its been 2 weeks now so instead of a long essay ill show you my pics
initially i was sceptical about it because it acts like a spreader more than a difusser by spreading the light all around the place 360 degress and up the ceiling(if there is one) so in this case most of the softening of the light is just reflected(bounce) light of surrounding walls if shot in a white room
since there are so many variables with this thing and the way it acts in certain environments ill just show you real world examples
i had to modify if because i was loosing too much light wanted more directional light around 180 degrees coverage
front:
for more directionl light i could of blocked off the top cone but i wanted to test the bounce abilities
all images here are out of the camera d200 17-35
lightsphere used in conjunction with sc-29 for off camera flash freedom
no post apart from resize and sharpen
we all know how a lightsphere performs indoors
so i took my tests outside first under the shade
loosing light here because of the open top bit of the spehere
so image underexposed, this can of course be compensated but in a crunch yeah inherantly the sphere looses heaps of light so outdoors stuff where there is no ceilign for bounce you need to rethink the way you use it
flash on high intensity has minimal effect, more loss of light with backlit subject/ high contrast scene
so this thing is really meant to be used indoors with a ceiling for bounce
lets start with high ceilings(minimal bounce) indoors so lower ambient light, flash position direct
it performs well
even light distribution, this image is not affected by the thrown light to the ceiling, its direct light from the side of the lightsphere
on the red carpet high ceiling, close range though
even flat lighting nice softening under jawline
close range mix of tungsten lights, direct flash flattens image still nice light distribution
indoors low ambient light high ceilings no bounce effect
the spere even at 180 degrees at the right angle has good even light coverage im impressed, mind you in this pic i know the irradecent lights are affecting is a variable in this scene
judging difussion this is relative to how far or close you hold the flash to the subject but some shadows are still hard edged
but id say its much better than naked flash
also light fall off is distributed well depending on the angle i was holding the lightsphere, lightwrap around subject is good
close range low ambient light ceiling bounce, almost purrfect
because of its design i think the lightsphere works more as a light spreader than a proper difusser
verdict not for my style too much light but for portraiture its great for closerange work
that said
i found a better use for it as an edge softener
attach to lens like this
take off top cap
you get this:
sweet as!
now im not a reviewer nor i claim to be one one of the deals for me obtainign this thing was to write a review i did the best i could
there are so many vartiables to using this sphere properly that i cant cover so i just share as my experience with it under different on the fly situations.
Works better I think.
