Gary Fong Lightsphere II cloud or clear???

SilverHCIC wrote in post #8774574
As Wilt has said, it does work in the right circumstances. If you were taking photos at an outdoor evening/night reception (where there's no ceiling to bounce) and you wanted to reduce the harsh lighting from direct "in-your-face" flash, most translucent flash modifiers will help. But like I said before, the LS is annoyingly BIG.

Is it not outdoors with no ceiling that they are the least effective ?


David

I wouldn't bother with a bracket - I have one but I don't use it.

dpds68 wrote in post #8774675
Is it not outdoors with no ceiling that they are the least effective ?

David

No. I have seen some people take the cap off the top of a LS and bounce it indoors, but what's the point of that??? If you can bounce, then bounce. The LS doesn't help any there. But when taking outdoor shots (especially at night), it provides softer light than direct flash.

Of course, it sends light in all directions, and can be rather annoying.

SilverHCIC wrote in post #8774781
No. I have seen some people take the cap off the top of a LS and bounce it indoors, but what's the point of that??? If you can bounce, then bounce. The LS doesn't help any there. But when taking outdoor shots (especially at night), it provides softer light than direct flash.

Actually that's half the point of it. With the lid off you get bounce light, but some bounces around inside the Lightsphere and goes direct to the subject. It makes the light source bigger, but not by an amount that should make a huge difference. It also throws light all around the place which can work ok if you're inside a small white room.

The bounce card on the 580EX does almost as good a job.

In cases like this you need to ask your self what Joe would do. Joe McNally that is. I have watched all his videos and read both his books from cover to cover as well as his blog weekly not to mention all the magazine articles on him that I can find and this is what I have learned. He loves to bounce light off walls and reflectors. He shoots through umbrellas, lastolite scrims and even bed sheet he steals from hotels. He uses the diffusers that come with his Nikons religiously (so chalk one up to stofens for us Canon users) and in his new book he talks about all the Honl products and the Lumiquest 80/20 and how much he loves them. I have never heard him mention or seen him use Fong LS's, Demb Pros, Whale Tails, Better Bounce Cards, or any of the other cure all small flash modifiers. If he thought there was some majic bullet I am sure he would own it and praise it from on most high but he doesn't. Cloudy or clear?

The photographers who shot at Fong's own wedding didn't use the LS. Give that a thought

this is the best one i've seen of the way someone used a gary fong diffuser.
DARKSPHERE

LOL! Leave it to Zach. I bet he is not on Garys Christmas list. I have been trying to figure out what to do with my 3 LS's and now I know. Kind of expensive for a grid reflector tho as I had to buy mine. Yes I admit I own LS's and actually paid for them. I bought the original hard plastic one way back when and it worked fairly well and at least the lid stayed on but it was big and did not fit in the camera bag. When he introduced the second generation they were soft and pliable and would fit in the camera bag so I bought both the cloudy and clear models. It is funny because I just got mine out the other day after having spent a few years in storage. I played with them for a while comparing them against the new Demb Pro I just bought last week (I know I know what would Joe do? I didn't stop to think and besides some of you guys are a very bad influence plus I am very impressionable and sometimes I just have to try things for myself). The Demb Pro I want to play with it some more but as far as the LS's go? (cloudy or clear?) I say dark as meaning back into the storage unit the next time I go that way.

tim wrote in post #8774847
Actually that's half the point of it. With the lid off you get bounce light, but some bounces around inside the Lightsphere and goes direct to the subject. It makes the light source bigger, but not by an amount that should make a huge difference. It also throws light all around the place which can work ok if you're inside a small white room.

The bounce card on the 580EX does almost as good a job.

Ahhhhh. ... That makes sense. Thanks Tim. I've never used it that way. I'll have to give it a try. But if it doesn't work much better than normal bounce with the flip-out card, I'd just as soon leave the bulky LS in the bag and just bounce my flash indoors.

Shooting wrote in post #8773932
That's true....thanks for the correction.

The below link shows how NOT to use a lightsphere inside...inside it is supposed to be pointed up, not at the person..

Keep watching and you will see it.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=IrLO-cp2IOc

Actually with such nice low white ceilings, in the above video, I'd just bounce the flash off the ceiling... without the fong thing.

Wilt wrote in post #8775021
The photographers who shot at Fong's own wedding didn't use the LS. Give that a thought

Yep, they used Stoffen's. Everyone of them. Of course Bob Davis who is in charge of LifeTouch uses the Fong stuff on all his famous weddings he shoots, he is Gary's best friend so go figure..of course he would.

I haven't felt this stupid since... yesterday. Not having ever used it yet, or even seen it in real life, what about putting some reflector inside, on the backside, of the cone? Would that eliminate the back-lighting? Has anyone done this or am I just trying to save my embarrassed arse?

mcluckie wrote in post #8774351
Great. I just picked up a 550EX flash in Beijing (I hate small flash) and ordered a GFL from learning about it here. It's in Chicago waiting for me; now how to throw it away without the wife knowing I wasted the money. I havent used a hot-shoe flash since Vivitar 283 days, always bouncing off some wall or cieling. So this is crap, eh?

Must not have learned much.

mcluckie wrote in post #8774351
Great. I just picked up a 550EX flash in Beijing (I hate small flash) and ordered a GFL from learning about it here. It's in Chicago waiting for me; now how to throw it away without the wife knowing I wasted the money. I havent used a hot-shoe flash since Vivitar 283 days, always bouncing off some wall or cieling. So this is crap, eh?

Try it...its not crap...

Biggest complaint your going to find on here is the fact that hes charging obscene prices for a simple piece of plastic...with results that could be emulated with the simplest of household items.

the fong lightsphere is more of a close range flash diffuser, useful from 24-70mm focal range. at 16mm, the light doesn't reach the edges of the frame (on a full frame camera) and at 20mm there is still too much light fall off lost from the diffuser.

for any lens longer than 70mm, this diffuser will only take away flash power. again, this is a close to mid range diffuser.