Question 1

What is the advantage or difference between using this or something like the Stoffen plastic diffuser on an SB-600?

Accepted Answer

A Stoffen-type platic diffuser does not INCREASE the surface area of the illuminating light source, as does the 6x8-in face of a softbox.  Larger illuminating surface area reduces or eliminates shadows in macro-photography.  I use a plastic diffuser INSIDE of the softbox to more evenly distribute the light to the full 6x8-in face.

Question 2

pardon my ignorance, but is this kind of softbox more useful for portraiture or event shooting with the flash on and off camera? sorry for the wording

Accepted Answer

Keep in mind that the amount of softness you can achieve is entirely dependent upon both the size of the lighting surface and the distance from the subject. Despite being so much larger than a portable flash, this flash hood unit is still very small as compared to the size of the soft boxes we use in the studio for commercial, product or glamour photography.  Art studies, nudes, and small objects are an exception in that they usually benefit from less diffuseness in order to capture the contours of the subject and would especially benefit from the small hood of this unit.The nice romantic pregnancy shots that Cedric Converset so nicely provided via the link in his answer were taken with a 135mm tele so he had to be a good distance away to take full body shots.  I would guess, and welcome his corrections, that his off camera flash with this soft hood was 12-20 feet from the subjects since the flash shadows, though softened, were still quite distinct. Of course, a naked flash would have been very harsh and unflattering, for sure. So, it all depends on what you want and expect. If you simply want to soften the edges of a flash shadow somewhat when shooting 6-12 feet away, this is a good unit to use.   However, if you want the very soft shadowing of a studio soft box with a unit this small, you will be limited to having the flash only a few feet away which limits you to head or head and shoulder shots. Here's an example that clarifies the effect of light source softening. Imagine a small round object, perhaps a golf ball, hung by a string a foot in front of a wall.  Now imagine a light source that is a panel the size of an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper.   Imagine placing the panel an inch in front of the golf ball.  It should be obvious that the light hitting the ball will come from all parts of the panel, including the edges that are at quite a large angle to the center of the ball.  As such, the top, bottom, and sides of the ball will be illuminated to varying degrees and the shadow on the wall would be very soft - almost indistinct.  Now move the panel a foot away.  It should also be obvious that the angles from the edges of the panel to the ball are much narrower so less light reaches the sides and is more direct so the wall shadow would be more pronounced but still a bit soft.  If we then move the panel 6 feet away, the angles between the edges of the panel to the ball would be very small so the light is much more direct producing stronger shadow edges on the wall - but still softer than a naked flash tube.Here's an extreme version of the same example:  Our sun is about 860 thousand miles across, making it our solar system's largest soft box!  However, it is also 95 million miles away. So, the angle from both edges of the sun to you standing on a sunlit beach is a minuscule 0.5 degree.  As such, all its light rays are coming at almost exactly the same angle making your shadow on the sand appear very sharp.In Cedric Converset's examples, since the shots were of two people that were at least head to hip or full body, the flash had to be much farther away to avoid hot spotting. So, the amount of the softening is greatly reduced because of the distance. For the "studio glamour shot" look I produced for magazines and ads, I used soft boxes that were at least 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide and, even then, less than 12 feet away. To achieve a bit of that studio level soft look with a hood of this small size, you are limited to covering a very small subject area such for a head shot or head and shoulders shot with the flash hood only a few feet away.  It may seem counter-intuitive that the closer you are, the softer the shadowing.  However, the closer you are, the more important it is that the light source be large enough to cover the subject area.  If it's too small, you'll get hot spotting since the panel's light output won't cover the entire subject area.If you really want a full soft box look for larger subject areas, this unit will not do that. If you want the full soft box look at an event, look for a large flat or stucco wall with a bright neutral color, have your subjects stand about 15-20 feet from the wall with you about 6 feet in front of it so the angle between the wall and your line to the subject is about 60 degrees. Then bounce your flash back over your shoulder targeting a spot several feet above your head. That will give a large soft lighting effect at a 3/4 angle and easily cover groups of 2-10 people.  In THAT case, you want to use a naked flash to maximize the light hitting the wall.  You lose a lot of power doing it but you end up with a great effect.  For that reason, always bring a powerful flash to handle events. Bouncing off the ceiling is always a second choice since overhead lighting is always unflattering, deepens the eye sockets, shines balding heads, ages the subject's look, and lends an unwanted murkiness. If you think about all that, it should start to become apparent that to get a nice, full, soft light, often called a "north light", the light source has to be close the same size as the subject area placed about twice the distance as the size of the panel.  So, I'd place a 6' studio soft light about 12' from the model. Translating that math means you could get a nice soft light head shot if you placed this 10" diagonal light about 2 feet from the subject.Don't let my length diatribe mistake my intentions.  This unit is *very* effective in reducing the very harsh, razor-edged flash shadows that naked tubes produce when the hooded flash is less than 15 feet away.  It just will *not* produce the soft box lighting you see in studio shots.  It's way too small for *that* specific use.Sorry for the length but I thought it might be helpful to you and others.  I ask that readers forgive me if they already know the subject.

Question 3

Does this softbox have wire or plastic tubing inside to help keep it upright and retain its shape? What keeps it from sagging?

Accepted Answer

It is a rather stiff material that provides reinforcement. There aren't any tubes but there may be some additional reinforcement wiring. Mine doesn't sag at all.

Question 4

Will this fit the Yongnuo YN568EX for Nikon?

Accepted Answer

It should definitely fit that flash. The fitment is sort of elastic, and im not too familiar with that flash but it cant be much bigger than my YN468..should fit like a charm since mine leaves a little space.

Fotodiox 6X9" Foldable Flash Softbox For Speedlights; Nikon, Canon, Vivita, Sunpack, Nissin, Sigma, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic

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