NOTES
FOR THE LIGHTSPHERE II FOR THE CANON 550/580EX
- CLICK
HERE
TO SEE A VIDEO OF THE LIGHTSPHERE IN ACTION
YOUR new Lightsphere II fits
best in one direction only - one direction is tighter than the
other - please experiment with the unit and reverse if it seems
too loose.
WHEN TO USE THE SUPER-SOFT HALF-DOME:
The half-dome is used only with very low ceilings and when
shooting directly at the subject outdoors. For a majority of your
shooting, you will not need to use the half-dome. Think of it
as a reducer for extra softening.
- EXAMPLES:
- These photos
below were done outdoors in the middle of the night. They show
the effectiveness of the dome diffuser (compared to other diffuser
methods) even when there are no walls or ceilings to bounce.
-
For best results, set your flash
on E-TTL and point flash directly upwards. DO NOT point the diffuser
in a 45 degree direction, you will greatly reduce the diffusion
effect! Tilting the flash at a 45 degree angle will reduce the
output because the light surfaces will be pointing behind you
and towards the floor rather than towards the subject.
-
- When shooting
in vertical, simply flip the flash head vertical, and the quality
of the light source will not change.
- Here are
the shooting positions:
This is the Lightsphere
in H Position
This is the Lightsphere
in Vertical Position. No need for a bracket.
- In low-light
situations, set your camera on M mode (manual) so you can adjust
the shutter speed and aperture to allow ambient light for the
most natural look. Feel free to lower the shutter speed to make
more of the ambient light mix in with your soft diffuse flash.
For most indoor reception situations, I've found great results
shooting on Manual at 1/45sec at f 3.5 at ISO400. If the ambient
lighting is more dim, you can experiment with even slower shutter
speeds or higher ISO's. When shooting outdoors set your camera
to "P" (program) mode with your flash at E-TTL
-
- This shot
was done at 1/30sec at f2.8 ISO400 on E-TTL, with the diffuser
pointed straight up, no dome:
-
-
- It is not
necessary to use exposure compensation on your flash - while
the LS2 lowers your effective output by about a stop, your E-TTL
metering will compensate for the diffuser.
- When shooting
direct AND you do not require diffusion, simply point the LS2
straight forward with the half-dome removed. You do not need
to remove the Lightsphere2 to shoot direct. When doing portraiture,
you will find that the half-dome is an excellent softening diffuser
for shooting direct flash:
-
- This image
was shot with the LSII pointing directly at the subject, using
a 17-35mm lens with the half dome attached. When shooting outdoors
in bright light conditions, set your camera to "P"
mode so the camera can automatically increase the shutter speed
and close the aperture to prevent blowout:
-
- The half-come
will greatly reduce the "blowout" look of shooting
direct flash. Make sure you have a lens shade over your lens
to prevent lens flare.
- For portraiture,
the LS2 works great. This shot was taken indoors, with no half-dome:
STORAGE
- The base unit and the cone can fit easily over any of the lenses
in your camera bag:
- Feel free
to email me with your questions/comments by clicking here