New Beamer alternative.

I have a buddy who makes speed light modifiers.
We were discussing and designing a Beamer and came to an impass.

It seems the problem is do people want more range over better portability ?
Or would they sacrifice a bit of range (it will still compare to or beat the better Beamer) to keep it very easily able to fit in their gear bag?

What say you as we are the market.

My biggest complaint w/ the BB is the attachment arrangement. And yes, the portability is an issue. Mine has never left my back porch or backyard. I haven't fully utilized the beamer and, I guess, I'm not answering your question. Just wanted to add that thought. My guess is users want function primarily and will solve portability issues on an individual basis

Greetings -
Since the big lenses are not exactly portable (hand held), I'd favor range over portability. If I am going to haul my 400 f/2.8L IS, and a big tripod, portability is a minor concern.
Cheers,
John

I went for portability as range is not my main consideration as even my 800 f5.6 diesn't have much reach on small birds!

Portability and ease of setup.....mine has never left my bag and joined me on my walk.

Thanks for the responses so far.
It is tricky as each of us has our own concern.
The attachment to the speed light is done and it'd awesome. Attached in under 2 seconds.
Won't fall off unless it takes a good hit.

Keep up the responses. Its an interesting discussion.
To me portability is key. My 100-400 doesn't have much reach and
I keep all my stuff in one backpack. I like to be able to grab it and go.

But you guys that said portability doesn't matter are right too. If you're lugging a
400 2.8, 500, 600 etc what's a small beamer matter.
Great info.

Any other comments?
I think a good discussion on what we want in an extender
would benefit everyone.

I was a frustrated Better Beamer user for several years and my biggest problem was with alignment. I would strap the BB onto my flash and then take a few test shots to make sure the flash covered the center of the frame. Then I would hope that it stayed aligned and often it didn't. That problem was solved when a I switched to the Harbor Digital Flash Extender. It attaches to the speedlite with an opening made just for a specific flash. It fits snug with no play at the attachment point and has never been knocked out of alignment. I compared it to my BB and the range is about equal. I use it on camera with a 70-200mm plus 2x extender and on a bracket with 500mm plus 1.4 extender and haven't had any problems. But if you're looking for something compact this may not be the flash extender for you. It doesn't break down like the BB but I feel it's worth the extra room and made a spot for it in my photo backpack.

I have the Harbor digital.
I have 2 issues with it.

1. the front is kinda flimsy both the plastic frame and the fresnel lens attachment that comes unglued.
2. its hard to fit in my bag. I want it to be more compact. I know there is a way to have a better system. I

I would vote for portability and convenience over range.

I shoot with a 7D and 100-400mm, and I find I get faint but useful fill with my bare 580EX. So I figure a bit of light concentration will be fine.

(I don't own one of these concentrators yet.)

jhayesvw wrote in post #16903186
I have the Harbor digital.
I have 2 issues with it.

1. the front is kinda flimsy both the plastic frame and the fresnel lens attachment that comes unglued.
2. its hard to fit in my bag. I want it to be more compact. I know there is a way to have a better system. I

I have a couple Better Beamers. I haven't gotten much use out of them, but they seem to me to be plenty compact, the lens comes off and the "frame" folds up and can fit pretty well into a bag of any decent size.

Thanks Archibald.

Thanks Tony,
I have friends with better beamers and I do not like how they are difficult to align, the velcro attachment, and the overall flimsy feel of them. They do fold up nice and compact though.

jhayesvw wrote in post #16927670
Thanks Tony,
I have friends with better beamers and I do not like how they are difficult to align, the velcro attachment, and the overall flimsy feel of them. They do fold up nice and compact though.

Yeah, sure they are "flimsy", but for the use, well, they work, and unless you are banging things around, the "flimsiness" is really not a major issue...!

tonylong wrote in post #16929849
Yeah, sure they are "flimsy", but for the use, well, they work, and unless you are banging things around, the "flimsiness" is really not a major issue...!

I agree, but I walk miles with mine attached. Sometimes through brush. A Better Beamer would become mis-aligned or fall off.

I would love something that is easier to attach and will stay in ace better than the BB. Being a bit more portable would certainly be a plus. I'd give up a bit of range for that. My BB hasn't joined me on a bird trip other than to the backyard.