SB-800

[mdegasperis]

Are there any aftermarket light modifiers for the Nikon SB-800s that really

work to help soften the shadows or are they all pretty much gimmicks that don't

really work?

Thanks, Mike

[ellis_vener_photography]

a Chimera Mini or Maxi softbox does the trick very well.

[graham john miles]

It has always seemed unfair to me that we spend hundreds of dollars on dedicated flashlights such as the SB-800 and then have to find something to reduce the effect they are designed to produce. Sure they include little plastic diffusers but someone always seems to have a better idea. I use this flash with Gary Fong's Lightsphere. Costs a lot for a piece of vinyl, but I like what it does. Some don't like it and have other suggestions. Other's like the home made variety

but if you're a professional photographer with half a bleach bottle taped to your flash you might erode the confidence of your clients. Ultimately they all work, it's just a question of finding the one that works best for your eye.

[brandon.r.foster]

Let's see, cardboard and gaffer's tape, tupperware, my personal favorite is a light stand and some pocket wizards. I have this contraption that works. take some ball bungees, and a speedring, attach soft box and light stand, and presto. Milo, as far as eroding client confidence, most people that will hire a photographer don't know enough about the process if the first place to be guessing about the quality or professionalism of something that you made at home, they just want results. People see a Digital Rebel K2, and assume that you know what you are doing. I am not knocking the camera at all. I have and have been known to shoot with an XTi. The point is that as soon as someone sees a lens come off, the immediately think pro. Even more boggling is the fact that the longer the lens you are using, obviously the better you are. I have used tupperware in a shoot, as well as homemade cardboard honeycombs, and cardboard snoots. No one has questioned it once, nor have they failed to pay me. I like money too much to spend it on junk. Take the time to make DIY look good and you don't have to worry.

[Ed_Ingold]

In order to get any significant diffusion of the direct light, you must stand at a distance about equal to twice the diagonal dimension of the diffuser.

 

The diffusion cap, similar to a Sto-Fens device, that comes with the SB-800 works better than those Rube-Goldberg contraptions. The walls and ceiling become your reflector. I get the best results by pointing the flash with cap straight up toward the ceiling (whichever way the camera is oriented). Light bounces off the walls and ceiling, looking almost like available light. If you point the cap 45 degrees toward the subject, you get much more direct light. I only need this if the subject is more than about 10 feet away. The diffusion cap is much more effective than simply bouncing the light, since you get the effects of the walls and considerable direct light.

 

You may not get enough bounce light in a large room, even if you are working close. The diffusion cap still works to spread the light evenly across the subject, but the background goes dark. If there's enough available light, you can gel the flash, under the cap, to match and use "Slow Flash" in the camera.

 

Anything small enough to fit on the camera is not going to give you much working distance. Large soft boxes are out of the question unless you set up a portable studio. Furthermore, the SB-800 doesn't have enough power to fill a big box, and mounting is difficult. It's easy to mount an SB-800 on a stand with an umbrella, which gives good diffusion if you stay within a couple diameters of the umbrella. (It is a waste of time to use umbrellas on a stand to light up a large group - too far for diffusion, and too much light lost.)