish you had. Good tools, good technique and the ability to problem solve will get you a lot further than tons of gear will.

TMR Design wrote in post #12548672
Yes. Double the power and gain 1 stop. It works just like shutter speeds, apertures, ISO's.

Not sure why Pham makes you want to spend a fortune on lighting.

When it comes to lighting, if you can get past the lust, it's best to look at what you want to accomplish and choose the best tools within your budget to help you get there. Forget what others use. Forget about the massive gear list you wish you had. Good tools, good technique and the ability to problem solve will get you a lot further than tons of gear will.

After chasing gear for 3 years, I've actually recently scaled WAY down. I'm focusing on one camera, one lens, and speedlights, and plan to work with these all summer. I've been reading the speeliters handbook and have a lot of learning opportunities coming up soon, starting tomorrow actually...I'm attending a seminar with 29 others and they've brought in 4 local photogs that run studios. I'm very excited for this summer!

Phamster never shoots in middle of the day. Most of his senior shots at later in the evening and some even at night time.

I have dual speedlite setup and even though it is nice I am moving towards using ABs more. Two speedlites is till no close to AB800 (power wise) which is only $250-$275 used. You add $250 VML and it is very nice setup. And it seems lighter and easier to manage then two speedlites on kacey's mount with two flexTT5 along with two pixel packs.

Here I am using two 550ex in Kacey's dish. Using eTTL here as I didn't have the ND filter with me that day. Later in the day but sun was still strong. Dish was just outside the frame. Without going into HSS mode, I might have over come sun as light was close tot he subject but not in HSS mode.

bobbyz wrote in post #12550960
...
I have dual speedlite setup and even though it is nice I am moving towards using ABs more. Two speedlites is till no close to AB800 (power wise) which is only $250-$275 used. You add $250 VML and it is very nice setup. And it seems lighter and easier to manage then two speedlites on kacey's mount with two flexTT5 along with two pixel packs...

I have to agree with this 100%. Conditions permitting, one speedlight in a 22" BD (or other modifier, for that matter) will do the job beautifully. Once you find yourself needing more than one speedlight, a different class of light source rather than another shoe-mount flash becomes the better option. Two bracket-mounted speedlights are time-consuming to set up and adjust, cumbersome to handle, heavy, and introduce multiple possible points of failure. In other words, more trouble than an additional 60Ws of power (1 stop) is worth. Even an inexpensive 400Ws, battery-powered flash from China (of which there are many) would be a better and less expensive solution than two 580EXes on a bracket.

My opinion only, of course.

Dave F.

tetrode wrote in post #12551508
My opinion only, of course.

Dave F.

Mine too. Imagine that.