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Here’s why you should upgrade your speedlight to a studio strobe

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I’d argue that nearly all of us owned a speedlight at some point before we owned a studio strobe. When we’re looking to dip our toes into supplemental lighting, strobes seem like a big investment. It just makes sense to pick up a cheap speedlight to play with right?

Like many others, I did the same thing. I bought a cheap speedlight (that was ultimately pretty crappy), then I got a proper one, but I was still unhappy, whereupon I quickly bought a strobe. I immediately wished I’d done it sooner. Here’s why.

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This speedlight diffuser is either brilliantly stupid or stupidly brilliant

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I haven’t quite made my mind up about this one yet, and I think I’d actually have to try it – or at least see some results shot using it vs a regular Stofen style diffuser – before I’m able to, but Irish accessory manufacturer, Hahnel has released a new speedlight diffuser that’s… Well, it’s interesting, to say the least.

The humble Stofen style diffuser has been around for years and serves 99% of people quite well. The other 1% believe that other products will serve them better. Whether or not this one will, though, I’m not entirely sure. I love the concept and would be very happy to know that it works to diffuse the light while offering better output performance than the existing options, but I’m not convinced.

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Profoto dives into smartphone market with C1 and C1 Plus pocket-size lights

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With smartphone cameras getting better and more widely used, there are more and more accessories for mobile photography on the market. Profoto has decided to jump on the bandwagon and it has just announced two pocket-sized speedlights. Profoto C1 and C1 Plus are aimed at smartphone photographers, and these tiny, yet powerful lights can fit a palm of your hand.

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The Godox V1 goes head-to-head with the Profoto A1 in this side-by-side comparison

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There has been some drama around the recently announced Godox V1, which was accused of stealing the Profoto A1’s design. But can the more affordable Godox V1 compete with the $995 Profoto A1? In this video by Robert Hall, the two speedlights go head-to-head, so let’s see how they compare.

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Guide numbers explained – the maths behind the mystery

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When flashes first started to use Guide Numbers, they were a fairly reliable judgement of how one flashes power stacks up against another. But as flash technology has evolved, the humble Guide Number is often exploited as a marketing gimmick to make flashes sound a lot more powerful than they actually are.

In this video, Gerald Undone breaks down the maths behind the Guide Number. He explains exactly how it’s calculated, why it isn’t always an accurate measurement of power, and how you can make sense of it all.

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This guy uses a beer helmet to mount speedlights to his head

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From time to time, we get to see DIY photography ideas that are so funny, yet so brilliant. Using a beer helmet as a speedlight holder is definitely one of them. A Japanese photographer who goes by the nickname @nishihiro0312 uses this cheap party helmet to light his images, and he mounts speedlights and even diffusers onto it.

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Chroma Chrono is the world’s first programmable multi colour camera flash

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I’ve not quite decided yet whether the Chroma Chrono is genius or a gimmick. It’s an interesting idea, a programmable RGB camera flash capable of putting out, apparently, 16 million colours. But is it really all that useful or practical?

Possibly not surprisingly, the Chroma Chrono is currently being funded through Kickstarter. I can see it either becoming wildly successful, or it’ll be another one of those items you buy, use once, and then forget about in a drawer.

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MagMod launches “revolutionary” new MagBox – a magnetic softbox for speedlights

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Just when we thought softboxes had been designed and redesigned to death, MagMod comes along to set the record straight. Today the company has introduced the world to their new “revolutionary” MagBox magnetic softbox. Designed primarily for speedlights, it actually looks pretty cool – and quite different to softboxes we’ve seen before.

The product is being funded through Kickstarter where they’ve already annihilated their $100,000 goal in just a couple of hours. It currently sits at $187K, with almost 2 months left to go. I think it’s safe to say there’s a lot of excited MagMod customers out there.-

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hähnel announces new Modus 600RT wireless speedlight for Micro Four Thirds

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The hähnel Modus 600RT speedlight for Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fuji has proven to be fairly popular. Not quite as popular as Godox, perhaps, but popular enough that hähnel have seen fit to release one for Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds systems, too.

As is the trend these days, the Modus 600RT is a lithium-ion battery powered flash. And as such, it boasts longer life and faster recycle times than traditional AA powered speedlights. It supports TTL, High Speed Sync, repeat flash and full manual control. But is it worth $250?

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Canon adds a motion control head to its new 470 EX AI speedlight – but why?

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Canon has announced a shiny new speedlight. The Canon 470EX-AI. It contains a new feature that’s apparently supposed to make life easier for those who use on-camera flash, but I’m really not entirely sure why. That feature is a new motorised head which allows the flash to re-orient its head when you “double half press” the shutter button. Call me cynical, but this seems to be a solution looking for a problem.

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