The Best everyday/practicle Diffusion material?

Stephen Bruno

Stephen Bruno

Member
Hi, Im building a couple of softbox' to go with my homedepot halogene kit, I was wondering what would be the best possible material to use as a diffusion materail.

I have heard of some people using clear, heavy duty Showercurtain. Has anybody used this before? If so, could you please post or point me in the direction of a screen grab?

thanks guys/gals.
 
I don't really get why everyone loves softboxes so much. They're good for studio stuff if you're keeping it errected and rolling it around, but you can get the same look by just throwing a piece of diffusion on a frame in front of the light.

But anyway, to answer your question- gridcloth has probably a similar consistancy. You can buy a sheet of it or if you need something larger, you might be able to buy it by the foot at an expendables place (normally like $6 per foot). Its nice and durable and can even be sewn or grometted without ripping like most gels. It's fairly similar to silks used in butterflys which I assume is similar to the silk-type material in softboxes.
 
Well, its a rosco cinegel, so its made for this very application. You should have no problems. Just don't rest it on the bulb itself ;)
 
Noah said:
I don't really get why everyone loves softboxes so much. They're good for studio stuff if you're keeping it errected and rolling it around, but you can get the same look by just throwing a piece of diffusion on a frame in front of the light.
Click to expand...

Say you want to travel light, maybe a softbox streamlines the amount of gear you have to carry around. Because with a frame I'm guessing you need either another stand for it or at least an arm on a heavy-duty light stand. So if you want to put together a decent kit that fits into one bag (maybe you don't want to fly with too much baggage) then a softbox gives you a soft source while adding zero grip.

I also hear that the Rifa-lite in particular is crazy fast and easy to set up, which isn't always important, but can be if you're doing an interview or something and want to be up and running fast.
 
Last edited:
Soft boxes are amazing. No light spill around the edges, great efficiency, virtually shadowless and incredibly even light. The big chimeras are expensive ($200+ maybe I don't know) but awesome.

Rosco 3026 is my favorite cheap solution, though. $5 a sheet.
 
Thanks guys, yeah Noah, the reason for the softbox is the low light spill and the ease of set-up, remember just somthing to make the home depot lights a little more flattering.

Cinigels would be cool, but for what i need it for, I would need a roll and that can get a little expensive.
I picked up some white nylon, gonna rig a frame from PVC and stretch the fabric across, thanks for the suggestions.

take care.
 
fiberglass cloth diffuses nicely and it pretty much heatproof.

throwing diffusion on a light will soften it but you dn't get the huge area of a softbox or the wrapping effect. a softbox in the right spot eliminates the need for fill in some cases.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top