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Re: [OM] Off camera flash with the OM-4T

Subject: Re: [OM] Off camera flash with the OM-4T
From: Ken Norton <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:50:08 -0500
> Please post an image of this if you get a sec.  I can't quite visualize
> this.


Well...  Short of a photograph...

The T45 is a handle-mount flash, meaning that it sits to the side and above
the camera. Pretend with me for this example that the flash is on the right
side. Turn the flash head itself so it is now 90 degrees to the
left--shooting sideways over the top of the camera. Now, with the
Flashbender shaped kinda like a scoop it becomes a light source directly
over the top of the camera. In fact, the Flashbender is somewhat resting on
top of the prism.

For verticals... Before turning the camera, rotate the flash so it is facing
the right, the opposite direction from the camera. Situate the Flashbender
so it is reflecting the light forward in the direction of the lens. If done
correctly, the Flashbender is almost in line with the camera when you hold
it vertically. If you game it a bit and turn the flash at an angle, you'll
get it directly over the lens.

One flash style that I've done here and there through the years, with mixed
results, is the "Statue of Liberty" method. The T45, because of the
L-bracket, doesn't lend itself to that method, but I've found that the lowly
285HV with Flashbender makes a really good flash for that.

As I've gotten to use the Flashbender more and more, everything I wrote
about it still holds true, but with altered levels of importance.

1. It is not lightweight. It's a couple ounces on the porky side. This makes
for the entire rig to be more top-heavy than what you may be comfortable
with.

2. The Velcro strap design is by far the weakest aspect of the Flashbender.
I really don't like it and without a doubt it will be the first, if not the
only, thing to fail. I consider it a design error and hope they figure
something else out.

3. It's either one inch too small or one inch too large. Seriously!  I know
I'm opening myself up to criticism for being too picky or too something, but
the FlashBender is just at that awkward size where it's too large to balance
well, but too small for the desired diffused light look. Which leads to the
next point.

4. The white surface is very reflective. It has a glossy sheen to it. This
is a good thing from the aspect that there is not much fall-off, like you
get with most modifiers. Most modifiers eat an entire stop without batting
an eye, most reflectors eat two. Depending on how you curve this thing, it
loses almost no light, but the light is more specular. If you've ever built
a reflector out of white hobby foam, you know that the entire foam surface
lights up pretty evenly. That's not the case with the FlashBender. Unless
you have the thing bent perfectly, you end up with a much smaller area where
the light is actually reflecting towards your subject. Honestly, with a
large diameter flash tube like the T45 or a Metz 45, the Flashbender doesn't
gain as much light spread as you'd think--it's only marginally larger.

5. Related to the previous, this works very well in conjunction with an
UltraBounce or OmniBounce or anything that allows you to spread or diffuse
the light before it hits the reflector. In this configuration, it's actually
quite decent!

So, if I were to be the product manager for the Flashbender and wanted to
come out with a second version, I'd lighten it a little, change the strap
arrangement to at least the same thing as what Lumiquest has, make it very
slightly larger and make the reflector less glossy.

It's really close and without a doubt, one of the best flash modifiers on
the market. I'm very pleased with my purchase and may actually buy another
one or two in the next two weeks. I especially like it on the 285HV. Maybe
the fact that I'm wanting to buy more is endorsement enough. I should
publish a full-blown review of it on zone-10 with pictures.



> I think  you gave that doohicky 4 lens caps, and I have been eyeing one.
> Dr. Flash hasn't endorsed its use yet though.

I'm still at 4 lens caps, but thanks to extended time-with-unit, I'm going
to say that it's just barely at 4 lens caps. If they solved the above
issues, I would, without hesitation, give it a 5 out of 5 and shout it from
the mountain-tops. It's slid down about 1/3 of a lens cap since I initially
reported on it. That's either a sign that the issues aren't all that bad or
I did sufficiently discover and account for them up front.

In echoing Dr. Flash, I like to mix ceiling bounce with direct. The
card-flap thing works very well, but is sooo '80s and '90s. :) The
Flashbender lets me tweek the light so I can do the ceiling bounce thing but
with the bender in a flat position, it acts as a forward fill with a larger
surface area.

We're seeing a style change where the above-the-lens look is fading away.
I've used my Stroboframe once in the last year, I think. Off-camera flash is
definitely making a comeback again.

AG
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