This review is for Impact’s 7′ Parabolic Umbrella. A parabolic umbrella is a 16 panel umbrella that produces a soft and large light source when used with strobes. When open, the umbrella is huge – this one has a 7 foot diameter – and results in extremely efficient light transfer.
A reflector is a light shaping tool. When shooting indoors, I often like to have a reflector handy to bounce light back onto my subject. For example, if my subject is standing next to a window there is more light on one side, than the other side. A reflector is helpful to soften the contrast of the window light. Reflectors can be used to bounce studio lighting as well. This is a review for Impact’s Reflector Panel.
I love the size of this reflector. It’s quite large, 35″ x 70″ and is the perfect size for portraits. I used it length wise, and it pretty much covered the entire height of my subject. It folds up nicely for easy storage. There are two different reflective fabrics that come with it– one is white/black combination and the other is a gold/silver combination. I use the white/black combination the most, as that combo yields the most desirable results for me.
This is a review of the Bolt CBP-N1 Compact Battery Pack for select Nikon flashes. Whether used during a portrait session or at a wedding reception, a battery pack can greatly improve and extend the usefulness of an off-camera flash. My hopes for this battery pack are two-fold. First, I want it to extend the battery life of my flash’s batteries, giving me more shooting time without having to worry about changing batteries or waiting longer for my flash to recycle over the course of my shoot. Second, I want it to give me a consistently faster recycle time.
This is a quick review of the Impact Portrait Kit. The kit includes a snoot and a beauty dish with accessories that include grids and colored gels. All of these modifiers are made to fit onto almost any on-camera flash. I was initially skeptical about how well they would work while shooting portraits, especially considering that on the packaging it only shows examples of product photography.
Mounts to Any On-Camera Flash
Dish Reflector with 3 Interior Discs
Three Grids
Neutral Filter to Reduce Light Output
Three Color Filters
Snoot for Narrow Circle of Light
Snoot has 2 grids
The Portrait Kit is shipped in three boxes: a beauty dish, beauty dish accessories and a snoot. Each box is the standalone retail box that you would receive if you were to purchase them individually. They are securely packaged inside of the boxes.
This is a review of the Impact Quickbox Softbox. It’s a 24”x24” collapsible softbox that’s made to be used with any hot shoe mountable flash unit. I was pretty excited to use this softbox, as I’ve never had a light modifier for my Speedlights that I felt was suitable for portraits. Would this be an acceptable, more portable replacement for my studio lighting kit?
Size – 24 x 24″ (61 x 61 cm)
Shape – Square
Compatibility – Shoe-mount flash
Removable Front Face – Yes
Removable Interior Baffle – Yes
Accepts Grids – Yes
Required Speed Ring – Included
Weight – 2.8 lb (1.270 kg) [entire system]
This is a quick review of the Impact Air Cushioned Heavy Duty 13’ Light Stand. As soon as I received this stand, I started using it in my studio. I thought it looked great and felt like it would be sturdy, but how would it hold up under actual use?
General
Minimum Height – 44 in (112 cm)
Maximum Height – 13 ft (4 M)
Closed Length – 42 in (107 cm)
Footprint Diameter – 36 in (91 cm)
Leg Tip – 25mm
Weight – 5 lbs (2.3 kg)
Maximum Load – 10 lbs (4.5 kg)
Attachment Size – 5/8″ stud with 1/4″-20 threaded top
Accepts Wheels – Yes
Air Cushioned – Yes
This is a review of the Lastolite EzyBox Speed-Lite, a small 8.6 x 8.6″ softbox designed to be used with a speedlight. One of the most dreaded situations for most photographers is walking into a venue that has dark walls, very high ceilings and no ambient light. No matter what camera system you shoot with, working in such environments without flash is simply not an option. Lack of light can create a myriad of problems, from focusing issues to image blur due to slow shutter speed. Shooting at super high ISO is often not an option – not when you will be delivering your photographs to a business client. So what do you do? You use a speedlight, often on top of the camera, because you need to move around when photographing the event.
This is a review of the Impact 5-in-1 Collapsible Oval Reflector, commonly used for bouncing natural light or flash onto subjects when taking their portraits. When working outdoors or in a studio environment, a reflector can be a very effective tool for adding more light to your subject. Often used as a secondary “fill light” to compliment the primary light, reflectors come in different sizes, shapes and surfaces. While the shape of the reflector does not matter as much, the size and the type of surface of the reflector can have a significant impact on the image. In photography, the bigger the light source is, the softer the light it will produce. Hence, bigger reflectors will generally yield softer light than their smaller counterparts.
This is a review of the Impact Master Century C Stand Kit, used for holding studio lights, softboxes, flags, bounce cards and other accessories. Unlike the multiboom light stand that can only hold light reflectors and cardboard flags, C-stands are almost entirely made of metal and are designed to be very tough and sturdy, capable of holding fairly heavy equipment. The shortened term “C-Stand”, which means “Century Stand”, comes from the early days of motion picture production. Back then, filmmakers heavily relied on reflectors to light actors. The most popular one was the 100 inch or “century” sized reflector, so the stand that held this reflector was often referred to as “century stand”.
PocketWizard has just announced an update to their PocketWizard Plus line of radio transceivers. The new PocketWizard Plus III is the latest generation radio transmitter/receiver that adds a boatload of new features, but best of all, comes at a much more affordable price of $139 (the old PocketWizard Plus II units are priced at $159).
