Photography News issue 23

51 Accessories test

Photography News Issue 23 absolutephoto.com

LUMIQUEST Location Portrait Kit £78

METZ 64 AF-1 Digital Flashgun £299

EXPOIMAGING Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System £85

WESTCOTT Flex 1-Light Daylight Kit £650

BOUNCELITE Venue £120

holder and other modifiers attach via LumiQuest’s UltraStrap accessory, two of which are included. These neoprene straps are compatible with all LumiQuest products and fit standard accessory flash guns. snapperstuff.com

There’s also a rubber ‘mount pad’ spacer for smaller ’guns. The kit also includes two filter cassettes and a wallet of six CT gels to control mixed lighting, which together slot in neatly at the base, as well as a neoprene case. bouncelite.com

Grid Attachment restricts the spread for rim lighting effects. The whole set-up packs neatly into the included bag, too. www.colorconfidence.com BounceLite Venue £120 Although most accessory flashes come with an integrated pull-out bounce card and a clip-on diffuser, you can really only use one or the other at a time. The BounceLite accessory is different, combining both of those features, but building on them, too. In its simplest set-up the BounceLite works as a small softbox, with its white inner and large diffusing front panel spreading and softening the light more than a smaller clip-on diffuser can manage. There’s also a flip-up bounce card reflector (also much larger than a flash’s integrated version), and this can be used at the same time to vary your lighting effects, either directing the light towards the subject or bouncing off a wall or ceiling. Using the two together, and also rotating the flash direction, gives a serious amount of lighting options. At 250g, the BounceLite is light enough not to unbalance your flash, but has a sturdy feel and attaches to almost any accessory flash via a rubber strap, which stretches around the back and clips securely at the opposite side. 8

vertically, which is neat. The 64 AF-1 has TTL-metering, so you can use it hotshoe- mounted and expect first-class results in its auto mode. Like other high-spec (and higher-priced) camera brand guns it can beusedas amaster or slave, and supports wireless triggering from the camera, so you can use Nikon’s CLS or Canon’s E-TTL to control off-camera flash at a lower cost. metzflash.co.uk Photographers need to travel light but still have lots of options, and catering for exactly that is this kit of modifiers and filters from LumiQuest. For softening naked flash, the kit includes a large Promax Softbox III, measuring 20x23cm, and for more concentrated accents or hair lighting, there’s a Snoot XTR with a telescoping end, cutting spread to around 5° for precise control. Both modifiers fold flat into the includedwallet and thewhole thingweighs only 425g, so you’re unlikely to notice it’s even in your bag. The kit includes an FXtra gel set allowing you to blend flash with tungsten and fluorescent light via three strengths of CTO filter and two green filters (plus blue, yellow and red for other effects), combining with the softbox and snoot if required. The filter 6 LumiQuest Location Portrait Kit £78

can be triggered in slave mode, using a cable/remote trigger, or with Lencarta’s own Wavesync Commander system which also controls power remotely. The generator is connected to the head by a heavy-duty cable of about 3m in length, so there’s plenty of scope in positioning one away from the other. It also has a 15W LED modelling lamp (equivalent to 150W), letting you check modelling unlike with an accessory flash and uses S-fit modifiers so you can use your studio modifiers outdoors, too. lencarta.com A good speedlight needs to be durable, powerful and controllable – like this Metz 64 AF-1. With amaximumoutput of GN64, it’s among the most powerful models available, but that punch can be delivered in precision 1/3EV increments all the way down to 1/256. With a zooming head, the light is tailored for focal lengths of 24- 200mm and a built-in wide-angle diffuser extends it to 12mm. The head swivels up to 300° horizontally and between -9° and +90° vertically, and there’s an integrated reflector card for bounce flash effects. With a robust build, it’s controlled via a large, well-laid-out touchscreen and the display rotates 90° when shooting 5 Metz 64 AF-1 Digital Flashgun £299

ExpoImaging Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro

Westcott Flex 1-Light Daylight Kit £650

Lighting System £85 An obvious difference between studio and on-camera flash is the softness of the light created; the larger the light source compared to the subject, the more diffused the light will be. So, bigger is better if you want softness and though youcanfireaspeedlightthrougharegular softbox, it’s not always ideal in terms of the size and weight. A great alternative is ExpoImaging’s Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System, comprising a FlashBender 2 XL Pro Reflector, Pro Soft Box Diffuser and Pro Strip Grid. Like its predecessor, this new FlashBender can be sculpted to throw the light as youwish, but at 391g it’s lighter than before and the XL version measures 33x41cm, creating a large light source, without sacrificing portability. The reflector attaches securely using a belt and buckle. Add the diffuser and you’ve got lower-contrast light whenever youwant it, while the Strip

Using the right flash kit and accessories, you’ll find a way to light almost any location… almost. Sometimes you need a more innovative solution like this one fromWestcott – the Flex 1-Light – a highly adaptable mat of LED lights that can fit places a flash can’t. The Flex 1-Light is water resistant so it’s suitable for a wide range of locations and weather, but more importantly its mouldable black frame makes it pliable, wrapping to uneven surfaces. The light also comes with a X-shaped mount to use it as a regular lighting panel. Its surface is covered with 256 LEDs with a consistent output of 55W, making it useful for both photo and video work. Measuring 25x25cm and weighing only 200g, its very portable, too. Crucially the light is both dimmable down to 5% and can be softened further using an included diffusion panel. It’s available in daylight- or tungsten-balanced versions. fjwestcott.com