Flash too Bright, help!

rgrebby

rgrebby

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Richard
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I just got some PT-04's and they work great :) (after having trouble getting into the receiever as the battery door was hard to open)

However my crummy flash which is a BOWER SFD35C is not manual so im guessing that its now firing at full power. Is there any way to cut the power using something on the front from around the house?

If so what works best?
 
You can use anything translucent in front of the flash, from greaseproof paper to a thin piece of fabric, different thicknesses will give greater reduction in light. You can also add more than one layer if needed. You just have to experiment.

Personally I'd try and pickup a flash with manual power settings.
 
Mark.A said:
You can use anything translucent in front of the flash, from greaseproof paper to a thin piece of fabric, different thicknesses will give greater reduction in light. You can also add more than one layer if needed. You just have to experiment.

Personally I'd try and pickup a flash with manual power settings.
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Yah im looking for flashes now, but I cant really afford £170 for the 430EX I want as my computer is costing me more cash right now. :(
 
Lid off a pringles tube or I've seen a vasaline tub cut to size and used.
 
im trying to make a soft light diffuser as we speak, i am trying to make one from a "flash" spray bottle .... no joke...... once i have it done i will try some test shots and see if it works. im doing a shoot tonight at a rock academy and dont want any harsh shadows, so hopefully it will do for now... i will edit the post later once i have tried the test images.
 
Go to your local craft shop and look for sheets of VELUM, it is a good substitue to use as diffusers, you just cut it to fit, add some velcro to the flash and strips of velum, and bingo, cheap diffusers. Obviously the thicker the sheet, the more light you will block, you can also get some really good colors too(y)
 
admirable said:
Lid off a pringles tube or I've seen a vasaline tub cut to size and used.
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my tube of prawn cocktail pringles sitting right next to me has a clear lid :(

well, I'll try some things people have mensioned. Really want a good flash now, even a 420 would do.
 
POAH said:
move the flash further away from the subject
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If you do that it will reduce the quantity of light but it will also change the quality, the light will become even smaller in relative terms so will become even harder.

The best answer is as suggested above - put tissue paper or similar over it. This will also diffuse the light and make it a bit softer.
 
Garry Edwards said:
If you do that it will reduce the quantity of light but it will also change the quality, the light will become even smaller in relative terms so will become even harder.

The best answer is as suggested above - put tissue paper or similar over it. This will also diffuse the light and make it a bit softer.
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moving the light further away will make it softer and reduce the amount of light hitting the subject which is what he asked about. putting paper over the flash will also change the type of light you get from the flash. moving the flash away will not make it harder
 
pxl8 said:
Only if you add a larger area for diffusion otherwise it will make the light harsher. :nono:
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:agree: and with Garry too

POAH - unless you've somewhat mistyped that, or we just can't see what you mean properly, I'm afraid you're wrong

Moving the light source further away, without increasing it's size proportionally or greater, makes the light harsher

DD
 
rgrebby said:
Yah im looking for flashes now, but I cant really afford £170 for the 430EX I want as my computer is costing me more cash right now. :(
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You can pick up cheap used flashes on ebay from time to time that have manual power settings.
 
rgrebby said:
I can never find them :(
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It can take a little patience over an extended period of time.

Another option is to look through the secondhand listings of various online retailers - although more often than not the prices they're asking for SB-24s, SB-26s, SB-28s, 8-DXs, etc is absolutely crazy. However there are still bargains to be found.
 
Mark.A said:
You can pick up cheap used flashes on ebay from time to time that have manual power settings.
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Look for Vivitar, Cobra and similar - compared to the likes of Canon & Nikon they were cheap enough even when new.

You'll find various threads in this forum about the Lee sample gel packs. Lee give out samples of their gels in the hope that people will actually buy them, some people just get the free samples (which include neutral density gels which will reduce the effective power of your flash) and stick them over the front of their flashguns. I'm not suggesting that this is an OK thing to do, but as Lee seem to have dropped their requirement that people who get the sample swatches are pro studio photographers and as they seem to be happy to give them away to anyone...

Or bite the bullet and get a studio flash head
 
Let us clear one thing up first. A flash always has the same intensity. It is the duration of the burst of light that is cut down. Regarding moving the flash away remember the inverse squre law.
 
Ideally I need something that could be used on the camera (canon 400D) just incase I need it to go on there.

Any suggestions for a sub £100 decent flash?
 
rgrebby said:
I can never find them :(
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Just found one you might be interested in, search for 'NATIONAL PE-287S' on eBay, there's only one there so you should see it. According to a quick search on the net that flash has a trigger voltage of 8.3v (so should be safe to use on a digital camera) and has three manual settings - Full, 1/4 and 1/16, not bad for £19 + £3 p&p.
 
rgrebby said:
Ideally I need something that could be used on the camera (canon 400D) just incase I need it to go on there.

Any suggestions for a sub £100 decent flash?
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I just ordered two Vivitar 285HV flashguns, fully manual, for $74 each, along with a pair of cactus wireless triggers for $30 from Gadget Infinity in Hong Kong.

Those Vivitars get good reviews for a bit of off-camera flashery considering how cheap they are. Cant wait to get mine!
 
Inverse square rule FTW.

Putting grease proof paper and stuff in front of a flash hitting at full power isnt the best bet as it will heat up.

Get on ebay and grab a Vivitar, Sunpak, Nikon for cheapness.
 
BigLoada said:
I just ordered two Vivitar 285HV flashguns, fully manual, for $74 each, along with a pair of cactus wireless triggers for $30 from Gadget Infinity in Hong Kong.

Those Vivitars get good reviews for a bit of off-camera flashery considering how cheap they are. Cant wait to get mine!
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Good luck....the majority if the stuff I've had from GI has either been DOA or died peacefully in it's sleep after a few weeks.

Their customer relations are pretty good though....
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Good luck....the majority if the stuff I've had from GI has either been DOA or died peacefully in it's sleep after a few weeks.

Their customer relations are pretty good though....
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Ah man dont tell me that:LOL: Been looking forward to getting those for ages now! I know the triggers can be unreliable but hopefully the flashguns will work.
 
jessops were doing own brand flashes for ~£30 the other day.
 
Wont work TTL but should work, try to get away from on camera mounted flash anyway
 
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