Ezybox with Nikon CLS update

I have been using the 24x24 inch Ezybox with my Nikon SB800 triggered by CLS for over a month now. Here is how I mounted the flash on the Ezybox.

This is a summary on my experience on using this setup.

It's great for indoor shoot (small room). I could just set it up on a light stand and I could trigger it with CLS without any problem. I didn't even need to worry about the on camera flash needed to be line-of-sight of the SB-800 sensor. The CLS signal could bounce off the wall/ceiling and triggered the flash.

It's great for outdoor shoot if I used a long lens. If I used my 18-200mm or if I didn't get too close with my 50mm, the SB800 was triggered without problem. I need to make sure the on camera flash was on the line-of-sight to the SB-800 sensor. The results were great too as long as the flash was triggered.

It's not great for outdoort shoot if I use a wide lens. If I used my 12-24 and if I need to get close, the SB-800 sensor would not be on the sight of the on camera flash.

My conclusion is to use a long lens if I want to use CLS with the Ezybox outdoor. If I need to use a wide lens, then I will need other form of triggering instead of CLS, maybe a SU-800 or a pocket wizard.

Here is a picture taken using the Ezybox with Nikon SB-800, triggered by CLS via the on camera flash. The flash was set to TTL.

Lastolite Ezybox on location

We did a shoot on a beach using the Ezybox. Nikon SB800 was mounted on the Ezybox and then it was mounted on a regular lightstand. Some mild wind was blowing but the Ezybox held up pretty well. It only fell over twice and we were able to catch it before damage was done.

When I set it up, I tried to make the legs of the lightstand as wide as possible. Then I pushed them into the sand. I put my camera bag and another equipment bag on top of them. In general, that worked very well.

The Ezybox gave pretty good light but I found that it maybe too small for full length shot and I have the bigger version (60cmx60cm). Also the light fell off quickly, so it cannot be placed too far from the subject. Since I had to move it close and I had to make sure I didn't have it in the frame, my wide-angle shots were limited.

In summary, I think the Ezybox is very easy to carry around, very easy to setup and used. It gives good light but it is not the perfect solution for full length shots.
A big shoot-through umbrella maybe better, but the chance of getting it blow over will be higher, I think.

Lastolite Ezybox testing

Here is the comparison on the Lastolite Ezybox with bare flash. My settings are: Nikon SB800 at 1/4 power, camera is at ISO200, 1/250 f6.3. The flash has the wide angle diffuser on plus the diffuser dome. Then it shot through the Lastolite Ezybox. This is shown in the first picture. Look pretty soft but there is some light from the back.


Here is a picture without the Ezybox, just the wide angle diffuser plus the diffuser dome. Other settings are the same. Looks a lot brighter and harsher.



Here is a picture without the diffuser dome, just the wide angle diffuser on the flash. So much light that even the blind on the left starts losing details.


So here you go, that's the difference between a flash with the ezybox and without.