1.25 or 0.75 stop diffuser?

M

MarxWays

Member
I got a project coming up and I plan getting a big 2x2m (6'6''x6'6'') diffuser to control direct sunlight on talents.

My problem is that I got two choices of fabric… 1.25 stop or 0.75 stop. I understand that only one won't work for all jobs but what do you guys think would be a good start? Pros and cons?
 
Depends on the nature of the project, but for controlling direct sunlight I'll usually go with a relatively light diffusion like quarter stop silk or hilite (shower curtain). You don't want to block the sunlight to the point that your background burns out. 1.25 stop and and 0.75 stop fabric are terms I've never heard, but both of those sound like they'd be too dense for my liking.
 
Some of the lighter weights are silks and some are more like white mesh - the mesh fabrics don't kill much light, they leave highlights but generally soften everything up. It's a nice look and not as flat as some fabrics, but can give you some hot spots. Make sure you have a big source of bounce that you generally use outside the shaded area from the silks. Big sheets of foamcore or foam insulation boards are cheap and work well. The insulation board with silver foil on one side and plastic on the other are cool, too - you can peel the plastic off and paint the foam white, or an ubleached muslin color, or white and then sort of stipple it with warmer color.
 
Grug said:
1/4 silk does not give you 1/4 stop light loss. It's closer to 2/3 of a stop.
Click to expand...

Chimera actually lists their 1/4 silk(1/4 white grid cloth) as a 1/2 stop(and their 1/2 as a full and their full as 1.4 stops), but I was just saying that what I use is what they call 1/4 silk.

I swear I remember way back that they listed it as 1/3...
 
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