Stofen Diffusers

[HybridUK]

Hi all,

I'm looking to grab a stofen for my 430EX and would basically just like to know if i would see any different between a genuine stofen and a cheaper alternative?

Both look exactly the same on eBay, but how do they function in real life situations?!

Any comments would be great. :)

[PapaLazarou]

I use stofens all the time, never tried the cheaper alternative though.
I would just get a stofen it's only £15.
www.markheywood.co.uk

[whiteflyer]

I have one of the cheap e-bay ones. I can not see that there will be any difference in results as it just a pit of plastic, why waste money on a stofen when a couple of quid on a cheapo will do the same job.

[HybridUK]

Thats what i was thinking. Surely they can't be worlds apart in what they do...?

[Janice]

I read somewhere that they are great for indoors but take them off outdoors. Why is this... or is it rubbish?

[Torpedo]

No idea, but at a wedding i went to last summer, the photographer used his flash + sto-fen for every shot, indoors and outdoors. And most of the shots were outdoors. he also had his flash at 45° all the time.

[Janice]

Yes, the Stofen instructions tell you to use the flash at 45°.

[Jonnyreb]

Depends on the lighting conditions and what you're tryign to achieve Janice. The diffuser takes about a stop off the flash and spreads the light over about 160 degrees. Perfect for fill light in some conditions i would have thought.

i'm not sure there is much benefit to stofen - any translucent plastic should do the job depending on shape. I just bought stofen cos i'm lazy :)

[spencer]

No idea, but at a wedding i went to last summer, the photographer used his flash + sto-fen for every shot, indoors and outdoors. And most of the shots were outdoors. he also had his flash at 45° all the time.

I used mine for exactly that at a wedding I done, it was an overcast cloudy day! & they came out a treat!!:thumbs:

Spence

[PapaLazarou]

I use mine all the time for indoors, outdoors, macro work the lot.
When I shoot a wedding I have it on all the time, even the times when I fire the flash straight ahead and not at 45 degrees.

[CScottMcQueen]

Straight ahead for outdoors and 45degrees for indoor use I believe I read somewhere.

It seems to make sense as the sky's too far to bounce off :)