DIY Grid Spot

[N*A*M]

I made my own grid spot from a rubber plumbing coupling, a bunch of drinking straws and an elastometric fastener.

It cost around $3 all up! The straws are about 12cm long and makes a spot about 30-40cm at a distance of 1m. Here are the pics.

It's a tight fit on the SB900 head (with the filter holder also) - nice and easy on the SB600 (but with some rear light leakage).

[N*A*M]

Some quick and dirty test shots...

[N*A*M]

Strobist info:

SB600 camera left, slightly rearward of the subject, gelled blue with omnibounce
SB900 camera right, slightly forward of he subject, gelled tungsten with grid spot
Camera tungsten white balance, lens 50mm 1.8

[I @ M]

Inspirational stuff N*A*M

It provides a beaut honeycomb and the pictures back up how useful it is.

What diameter/s are the ends of the rubber coupler?

[N*A*M]

it's a fix-a-loo brand coupling from bunnings... used to join the cistern tank flush pipe to the ceramic bowl it didn't come in any other size (that i could find) so you can't go wrong. i'm going to make another one with much shorter straws for a bigger diametre spot - and to take up less space in my bag.

[I @ M]

Thanks for the added info mate, we don't have a Bunnings within 200klm of here but my mate is a plumber and has a Landcruiser with a big tray and lots of goodies in the back ----
The straws won't be a problem either, I will take SWMBO down to the local and save them from her bourbon and cokes.

Hmmm, at that rate the rubber band and the coupling will come for free but the straws will cost me a small fortune.

[clm738]

Nifty spot!

[N*A*M]

my local bartender is probably wondering why his straws keep disappearing... definitely get black straws. the white ones do not contain the light as well and the coloured ones will colour your light.

at a guess the coupling is about 80-100mm diametre at the big end and maybe 50-60mm at the small end. a plumber will know straight away i'd expect.

[easye]

Great work Nam

Have the same set up minus the SB900 and will give it a go. THANKS for sharing.

Cheers

[easye]

Sorry Nam

Just another question:

What power on the speedlights?

Cheers

[arthurking83]

Just thinking about this one(as you may well know ) .. is there any reason that you used, or read about using straws?

Why not just a 50mmm plastic water pipe or whatever. You can get free off cuts from somewhere such as from a building site, as they'll have tons of 'em just lying around.

Does the 'honeycomb shape' of the straws have a particular effect that a single thicker pipe won't?

[Jules]

This is great Nam, simple but very effective. I'd make one myself if it didn't require a highly specialised elastometric fastener!!

[I @ M]

Just thinking about this one(as you may well know ) .. is there any reason that you used, or read about using straws?

Why not just a 50mmm plastic water pipe or whatever. You can get free off cuts from somewhere such as from a building site, as they'll have tons of 'em just lying around.

Does the 'honeycomb shape' of the straws have a particular effect that a single thicker pipe won't?

From my limited understanding of light and its properties the straws or "honeycomb" effect work to "channel" light into a very straight path against its natural desire to spread out and illuminate a large area as soon as it leaves the "globe".

Speedlights these days, as we know, have the zoom mechanism built in to control the spread of light to match the FOV of the focal length of the lens in use but they are still all built to provide maximum "coverage" of the subject with the available light.

I think the answer to your question is that the more pipes that the light is channeled down, the straighter the path that it ends up traveling.

Similar questions have popped up in my empty head as to why snoots for studio lights have stepped edges to them instead of a straight cone.
They then go further and build honeycomb grids to go onto the end of a snoot for further spot effects.

[TEITZY]

Great work. Seen these straw snoots before but usually inside a piece of cardboard. Does that fitting go ok on the SB600 head, or is it a bit loose?

Cheers
Leigh

[N*A*M]

andrew is correct about the reason you would use a grid over a single snoot tube. it is just more efficient at making the light go straight. a grid spot with 20mm long straws would be heaps more effective than a snoot of the same length (or even longer). and because the light is controlled and packed tight, you can turn down the intensity which improves recycle times. and because it still spreads a bit, you can control the size of the spot by varying the distance to the subject. you also get a very nice gradual fall off and an even circle despite the rectangular shape of the flash head.

leigh, it fits on the SB600 quite securely. it hasn't fallen off accidentally yet - the rubber has some grip i guess. however my fake tungsten omnibounce covers fall off the tapering SB600 head all the time and makes it annoying to colour balance the light.

[TEITZY]

Thanks NAM. The clear Stofen I got with my SB800 does the same thing on the SB600. I'm pretty sure they do make them specifically for the SB600 as well.

Cheers
Leigh

[nisstrust]

in what other situations would you use a grid over a bare speedlite (yes such a newbie question)

[TEITZY]

in what other situations would you use a grid over a bare speedlite (yes such a newbie question)

Basically when ever you want a spotlight effect to emphasize the subject or a certain aspect of the subject (see link below). Usually snoots are used in a fairly controlled environment or studio.

http://lightingmods.blogspot.com/200...id-part-2.html


Cheers
Leigh

[HappySnapper]

I used Stubby-Holders for the same sort of thing !!

Neoprene that stretches to suit over your Speedlight head, and only $1 at "The cheap shop".

Cut the bottom off 'em and you have a neat tube, glue in straws (I used craft-glue) the black straws (length to suit) and you're done !!

HappySnapper.