Interesting that there is a thread about this same item over on the 10D group:
Quoted below: I shot a series in my studio. Here is the link to them: http://www.pbase.com/bruceward/stofen_tests The backdrop is white. There are some flourescent lights in the back of the studio. I balanced all shots to the flash WB setting in C1 (6250). I adjusted the exposure to make the histogram look identical on all. Otherwise, there is minimal processing. I wanted these to be apples to apples. None of the shots were well exposed out of the can. The Bare 0 were about 1.15 stop under, the Stofen 45 were 1.30-40 under and the Bare 45 were 1.55-65 under, more or less. The ceiling is a standard (somewhat aged) office issue white tile suspended. You can note the difference in the color cast picked up from bounce or not. You can also note the difference in the shadows thrown and the "harshness" of the light. Except for the shadows, any of these could be made to look acceptable with proper balancing and some contrast adjustment, and except for the shadows, I prefer the Bare 0. I know the Stofen is popular at weddings. I watched a guy use one on Saturday inside the church which had high ceilings. I think he was wasting his time with it. In my experience, the Stofen is useless outdoors or in with high ceilings, and is actually counter-productive in those environments. As has been concluded in this discussion on ETTL, there are some compromises that have to be made. I think the 550ex does its best at exposing when used straight ahead with no diffuser. Yes there are some shadows thrown and yes the light is not as soft. But you can never achieve with one small light the same look as you would normally get in the studio with the full panoply of lights and modifiers. Just one man's thoughts from middle-America. Bruce Ward *************** Tom P. * **** ******* *********************************************************** * For list instructions, including unsubscribe, see: * http://www.a1.nl/phomepag/markerink/eos_list.htm ***********************************************************
