# Shaping the Lite



## neuroanatomist (Dec 11, 2013)

I recently purchased a bundle of Honl modifiers for Speedlites (grids, snoots, and gels), to use on my 600EX-RT flashes. I wanted to determine the optimal zoom setting for them (from the available 20-200mm zoom settings on the flash head), and took the opportunity to test them out, along with a couple of diffusers. 

The setup was a 600EX-RT on a light stand, 5 feet from a neutral-colored wall (measured distance between front of flash head and wall surface). Images were captured with a 1D X and 24-70mm f/2.8L II at 35mm, 1/200 s, f/8, ISO 200. Ambient light was nil, and the flash was triggered with an on-camera ST-E3-RT. Flash power was set manually, 1/32 power in most cases, but higher power was used for the diffusers (1/8 power for the Sto-Fen OmniBounce, 1/16 power for the Honl Heavy Frost filter). The dots on the wall are spaced 12" apart, so beam spread can be determined from the images.

First up is the bare flash. The 14mm setting is the built-in pull-out diffusion panel.





The Sto-Fen provides a pretty even distribution of light, and is able to effectively diffuse even the 200mm zoom setting.





The Honl Heavy Frost diffuser (part of the Color Effects Gels kit) is weaker than the Sto-Fen, and has some fall-off at the higher head zoom settings.





The shape of light from the snoots is obviously quite dependent on how you connect the Velcro bits and how you shape the end of the tube. With the 5" 'shorty' snoot, at 70mm and narrower zoom settings the pattern of the flash zoom head is apparent within the area projected by the snoot itself.





The 8" snoot gives a tight beam with no effect at long zoom settings, although light lost to the zoom mechanism is apparent wider than 70mm. 





Unlike the snoots, the honeycomb grids deliver a nice, circular beam (although the grid must be flush and tightly attached for the beam to porject straight). With the 1/4" grid at zoom head settings wider than 70mm, there is a horizontal pattern evident in the beam. One online comparison that I found shows a smooth beam with no pattern; I think this is because those shots were focused on the flash itself (shot from behind) and not the wall onto which the flash beam was projected. At 80mm and narrower, the circular shape is affected by the shape of the light exiting from the zoomed head.





With the 1/8" grid, the horizontal pattern is evident at 35mm and wider, while at progressively longer zoom settings the falloff is faster and spill is reduced even further.


 


Get out there and shape the light!


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## Click (Dec 11, 2013)

Very good information Neuro. Thanks for posting.


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## Mr Bean (Dec 11, 2013)

Click said:


> Very good informations Neuro. Thanks for posting.


+1. Great info and examples. Thanks Neuro.


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## Drizzt321 (Dec 11, 2013)

Wow! That's just about as detailed as Roger Cicala's work  Thanks!


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## sagittariansrock (Dec 11, 2013)

Thanks a lot for the information. This should be made a sticky or something.


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## Quasimodo (Dec 12, 2013)

Interesting and informative


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## RC (Dec 12, 2013)

Excellent tests and nice presentation, thanks for sharing! I have a few Honl mods and have been debating over the regular or shorty snoot. Your examples will be helpful. Did you by chance do any bouncing tests with flash pointed straight up and snoots opened up?


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 12, 2013)

RC said:


> Did you by chance do any bouncing tests with flash pointed straight up and snoots opened up?



Sorry, no - I didn't try using the snoots as reflectors for the tests.


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## cervantes (Dec 12, 2013)

Thanks for the comparison neuro! Is there a chance that you can do the same test with a better beamer attached? Would be interesting to see the beam spread then.

Greetings!


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## Zv (Dec 12, 2013)

Nice. I used to use 24mm when using a mid sized shoot through umbrella but I find 35 or 50 a bit more efficient. Any thoughts on that?


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## RC (Dec 12, 2013)

Zv said:


> Nice. I used to use 24mm when using a mid sized shoot through umbrella but I find 35 or 50 a bit more efficient. Any thoughts on that?


Great question. I'm interested in what zooms settings others are using when using shoot-thru umbrellas and softboxes. Typically I've been using about 24mm for a 45" umbrella and 24x24 (Lastolite) softbox. I'm probably wasting light, especially on the umbrellas, but since I'm using manual flash, I can always adjust it.


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## neuroanatomist (Dec 12, 2013)

cervantes said:


> Is there a chance that you can do the same test with a better beamer attached? Would be interesting to see the beam spread then.



I tested it at the time, the spread was barely beyond the flash head/Beamer combo, and was hard to see past the strong reflection from the back side of the Fresnel lens. There were actually some secondary patterns a few feet above and below the beam, which I think resulted from light reflecting off the back of the Fresnel lens then off the flash head itself, bouncing toward the wall. 

Basically, the Better Beamer at 5' wasn't an informative test. What I really need to do is test it with the 600 mm lens, from a greater distance, to determine which zoom setting fills the frame without wasting light. I know the manufacturer recommends setting the flash head zoom to 50 mm, but I have read that that is not always best, depending on the focal length you are using.



Zv said:


> Nice. I used to use 24mm when using a mid sized shoot through umbrella but I find 35 or 50 a bit more efficient. Any thoughts on that?



Sure. Depending on how far the umbrella is from the subject, a tighter zoom setting on the flash head may make sense. The snoot tests also suggest that there is some internal light loss within the flash head at the widest zoom settings – 35mm or 50 mm may be giving you more light output.


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## pierlux (Dec 12, 2013)

Thanks a lot, neuro!


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## ishdakuteb (Dec 12, 2013)

love this kinda of information. thanks very much neuro...


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## Pugshot (Dec 12, 2013)

Thanks, Neuro - this is very useful information!


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## pdirestajr (Dec 12, 2013)

Nice test. Really hows how good those cheap Sto-Fen Diffusers are.


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## GammyKnee (Dec 12, 2013)

A genuinely useful & informative post. Thanks very much for this neuro!


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## surapon (Dec 12, 2013)

Thank you very much, Dear neuroanatomist.
Wow, Clear result of Testing, and Thanks for your time ( Long Time) to test and Record for us to see the result, And get this result, to buy the best Light Modifier equipment in the future.
Great job.
Surapon


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## tphillips63 (Dec 13, 2013)

Man, talk about a great post. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.


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## RustyTheGeek (Dec 13, 2013)

Yes! Great post! It was interesting to compare the variation and outputs of each modifier in conjunction with each zoom setting. And I am also glad to see how well the Sto-Fen worked as we all likely have one in our kit. It just works. The Sto-Fen is and should be everyone's first flash related purchase!


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## cellomaster27 (Dec 13, 2013)

Wow! This is really good and detailed test!! This is gonna help me alot when I get my studio setup.. 

btw, what's your occupation Neuro? Just curious.. you know alot of stuff.


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## Rienzphotoz (Dec 13, 2013)

AWESOME! ... Neuro, that is incredibly educational, well done sir! 
Have you considered putting it up on youtube? I think it deserves wider audience ... I think you should upload it to youtube, *many will benefit from it*.
Thanks for sharing.


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## Zv (Dec 13, 2013)

cellomaster27 said:


> Wow! This is really good and detailed test!! This is gonna help me alot when I get my studio setup..
> 
> btw, what's your occupation Neuro? Just curious.. you know alot of stuff.



I think the clue might be in the name itself!


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## alexanderferdinand (Dec 13, 2013)

Thanks a lot for posting!

The thing, that surprised me most is the difference in zooming in combination with the grids.
I (was wrong) thought, it makes no difference, because the grid bundles the light.

Hm. And thank you again!

Alex, Austria


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## SPL (Dec 13, 2013)

fantastic Neuro!, Thanks!


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