LightSphere the best? Show me. - DPChallenge Forums

07/31/2006 12:25:58 AM · #1

I've got a wedding coming up and am wondering whether to spring for the LightSphere or not. I decided to pose a test for anyone who cares to give it a try. I think that the only way that I can really evaluate any light modifier is to set up a standardized test and try several different units.

So here are the conditions I would like anyone who posts results to try to follow.

1) Subject:
Lightbulb - bare, standard size, unlit, in lamp w/no shade or bars
- switch pointing to side helps show light softness
2) Setup:
Lightbulb 12" from plain white background, measured from the center of the top of the bulb.
Cameraback is 48" from background.
Camera in vertical orientation.
Flash on-camera, light modifier on-flash, pointed at the bulb (no bounce)- I used +1 flash exposure compensation (optional)
Lens - 88mm effective (I used 55mm on my Rebel w/1.6 lens factor)
Camera in Manual mode set to ISO100, F/11, 1/100sec, center focus on farthest right edge of the bulb.

I used the following flash modifiers for my tests:
Bare Flash(Canon 550DX)
Stofen Box (can't remember what it's called)
Lumiquest Softbox
Mystery Modifier

Following are my results in the order listed above:

Bare Flash

Stofen

Lumiquest Softbox

Mystery Modifier

I am anxious to see any examples of on-camera on-flash flash modifiers, but especially the LightSphere!

JRalston

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

07/31/2006 12:31:45 AM · #2

I did a test shoot a little while ago:
Link to thread

07/31/2006 12:32:49 AM · #3

the //dembdiffuser.com/ was recommended to my partner (over the LS by an owner), and while he hasn't gotten it yet I am looking foward to seeing what it can do. It might be worth a look.

crayon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/31/2006 12:33:02 AM · #4

bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

07/31/2006 12:34:56 AM · #5

Originally posted by crayon:

bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

I bet you he held a piece of paper infront of the flash... heh!

07/31/2006 12:41:01 AM · #6

Originally posted by JRalston:

I did a test shoot a little while ago:
Link to thread

I read that thread, but frankly, I couldn't make a satisfactory conclusion from it.

At this point, I am only interested in what can be done by others using my setup. That is why I chose the lightbulb and precise setup...so that others could duplicate it.

Any takers?

07/31/2006 12:42:29 AM · #7

Originally posted by kyebosh:

the //dembdiffuser.com/ was recommended to my partner (over the LS by an owner), and while he hasn't gotten it yet I am looking foward to seeing what it can do. It might be worth a look.

Looks interesting, but without controlled test I can't tell if it's better than others.

07/31/2006 12:43:14 AM · #8

Originally posted by crayon:

bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

heh heh...to be revealed in due time.

07/31/2006 12:48:40 AM · #9

Originally posted by kyebosh:

Originally posted by crayon:
bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

I bet you he held a piece of paper infront of the flash... heh!

That wouldn't fit the conditions I asked to be met...

crayon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/31/2006 12:50:29 AM · #10

Originally posted by kyebosh:

Originally posted by crayon:
bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

I bet you he held a piece of paper infront of the flash... heh!

I tried many methods to diffuse a harsh flash before, sometimes the results give a very nice diffused light, but then the range is severely compromised. I'd be game if someone has a good method to diffuse with minimal loss in range or power :p

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

07/31/2006 12:59:27 AM · #11

Originally posted by jemison:

Originally posted by kyebosh:

Originally posted by crayon:
bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

I bet you he held a piece of paper infront of the flash... heh!

That wouldn't fit the conditions I asked to be met...

I don't see why not, i've seen people make softboxes that you can attach to the flash that were made out of a box and paper. And the results were actually quite good.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

07/31/2006 01:13:37 AM · #12

A Ping Pong ball over the flash is my guess - they work AWESOME!

Message edited by author 2006-07-31 01:20:15.

crayon

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

07/31/2006 01:22:33 AM · #13

Originally posted by BradP:

A Ping Pong ball over the flash is my guess - they work AWESOME!

cool! teach me!

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

07/31/2006 01:31:40 AM · #14

Originally posted by crayon:

Originally posted by BradP:
A Ping Pong ball over the flash is my guess - they work AWESOME!

cool! teach me!

Nothing more than taking a Ping Pong ball, cutting an opening to allow it to slip over the flash head/bulb area, and bingo.

How to get great Images from a Point and Shoot.

and
Ping-pong ball diffuser

07/31/2006 01:46:31 AM · #15

Originally posted by kyebosh:

Originally posted by jemison:

Originally posted by kyebosh:

Originally posted by crayon:
bump - I'm interested to read about these too. thanks
btw, what is that "mystery modifier" ?

I bet you he held a piece of paper infront of the flash... heh!

That wouldn't fit the conditions I asked to be met...

I don't see why not, i've seen people make softboxes that you can attach to the flash that were made out of a box and paper. And the results were actually quite good.

He said I might have held a piece of paper in front of the flash...the requirement was an on-flash modifier.

But the REAL POINT here is to get a controlled comparison of different modifiers...especially the LightSphere.

I am hopeful that someone will actually step up to the plate!

07/31/2006 01:48:47 AM · #16

he as in me :-x

yeah but i really do hope somebody can step up and help you :-D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM

07/31/2006 01:50:20 AM · #17

Originally posted by kyebosh:

he as in me :-x...

Oops! Sorry 'bout that.

oOWonderBreadOo

Canon EOS-5D

07/31/2006 02:12:56 AM · #18

sorry- I guess I wa no help at all.

Message edited by author 2006-07-31 13:18:26.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

07/31/2006 11:49:51 AM · #19

Originally posted by oOWonderBreadOo:

ok, well let me just say that you won't get the same results on a flashbulb as you will with a human.

My last wedding was all bounced and was pretty nicely lit. But I got several of these...

aka racoon eyes. I have a 580 and it has a little pull out tab they call a catchlight to bouce the light forward so I only had a few of these but my lighting would have been so much better if I could have bounced to the left and still had the faces well lit. I bought the lightsphere last week so I haven't had much time to do comparison tests just wanted to post a little something for ya...

of course I know that I won't get the same results on a lightbulb as a human. I am not interested in bounced flash results since it is not always possible - in fact fairly rare - to have the right location for it. I am not trying to get people to show random results of different flash setups with different subjects under different conditions.

Really, all I am interested in for now is for someone to show me some results under the conditions I posted. It is not hard to do. After all the hype and raves about the LightSphere I am really surprised that nobody seems to be up to it. Anyone?

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

07/31/2006 12:06:48 PM · #20

I'd love to see the lightsphere result for this test as well. This is a good test of how diffuse a light source is. You can get a good idea from the amount of blurring of the shadow how large the "apparent size" of the light source was.
The poor performance of the Sto-Fen is no suprise at all. It does not increase the apparent size of the source (since it's no bigger than the flash head) and so it has little effect. The shadow is lightened from reflections off walls and ceiling as the light diffused from the flash head bounces around, but the edge is still as sharp as it was.
The Lumiquest softbox did pretty well, and I suspect a Lumiquest Omnibounce or Big Bounce would have done as well. The mystery modifier really does a nice job. it would seem that it is physically pretty large to get this kind of diffusion.

ragamuffingirl

Sony Alpha NEX-5N

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

07/31/2006 12:20:49 PM · #21

Ha! I wish I'd seen that pingpong ball trick before I bought the diffuser with the flash I just bought.

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

07/31/2006 12:40:10 PM · #22

Living in the land of Ping Pong, I'm embarrassed to say that I still haven't done that one... Moronic me! :)

I use a peice of paper folded and taped over my external flash for some setups... Doesn't work very well, but hey, it's pretty difficult to manage a manual flash without a meter anyhow...

I will also mention that I would love to see the results from the lightsphere...

Can anyone step up to the plate?