collapsible reflector selection

I'm taking a course "How to Take Good Pictures with Your SLR." (I need it)
An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and I would
like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer than 10
manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft gold" or
silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet wet.
Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another? They all
look the same. B&H has the Impact brand that is very reasonably priced.
Some come as a 5 in 1 kit with a reversible cover that pulls off to give 5
different reflective surfaces. Looks like it would be a pain to take off &
on & the silver looks like aluminum foil. Are these really a good value?
So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one out, where should
I start? Thanks

--
Terry
Remove the rodent from my email address to reply directly.

Dunno about brand, but in my shop, we use the simple two sided reflectors,
white/silver and white/gold. Nothing fancy.

In general, the silver is used on lighter skinned individuals, and the gold
on darker complexions..so you might find one of each useful.

Rather than spend a fortune on the reflectors, you might want to consider
one of those "brackets" to hold them... they're adjustable and we fit ours
on light stands when "one man banding"... Sure cuts down on the hassles.



"Terry" wrote in message
. ..
I'm taking a course "How to Take Good Pictures with Your SLR." (I need
it) An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and I
would like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer
than 10 manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft
gold" or silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet
wet. Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another? They
all look the same. B&H has the Impact brand that is very reasonably
priced. Some come as a 5 in 1 kit with a reversible cover that pulls off
to give 5 different reflective surfaces. Looks like it would be a pain to
take off & on & the silver looks like aluminum foil. Are these really a
good value? So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one out,
where should I start? Thanks

--
Terry
Remove the rodent from my email address to reply directly.

Makes sense. I can get a two sided with one color on each.. Thanks

--
Terry
Remove the rodent from my email address to reply directly.
"John Smith" wrote in message
...
Dunno about brand, but in my shop, we use the simple two sided reflectors,
white/silver and white/gold. Nothing fancy.

In general, the silver is used on lighter skinned individuals, and the
gold on darker complexions..so you might find one of each useful.

Rather than spend a fortune on the reflectors, you might want to consider
one of those "brackets" to hold them... they're adjustable and we fit ours
on light stands when "one man banding"... Sure cuts down on the hassles.



"Terry" wrote in message
. ..
I'm taking a course "How to Take Good Pictures with Your SLR." (I need
it) An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and
I would like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer
than 10 manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft
gold" or silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet
wet. Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another?
They all look the same. B&H has the Impact brand that is very reasonably
priced. Some come as a 5 in 1 kit with a reversible cover that pulls off
to give 5 different reflective surfaces. Looks like it would be a pain
to take off & on & the silver looks like aluminum foil. Are these really
a good value? So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one
out, where should I start? Thanks

--
Terry
Remove the rodent from my email address to reply directly.

Terry wrote:
I'm taking a course "How to Take Good Pictures with Your SLR." (I need it)
An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and I would
like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer than 10
manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft gold" or
silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet wet.
Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another? They all
look the same. B&H has the Impact brand that is very reasonably priced.
Some come as a 5 in 1 kit with a reversible cover that pulls off to give 5
different reflective surfaces. Looks like it would be a pain to take off &
on & the silver looks like aluminum foil. Are these really a good value?
So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one out, where should
I start? Thanks

I had the exact same problem... And then I came across this:

http://www.photosbydouglas.com/lighting.htm

Enjoy...
Douglas

On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 20:56:52 -0500, Terry wrote:

I'm taking a course "How to Take Good Pictures with Your SLR." (I need it)
An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and I would
like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer than 10
manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft gold" or
silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet wet.
Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another? They all
look the same. B&H has the Impact brand that is very reasonably priced.
Some come as a 5 in 1 kit with a reversible cover that pulls off to give 5
different reflective surfaces. Looks like it would be a pain to take off &
on & the silver looks like aluminum foil. Are these really a good value?
So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one out, where should
I start? Thanks
By making your own. This will tell you if you find one useful and worth
purchasing. Use different materials such as aliminium foil, white paper
etc.
A good accessory to hold the reflector is a wife/husband or friend.

--
Neil
Delete 'l' to reply by email

I'll call you when I want to take a portrait shot of the grandkid

--
Terry
Remove the rodent from my email address to reply directly.
"D-Mac" wrote in message
...
Terry wrote:
I'm taking a course "How to Take Good Pictures with Your SLR." (I need
it) An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and
I would like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer
than 10 manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft
gold" or silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet
wet. Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another?
They all look the same. B&H has the Impact brand that is very reasonably
priced. Some come as a 5 in 1 kit with a reversible cover that pulls off
to give 5 different reflective surfaces. Looks like it would be a pain
to take off & on & the silver looks like aluminum foil. Are these really
a good value? So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one
out, where should I start? Thanks

I had the exact same problem... And then I came across this:

http://www.photosbydouglas.com/lighting.htm

Enjoy...
Douglas

Terry wrote:
I'll call you when I want to take a portrait shot of the grandkid

Er that does look familiar, that set up.

But I think the image needs more sharpening...


--
John McWilliams

Terry writes ...

An instructor showed us the benefits of a collapsible reflector, and I would
like to try one. I looked on B&H website today and saw no fewer than 10
manufacturers. 30 to 32 inch with white on one side and "soft gold" or
silver-gold on the other seems like a good choice to get my feet wet.
Questions a is one manufacturer really better than another?

Yes, we've tried a couple of brands and some have rather flimsy metal
rings and some have cheap coatings that flake off after a few uses so
you get an uneven bounce.

What we liked the best was the 32" LiteDisc from Photoflex, good
quality at a reasonable price ... the most used one (by us anyway) is
white/silver. Second most useful is "translucent" or something like
that, which isn't a reflector but rather a diffuser. We also have one
with gold on one side but the effect is a bit strong for our tastes.

They all look the same.

They aren't ... the cheap ones may be good enough for very light use
but wear out faster.

So color, size, manufacturer, value--if I want to try one out, where
should I start?

LiteDisc from Photoflex, 32", white/silver is a good place to start...


Bill

John McWilliams writes ...

But I think the image needs more sharpening

What, 400% amt, 3 radius and 0 threshold isn't enough for you ?

Bill

In article ,
says...
By making your own. This will tell you if you find one useful and worth
purchasing. Use different materials such as aliminium foil, white paper
etc.
A good accessory to hold the reflector is a wife/husband or friend.


That's what I did. I bought 1/2" PVC pipe and 4 90 degree fittings from
Lowes for less than $5 and 2 yards of white material from Walmart for
about $6 and made my own 4' x 4' reflector. The materal is thin enough
that it can also be used to diffuse light when I need to.

My wife or another family member holds it where I need it while I take
the shot. When I'm done with it I just pull it apart and store it in a
4.5' long 4" diameter PVC pipe with caps. On to that I attached a drawer
handle for ease of carrying.

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