I have been looking at what looks like a good option for those of us who already own Canon 580's. Search for Interfit Strobies. B&H has the soft box unit listed for 115.00. Very unique approach for those who like to travel lite.
Cableaddict wrote:
Good to know, Roger. However, I have read several reports of it NOT working, even indoors. I guess it depends upon the angle to the key light, how much ambient light, etc. Bottom line is that it can be problematic. Then again, using some kind of radio system with adjustable power (the new poppers, the cyber commander, the new Skyport) is a much better solution, anyway. I can't imagine using infrared anymore (looking to switch very soon) except for very high sync speeds.
Yep you're right, it's old technology and under uncontrolled circumstances it is unreliable I'm sure. But it's bought and paid for, so that's a +1 for me.
At first I was going to jump on the radio poppers then heard about the upcoming pocket wizards, then read the problems with interference with them. Then it was the skyports, are they truly ETTL? And Paul Buff and his Cybersyncs and the Einsteins. Man, I just don't know which bandwagon to jump on. The radio controlled ETTL would be great, but which one? I'm leaning towards the latest round of Radio Poppers. For now I'll just continue using my obsolete ST-E2 and 580's, they seem to work just fine for now, even with all of the limitations. And then there's the little voice that just says go manual and use your flash meter. So many choices now, can't say which is better at this point imho.
I made my own speedlite setup for softboxes about a year ago, works very well although will never match a studio light bulb, but is an easy an cheap option. I think my approach works a lot better than the interfit mentioned above as it doesn't allow for light leak out the back, and also has much simpler connection to a light stand. Both SB-28's are taped together around the top half of the units, and this makes them fit very securely into the bracket.
I use my DIY version with 2 Nikon SB-28's, big power in these cheap units and having 2 together gives me a good amount of light to play with.
Also anyone notice that my poor 50mm f1.4 lense is damaged, noticable in the last pic, I think one of the glass elements has come out of alignment as the focus plane is way out of level.
Lightbox, that is great! I thought about doing something a bit similar with some L-Brackets from HomeDepot.
There is something I don't like about the Interfit design. It seems that it would be a pain in the ass to adjust the flash output, when shooting in manual mode. The picture on BH shows the Flash controls pointing down towards the ground.
Nowhere Man wrote:
Lightbox, that is great! I thought about doing something a bit similar with some L-Brackets from HomeDepot.
There is something I don't like about the Interfit design. It seems that it would be a pain in the ass to adjust the flash output, when shooting in manual mode. The picture on BH shows the Flash controls pointing down towards the ground.
The LiteDome xs Kit 1 looks more functional.
The Interfit one rotates so the controls and receiving eye can be rotated in any direction. Looks like a very good design.
Cableaddict wrote:
trying to find it myself. This info came from a Photoflex tech, responding to my email a few weeks ago. I will email him back & find out.
What is the difference between the Westcott 26" Apollo for speedlights and the Westcott 26" Apollo for mono lights? (other than the obvious, of course)?
Cableaddict wrote:
The Apollo JS series has 2 advantages-
1: No speed ring needed. The flash sits inside, even with the "big" 50" unit.
2: You get better spread / diffusion of the light, because the flash points towards the back and bounces off a silver surface, before hitting the sides & front panel. This is important because a Speedlight has a built-in fresnel that directs the light forward, as opposed to a strobe which uses a bare bulb.
Yes, but the 580EX has a diffusion panel that greatly widens the spread.
Ok, thanks for all the responses and feedback on this.
I've decided to order this setup:
Photoflex - Medium LiteDome Q39 (16"x22")
Photoflex - Nylon Fabric Grid for small (16"x22")
Photoflex - Small LiteDome Q39 (24"x32")
Photoflex - Nylon Fabric Grid for medium (24"x32")
I'm going to be using these with Canon 580ex flashes. BUT...I'm still confused on what I need to connect these to my light stands, and what speedrings. Can anyone guide me? I did some research and it's very confusing on the speedring part.
I'm also confused on how to attach these to my lightstands. I checked out the Photoflex Attachment for a connection to lightstands, but it specifically says that it's for the LiteDome XS.
So...
1. What spreedring(s) do I need for use with 580ex?
2. What connector am I going to need to attach to my lightstands?
Thanks for the link. Tell me about it... I initially noticed really cheap softboxes like this, but pages selling these things are so low on detail, and I'm so unsure of myself, I will probably wind up buying a cheap kit just to make sure everything will work.
jvarszegi wrote:
Yes, but the 580EX has a diffusion panel that greatly widens the spread.
No, it doesn't. That panel just allows you to point the 580 at the ceiling, and still have some light go forward. That's useful when using a camera-mounted Speedlight. (same as a Fong Dong, white card, etc) It doesn't help at all inside a softbox.
Cableaddict wrote:
No, it doesn't. That panel just allows you to point the 580 at the ceiling, and still have some light go forward. That's useful when using a camera-mounted Speedlight. (same as a Fong Dong, white card, etc) It doesn't help at all inside a softbox.
I'm talking about the wide-angle diffusion screen. It's clear but has a faceted surface on one side, and is for use with wide-angle lenses. I'm not talking about the little white catchlight card.
Whatever you're talking about, I'd love to know what it is, but whatever it is, the 580 doesn't come WITH it.
Maybe you mean what that Photoflex tech was talking about? He got back to me and said he wrote his last email wrong - he meant some aftermarket dome, kind of like what you are talking about. I found one for the Nikon flash, but not yet for Canon.
Interesting. I bought my 580EXII brand new, and this diffusor is not there, but sure enough it IS shown in the manual. They must have had a bad production run.
Regardless, this is STILL not like a bare bulb, but certainly better than nothing.
