[jmdeegan]

Wanted to put these questions to the forum, since I usually get some pretty good feedback....

I am in the market for some lighting and accessories. I pretty much settled on adding the Vivitar 285hv to my kit as a second flash, but I wanted to get some accessories:
I was thinking about an umbrella, as I expect to do some portrait work, but I wanted something a little less cumbersome and thought about the Gary Fong whale tail product. Looks like it would give me more bang for the buck, in a smaller package to boot.

Any thoughts for/against it?

Also, I am debating warming filters or using the tiffen dfx software. I know some don't like filters, and some will say filters are the only way to get the real effect. I was leaning toward no filters for now, and playing in software until I determined I liked or didn't like it (software being a free demo)

[creampuff]

Never mind that the Gary Fong whale tail looks like a toilet bowl and costs a lot of money for something made of plastic. Yes it does work but before you make Gary Fong a little richer, here is something interesting that costs a lot less and can give a somewhat similar result...

DIY "Ikea" Flash Diffuser - ClubSNAP Photography Forums

[jmdeegan]

Never mind that the Gary Fong whale tail looks like a toilet bowl and costs a lot of money for something made of plastic. Yes it does work but before you make Gary Fong a little richer, here is something interesting that costs a lot less and can give a somewhat similar result...

DIY "Ikea" Flash Diffuser - ClubSNAP Photography Forums

thanks for the link

i think that was meant more to mimic the other gary fong thing tho, more than the whale tail. though, aside from shapes i couldnt tell you really why they are different...

[AVANT]

Sounds like you want to spend the money. Then I say go for it, investing in our economy is a good thing

If you actually want a cheaper alternative, you'll see that there are tons of ways to diffuse a flash. Don't believe the Gary Fong to be a lighting miracle for you. There's a lot more to be said about preplanning your lighting.