Harbor Digital Flash Extender

I picked up one of these after reading about it here and I really like it. Has anyone figured out a practical way to carry it?

That's the only downside but otherwise it is superior to the most commonly used brand. Three out of the five photographers on the migration shoot I just did last week use the Harbor Design unit.

EJ, I've been seeing these quite a bit now on my last few workshop tours. It's intriguing. Do you mind elaborating on the ways this new one is superior to the other unit mentioned (the commonly used one)? I appreciate any info you can offer.

Cheers,
Greg

No sag and more consistent lenses

What Greg said. The other Greg.

I think we're all for no sag Thanks, Greg.

Cheers,
Greg

Quite simply this is a far superior product to the other "well known" flash extender on the market. Better alignment, no sag, no loss of light as it's enclosed, perfectly fitted to each individual flash rather than a "one size fits about 10 different flashes"............basically agree with E.J. and Greg D.

So far, no one has answered the original question. How do you carry it among all the other gear?
mike

Carry it the best way that you can!

Essentially you just need a larger space in your bag, backpack etc. I am still using the visual echoes model myself because I move around a lot but I can see how the harbor digital unit is better once installed. So if portability is the main objective stick with the visual echoes.

Looks like you need a largish space in the bag, you may be able to store it placed over the end of your flash unit, so you would only need a slightly larger space in your bag than what you use now for the flash unit.

On another point, the store states it comes with a black box and a small dome, but searching online I couldn't confirm what they are, assume the dome is to allow it to be used as a diffuser?

ChrisRoss wrote:........................................
On another point, the store states it comes with a black box and a small dome, but searching online I couldn't confirm what they are, assume the dome is to allow it to be used as a diffuser?

As I recall from a phone conversation with the owner/designer, note how the flash to fresnel lens distance is shorter on the Harbor Designs unit vs the Better Beamer (BB) unit. Also note how BB recommends that you use a manual focal length setting of 50mm (or 35mm according to some sources) rather than the automated (105mm etc), presumably to spread the flash's light beam out BEFORE it hits the fresnel lens to be refocused. Apparently Harbor Design's use of the Dome diffuser (ie inner Stofen like device) effectively does the same thing. I suspect that EJ's comment about maximizing the flash's distance by removing the insert has to do with the inherent loss of light traveling thru the opaque Dome.

Just today I was using my BB unit and noted a number of small marks on the front of my flash (580EX) unit just above and right of the red AF panel...presumably beginnings of burns from the sun focusing thru the BB's fresnel lens. Not sure why they're showing up there and not on the flash's fresnel panel, but thankful that they're not!

I'm curious as to how/why others report that this "reverse" focusing of the sun onto the flash is NOT a problem using the Harbor Designs unit....isn't it fundamentally the same principle as BB's? Or does the Inner Dome serve as the sacrificial lamb....if used?

I suspect the dome is not at the focus of the fresnel lens.  This means the sun image is not concentrated enough to burn.  The better beamer fresnel is normally quite good at focusing on the red AF panel as the sun is normally above the beamer lens so this shifts the focused image of the sun downwards below the flash's fresnel panel and on to the red AF panel.

The next question is;  do the diffusers advertised on the Harbour digital site fit the extender.

ChrisRoss wrote:
The next question is;  do the diffusers advertised on the Harbour digital site fit the extender.

It's a 4 piece unit; black housing, removable front cover, dome and diffuser come  as a single unit.

I bought the Harbor unit and used it for the first time this past weekend. It's much more secure than BB, in which with the BB, I had to add additional tape and velcro just to keep the darn thing from continually falling off. Also, because it's secured to an enclosed black housing, it will presumably prevent sunburn to your equipment, unless of course your pointing the thing directly at the sun. Having said that, however, I imagine that the unit could end up melting itself if you're not careful. I guess time will tell.

Dusty Dog wrote:I bought the Harbor unit and used it for the first time this past weekend.  It's much more secure than BB, in which with the BB, I had to add additional tape and velcro just to keep the darn thing from continually falling off.  Also, because it's secured to an enclosed black housing, it will presumably prevent sunburn to your equipment, unless of course your pointing the thing directly at the sun.  Having said that, however, I imagine that the unit could end up melting itself if you're not careful.  I guess time will tell.

Actually it is much less likely due to the distance that the lens is from the flash.  The optical design of the HD is to mount the lens inside the focal length of the lens so the point of light is never fully concentrated before it hits the flash like it is with the BB.  This can get complicated pretty fast but suffice it to say, it is dramatically less likely to damage your flash due to a difference in the optical design - specifically the focal point for the lens.

Thanks, E.J. This is good news.