Dalantech
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 p.1 #4 · Diffuser Mt24-EX (not again...) | |
The problem with the MT-24EX Anden is that the actual flash tubes are not that much larger than the one in your camera's built in flash -very small, very harsh light source. Brian can afford to lose two stops because he's using a standard camera flash -but you can't. Try to find a way to diffuse the MT-24EX so that you are losing no more than one stop compared to an un-diffused flash.
As for your points:
1) You need to make the diffuser bigger than the flash head -you can only get the MT-24Ex's heads so close and they are just too small.
2) True -diffuser thickness and distance to subject will effect flash duration, and also your ability to produce diffused light.
3) I have found this one to be true -the longer the flash has to turn on the more time reflective surfaces have to bounce photons back into the lens. Longer flash durations also seem to adversely effect the red channel in the histogram (easier to blow it out).
Now I'll add some additions:
4) The material that you use to diffuse the light can and will effect the quality of it -and not just the temperature. Some materials pass certain parts of the light spectrum better than others, so just because you can use something to diffuse the flash doesn't necessarily mean that you should. If you don't want to spend money on diffusion plastics that are designed for photographic use then you'll need to experiment to find something that will give you the light quality that you want for your photos.
5) The flash mount that comes with the MT-24EX is just about the best thing that you can use for the MT-24EX. I spent a lot of money experimenting with getting more distance between the flash heads only to watch the quality of the light suffer for it. For 2x and higher shooting push the flash heads so that they are pointing all the way down toward the lens. For 1x bring the flash heads "one click up".
6) Ratio control just makes one flash head more brutally harsh than the other, so just turn it off. As long as you do not place the flash heads 180 degrees apart the light won't look flat.
7) I use a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe to change the angle of one flash head relative to the subject, so that I don't have both flash heads hitting the subject at the same relative angle (reduces glare). Details at my blog. Also allows me to get a lot of detail in a critter's compound eye -the lenses look convex and not just flat reflection points. Click on the image on this page for a 1600 pixel wide version and take a close look at the eyes on that bee. Here's a smaller version:
I'll add more as it comes to me. The MT-24EX is a very difficult flash to tame, but if you can get good light out of it then you can use just about any flash...
Edited on Jul 21, 2009 at 06:52 PM · View previous versions
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