sjl said:
,,,,The two options that I'm looking at at the moment are the
Omnibounce and the
Lightsphere. Are there any other options I should be looking at? Thanks.
Here is a way to think about it and figure it out yourself
First the prime law of shadow softness: "The softness of the shadows is directly proportional to the __angular__ size of the light source as seen from the subject's location."
Example: The sun on a clear day appears to be about 1/2 degree wide. It makes very hard shadows while a standard 2x4 foot office florescent light fixture appears to be about 15 degrees wide and casts softer shadows. The Sun is larger than 4 feet but in this case it is the angular size that matters.
Next. When light bounces off a reflector with a matt surface or passes through a diffuser the illuminated potion of the reflector/defuser re-radiates the light acts as if it were the light source.
So,... if you want real soft light buy a "soft box" from photoflex buy th largest one you are willing to mont to a camera. You will need something like a stroboframe flash bracket and a sync cord but the results are outstanding almost like a studio light. Note the studio photographers will place very large softboxes very close to the subject for very, very soft lighting, (good for portraits of women) I have used a photoflex size "XS" box mounted on-camera. At the other extreme are those little diffusers. they at best double the size of the light.
When you select a light modifier look at it's size in degrees as seen be the subject. The bigger the softer. A large "soft box" will simulate window light and a bare speedlight will simulate bright sunlight on a cloudless day.
All that said. One very cheap but effective modifier is a one gallon plastic milk jug. Cut it up and zip tie it to a strobe. The material is free so you can experiment.
There are some apparent exceptions to the "prime rule". One is the "bare bulb". You would think it would be a harsh light being so small. (a bare bulb is just that, a flash tube with no reflector.) but only a little of the light goes directly from the bulb to the subject. Most of it goes into lighting up the walls, floor and ceiling
Some small defusers have the effect of a bare bulb in that they send light out very wide so it lights up the ceiling and walls. These do not work in very a large space or outdoors. Bare bulbs and small defusers work because they turn an entire room into a reflector.
The latest thing I'm eying off is a diffuser for the flash - the rather blatant shadows when I'm shooting with direct flash annoy me, and bouncing off the ceiling isn't always an option (although I've managed some very nice shots with ceiling bounce.)
