GF Lightsphere or Rogue Flashbender

FLiPMaRC wrote in post #14712038
...........My only problem with it was it was too heavy for the flash head (580EX II) when I was shooting in portrait orientation. It would fall back to the left because of the weight. It got so cumbersome I took it off half way through the event. ........

For somebody who had a rotating camera bracket I imagine that would be ok though. The flash would remain in the top position regardless of camera orientation so the bender would not be torquing the flash one way or another.

^Yes Sir you are correct.

I favor Neil VanNiekerk's approach as well.
I have a Lightsphere, a Demb, a home-made better bounce card, a StoFen, various Lumiquests, and so forth.

I personally use Neil's techniques, along with the Demb when necessary for on-camera flash work like weddings.

For portraits, you may want to move your flash off camera with either a remote or long sync cord and use a soft box or umbrella for a,modifier. Look up Syl Arena.

I sold my Lightsphere for a Flashbender last year. They do relatively the same thing but Flashbender is cheaper and works better for subjects further away.

FLiPMaRC wrote in post #14712038
My friend gave my a the large flashbender (w/ the diffusion panel) as a gift for helping him shoot his daughter's Sweet 16 about a month ago.

My only problem with it was it was too heavy for the flash head (580EX II) when I was shooting in portrait orientation. It would fall back to the left because of the weight. It got so cumbersome I took it off half way through the event.

I was first introduced to the Rogue flashbender when I attended a workshop a couple of months ago ... Rick Friedman Location Lighting. It works great for outdoor shots too.

Was it too heavy to the point where it could damage or alter the flash head though? That's my only real concern since I most likely will be stationary when using the rogue.

I haven't actually used the large but that was my reasoning to go a little smaller. The light probably isn't quite as good but if you're using it while moving around it will at least stay in place with the smaller sizes.

I have the Med Flashbender and have had no problems so much that I am getting the large and small to cover different situations .


David

dpds68 wrote in post #14714734
I have the Med Flashbender and have had no problems so much that I am getting the large and small to cover different situations .


David

Hmmm... Maybe I will just get the small rogue flashbender. I looked up many works with just the small flashbender and it already seems more than enough for my needs.

I love the flashbender! Although it looks ridiculous on top of the hotshoe, I really don't care because I love the look it provides. It makes a great fill light for outdoor lighting. I have been using it on ettl while I run and gun and it usually nails the exposure.

I took some of these pics a few weeks ago at around 3 in the afternoon and the sunlight made a nice hair light and the flashbender exposed for the face. I was even able to underexpose the ambient and have a darker sky and have enough power to make the face exposure correct. Some of these are in portrait orientation, so the shadows look a little funny on the face, but if I had a flash bracket I would keep the flash above the lens.

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Nice. I think the flashbender will definitely suit my needs. I most likely will be using the flashbender for portraits and outdoor uses. And I'm guessing the small flashbender is probably good enough. Plus I plan on getting the diffusion panel to add for my flashbender.

The 'diffusion' of a light source to make shadow edges less hard and the shadows themselves less contrasty is only achieved with SIZE...SIZE matters.

If you are indoors with a white ceiling that is of modest height ( < 15') products like the Fong Lightsphere and Stofen can turn the ceiling into a large virtual source of light.
No ceiling, no bounce, no benefit from Fong or Stoffen, only waste of light and faster consumption of battery power. You can easily accomplish the same benefit without spending nearly what you spend for a Fong product.

As for the Flashbender, B&H info says the Large is 9" x 8" reflective area, another write up says 10"x11"overall and 4.5oz, and yet another write up says it weighs 6 oz.
; and the Small is 10" x 7" (overall size, I presume; is the reflective area size..8" x 5" ?) 3.5 oz.