On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 11:50 AM, Christine Nielsen <ch...@inielsen.net> wrote: > Distance may have been a factor. We were in fairly tight quarters, > huddled in the shade of the lighthouse... > > Bear with me for one more question? When you say "diffuser", what do > you mean in this situation? I use diffusers all the time with > off-camera flash, but on-camera, what do you prefer? I have resisted > purchasing the sto-fen/tupperware-type accessories, but maybe they > are worth a look...? (ok, so that was 3 questions...)
The Sto-Fen type type tupperware stuff are relatively crappy at diffusing the light but are good to cut down the output. Most of the time, for on-camera or "near camera" portable use, I find the LumiQuest Promax Softbox III (about an 8x9" diffuser) does a good job of broadening the light source by a reasonable amount for close quarters while being small enough not to get in the way. It cuts the light output by 1-1.5 stops on average, depending on the particular flash unit you're using. If the flash is still too strong, I tape a sheet of translucent or thin white typing paper on the front of it which cuts light output further by up to three stops. It's a great way to throttle back a high powered flash. Using it on the camera is a bit tricky because of the size of the box, I almost never use flash on camera unless I'm bouncing it off a card diffuser, wall or some other surface ... that is, it is pointed away from the front of the camera so it cannot interfere with the lens. For TTL-auto, I use dedicated remote cables or wireless remote if the camera and flash support it. For manual operation, a pair of inexpensive RF triggers is all I use nowadays ... I recently got a set of four new Cactus V5 triggers which can be used to both trigger the flash units and remotely trigger the camera. Having a flash on a lightstand or in the hands of an assistant, right near where it might be if on the camera, makes the camera much much more manageable if that's the lighting you're looking for. -- Godfrey godfreydigiorgi.posterous.com -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
