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by Craig Lipski on Tue May 23, 2017 2:02 pm
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Hi all,
The Fresnel lens for my BB is getting pretty brittle and chewed up.  Digging through some of my old crap today, I found a BB kit for my old Sigma 500EF flash - its there a difference in the lenses between BB models, or just the arms? (Can I just put my old lens on the arms for my Canon 580EX?)
 

by E.J. Peiker on Tue May 23, 2017 2:10 pm
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The lenses aren't even consistent from package to package when you order several of them.  this product uses the cheapest thing available with no real concern for consistency.  This is one of the reasons why some people don't use them anymore.  A few years ago, while conducting research for another company, I tested tons of lenses and the ones that came in the BB packages were all over the place in focal length.  Long story short, go ahead and use your Sigma flash fresnel lens.  Testing it against a white wall to find the best zoom setting and best mounting position relative to the flash head will give you optimum performance.
 

by Craig Lipski on Tue May 23, 2017 2:57 pm
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Excellent. Thanks.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Wed May 24, 2017 9:25 am
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Something else you might want to try is a fresnel lens from an office supply store designed as a reading magnifier. They come in many sizes and are very inexpensive. You might be able to find one the size you need or cut one to fit your BB.

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
 

by Ed Cordes on Wed May 24, 2017 7:51 pm
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Frankly, I often find that shooting up to about 20 yards away I can do without the beamer for subtle fill flash.
Remember, a little mild insanity keeps us healthy
 

by E.J. Peiker on Thu May 25, 2017 1:26 am
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Ed Cordes wrote:Frankly, I often find that shooting up to about 20 yards away I can do without the beamer for subtle fill flash.
Definitely but in those situations an extender gives you much faster flash recycle times...
 

by Rhett on Fri May 26, 2017 10:44 am
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There's a new competitor that you should check out: http://magnetmod.com/shop/magbeam-wildlife-kit/
 

by calvin1calvin on Fri May 26, 2017 8:45 pm
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I have a mag beam for the wildlife kit and find it a little on the heavy side when compared to the BB. Also, if you order the wildlife kit you will need to order the maggrip for flash modifier systems. This is the piece that mounts directly to the flash unit and provides the magnets for all the accessories. I think the mag grip was 24.95 and the wildlife kit was 74.95 from Amazon.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri May 26, 2017 11:46 pm
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calvin1calvin wrote:I have a mag beam for the wildlife kit and find it a little on the heavy side when compared to the BB.  Also, if you order the wildlife kit you will need to order the maggrip for flash modifier systems.  This is the piece that mounts directly to the flash unit and provides the magnets for all the accessories.  I think the mag grip was 24.95 and the wildlife kit was 74.95 from Amazon.
Me to, I find it nearly impossible to keep it from sagging so much that it doesn't project a beam that covers the whole image due to it's excessive weight.
 

by TomL on Sat May 27, 2017 10:25 am
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I've been using the XL Flash Extender from Harbor Digital and found it to being much easier than the BB to get consistent results.  The alignment is always accurate, no more  images with the light not reaching the top of the frame.  The one big drawback is that it's not very packable. But I feel it's a small price to pay for consistant fill flash.
Tom Lamb
 

by Larry Shuman on Sat May 27, 2017 3:28 pm
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There are two types of the harbor digital flash extenders. One for cannon and another for Nikon. The Nikon unit has to masking taped on or it will be bumped off very easily. Since the cannon model has a shoulder molded into it the Nikon doesn't. I'm going to throw out the harbor digital and go with Magmod unit.

Cheers
Larry
 

by E.J. Peiker on Sat May 27, 2017 5:37 pm
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Larry Shuman wrote:There are two types of the harbor digital flash extenders. One for cannon and another for Nikon. The Nikon unit has to masking taped on or it will be bumped off very easily. Since the cannon model has a shoulder molded into it the Nikon doesn't. I'm going to throw out the harbor digital and go with Magmod unit.

Cheers
Larry
In 4 years of use that has never once happened to me on the Nikon unit with an SB-900 speedlight.  It has snap in ears that lock it in place.
 

by Larry Shuman on Sun May 28, 2017 10:20 am
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The stability of the unit is a constant problem. At Maggie Marsh this year I saw anyone with a Harbor unit with taped or heavy rubber banded on. Everyone said they had problems with it falling off. I've talked with the owner of Harbor Digital and asked him to modify the Nikon unit to resemble the canon unit. He refused siting increased tooling costs. I don't think he has heard of 3D printing yet.
 

by dougc on Sun May 28, 2017 11:34 am
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Never had mine fall off either of my SB800's.
 

by Larry Shuman on Sun May 28, 2017 4:01 pm
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I keep it permanently masking taped to one of my SB-900's
 

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