How To Make A Pringles Can “Saberstrip” – Short & Sweet
Nov 18, 2013
Udi Tirosh
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
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I’ve only seen Pringle’s packs being used for snoots, but one day I had the idea to use a Pringle packet for a strip light. Obviously it is limited for size, but it is very versatile. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have had this idea, but I haven’t seen any tutorials for it so far, so thought I would make one.
Anyway on with the show …
Step 1 – Get yourself
- A Pringle’s packet :)
- Gaffa tape
- A thin piece of fabric which will let the light pass through but act as a diffuser. (both silk and ripstop work great)
Step 2 – Marking
Mark out a rectangle running the length of the Pringle’s packet.
Step 3 – Cutting
Main Body – Cut the rectangular section out with a knife.
Lid section – use your flash to mark out a rectangle on the lid, and cut that out. Make sure to leave 2 triangular flaps. These will act as grips.
Step 4 – Diffusion
Measure out the piece of fabric, cut and fix into place with the gaffa tape. Finish by covering as much of the main body as you wish with gaffa tape.
Cover the lid with gaffa tape and cut where needed, to minimize light leakage.
Step 5 – TADA!
And there you have it. Attach the newly made strip light to the top of the flash, and notice how you can swivel the main body to face different directions.
Here are a couple of examples of its use.
In the first image I placed the strobe above the subject.
In the second image, I use the strobe as the background light, The Pringle’s strip light was horizontal and facing up.
About The Author
Owen Harvey is a 3D artist and have been snapping pics from 2007. He lives in the countryside just north of London. You can follow him on Flickr and visit his web page here.
Udi Tirosh
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
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11 responses to “How To Make A Pringles Can “Saberstrip” – Short & Sweet”
Great idea… I wonder how does it look for portrait ?
You miss step 1.5 : have a beer with some Pringle’s …
After i saw a similar thing here:
https://www.diyphotography.net/21-photographs-and-lighting-setups
I decided to try it with my yongnuo 560II (a canon 580 size i think) and the diameter of the pringles can is too small.
Which flash did you use?
I use the YN460 II
I did a modification to make it work with yn 560 ii. Will work out a solution to make the pringles stick to the flash
I found a better way for the 560 ii now :D. Just press the opening to a rectangle and the flash head will fit really well.
That is some true ingenuity. I’m thinking of getting a 560 II to go along with my 460 II, would you recommend it?
I am all about creating inexpensive photography solutions, but the original Saberstrip is designed by a photographer for photographers. Do you notice the hot spot on the bottom of the filter? The genuine (and extremely affordable) Saberstrip had the foresight of this and was designed to create an even transfer of light. Plus its much larger for real world use, even though it weighs almost nothing. I own a number of Saberstrips and it was worth every penny. ($135 plus shipping.) I may be bias because I am a strong believer in supporting small business, but I highly recommend supporting a fellow photographer that took design into his own hands and created something great! See some examples of shots on their facebook page: https://facebook.com/pages/SaberStrip/154840764543333
Thanks for sharing, but, $135 vs $3 = “diy”photography
The saberstrip looks great, but for product photography there aren’t many small strip lights available. You don’t need a 3 feet long strip light to light a watch.
There’s no doubting that it’s a great quality product, but for many photographers – especially those who just bought their first off-camera flash and need to replenish their bank account – even $135 plus shipping is a steep price to pay to improve the quality of their shots.
Everyone has to start somewhere; no one starts from the top.
I suppose you could attach a second pringles can to the first and make a longer light. I am not sure how much “less” light you would have. Thanks for the idea! Now to find someone that eats pringles…