eddie g Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 No one...(and I mean no one) not even the manufacturers know what the white translucent material is which serves as the diffusing front panel on a softbox. Oh, don't get me wrong there are many good guesses. But I have spent the last one and a half hours doing deep advanced searches on the net. This is indeed the biggest mystery in photography. I don't think the softbox manufacturers manufacture their own material. My guess is that they buy it from a fabric manufacturer. Let the guessing begin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emre Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 It is not that important, is it? Some materials diffuse more than others, that's all; pick one that suits your needs/means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertChura Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Try Ripstop Nylon at your favorite fabric store. Not Top Secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerbrain_ronny_perry Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Alot of it is made at the Dupont factory in Nashville(Rayon City). Rosco also sells some diffussion material that is close to that http://www.rosco.com/us/technotes/filters/technote_3fv.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie g Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 my guess is that some use polyester and some use nylon. I know some use sailcloth but sailcloth can be many things like dacron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lokki Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I took a trip to my local hobby/fabric store and picked through the scraps. For about US$5, I brought home 4 different kinds of white, translucent cloth of varying thickness and sheen (and two black silks and a red velvet). I've been playing with these bits to get different looks, and when I find something I like, I will go back with the sample and ask for more of it. Try hitting some upholstry suppliers, industrial liquidators, and even your local *-Mart, buy some odds and ends, and give it a shot. Chances are you'll end up with a small library for various situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie g Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 I just got an email response from one of the softbox manufacturers and Elinchrom uses what Elinchrom calls " Tested polyester ". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_murphy1 Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I wonder what that test might be. Anyway, my Elinchrom diffusion screens feel a lot softer than the Photoflex or Chimera screens...whatever that means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickvandenberg Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I tried the fabric store route, but what I thought was white was very much a blue white. So you definitely need to experiment. I'v had much better luck ordering rip-stop nylon in various thicknesses from kite suppliers. That said, though, the next time I fiddle around I'll probably just buy some Rosco stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie g Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 Alien Bees responded to my email inquiry and said they use Nylon. Chimera responded to my email inquiry and said "Chimera Cloth, a dacron type fabric". Plume said "Nylon geige goods that are then crushed and flattened by a sail cloth die so that (wind and) light cannot come directly through the fibers". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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