Two Satang Better Bounce Card For Sb-400

[MarkBKK]

Don't know if many people have Nikon SB-400 speedlights, but I've been playing around folding up sheets of A4 paper (which don't actually cost two satang ... I steal them from the office) to devise a bounce card, and I seem to have hit on a winner. Been playing around all afternoon and it seems to work pretty well. It's a bit late now to start taking pictures of it and providing instructions (er ... it's just making a few folds, and it slips between the flashlight bit and the flash body), but if anyone's at all interested I will tomorrow.

Edited August 16, 2009 by MarkBKK

[astral]

Tell us more.

I feel sure the technique will not be limited to Nikon flashes.

[MarkBKK]

Tell us more.

I feel sure the technique will not be limited to Nikon flashes.

Now we see the problem of not checking your own threads. It's now too late (I'm too full of food and beer) to take some pics and post them. I will try to tomorrow.

AFAIK, it is probably only going to work with an SB-400 (unless there's another flash that is physically almost identical).

(I guess inserting a pic means using the ''Attachment Editor''?)

Edited August 17, 2009 by MarkBKK

[astral]

(I guess inserting a pic means using the ''Attachment Editor''?)

Yup.

[MarkBKK]

(I guess inserting a pic means using the ''Attachment Editor''?)

Yup.

This is going to be such a dissapointment ... of course, I'm now having trouble taking pictures of a sheet of white paper with a speedlight, so I'll try in daylight in the morning.

[MarkBKK]

So, here it is. Hope it makes sense.

Take a sheet of A4 paper and fold the top left corner over

Then fold the top right corner over

Then do some sneaky origami

Then turn it into a paper aeroplane

Then, with the flash head up at 90°, and with all the folds facing the back of the speedlight (towards your face if you're taking a pic), take the pointy bit and push/pull it gently through the gap between the body and the bit that goes ''Flash!!!''

(that's the SB-400 upright, facing the bottom left hand corner of the pic)

Run your nail over both sides of each fold to get them as flat as possible (it's a bit tight getting the paper into the tiny gap between the lens bit and the flash body). It works very well indoors (better than bouncing off the ceiling most of the time, and it doesn't matter if you go portrait rather than landscape), and very well outdoors too. For casual/informal stuff it really makes the SB-400 a much easier option than the SB-600 (and I'd guess the SB-800 and SB-900 too). There is one option too. You can fold the top corners forward (like droopy dog ears). This actually makes a difference, but I prefer the slightly convex original version because it seems softer.

Edited August 19, 2009 by MarkBKK

[astral]

That takes me back to school days.

Those folds are the start for making a paper dart......................

[MarkBKK]

That takes me back to school days.

Those folds are the start for making a paper dart......................

Shhhh ...