favorite diffusion?

Seth Bloombaum · February 26th, 2006, 07:15 PM

Gee, favorite? Whatever is at hand and works.

Tough spun is easy to clip to barndoors and doesn't melt. Always some of that in the kit. A white ceiling if it's handy. Bouncing off 4x4' or 4x8' sheets of foam-core if it's a larger shoot with c-stands at hand. There's always a 5-in-1 reflector or two in the kit, which can be used as (dense) diffusion or as a reflector. Baker's parchment if I'm at the grocery store. Whatever.

My favorite "new" discovery is the Rifa. The 44 is a little small for my taste, I like the 55 because it has a nice "wrap" for faces from a good working distance. Sets up so much faster and fewer parts than a chimera.

Joshua Reafsnyder · February 27th, 2006, 04:18 PM

I have not tried this but it is used in one of the local cable studios.

Furnace Filter

Its non flamable and has lots of layers so you can subtract or add on as needed.

Jack D. Hubbard · February 28th, 2006, 12:06 AM

Seth,

The 44 is small, but I do a lot of quick interviews, and for that purpose, it is useful. I agree that overall the 55 does the job. I do love the quick set up time.

Eric Lagerlof · February 28th, 2006, 01:12 AM

A 6'x6' or larger frame with a silk and a few 1k's. It can take a bit to haul and set-up, and you need to have the power but the large area can provide a wonderful wrap-around for the wider medium shots and interviewer plus interviewee shots as well as close-ups.

Ralph Keyser · March 2nd, 2006, 03:49 PM

I fear that I may be a diffusion junkie. There sure are a lot of choices out there, and many of them overlap. I love playing with them though. Especially those that provide directionality or additional character to the light.
If I was going to have just a few, I'd probably pick: 216, 251, Opal, Hampshire Frost. For exteriors, Tough Spun or one of the "silent" varients would be handy. This ignores the categories of other forms of diffusion such as softboxes, silks, bounces, etc.

Kevin Shaw · March 2nd, 2006, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

Tough spun is easy to clip to barndoors and doesn't melt.

What exactly is "tough spun" and where can one buy some?

P.S. Never mind, I found it on B&H. But there are like a dozen different versions: is there a standard filter number for indoor-balanced light temperature?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...shs=tough+spun

Seth Bloombaum · March 2nd, 2006, 05:23 PM

Tough Spun is from Rosco, one of the leading gel makers.

They make Roscolux Tough Spun, branded for the theater market, and Cinegel Tough Spun for film and video. I think there are more densities available in Cinegel.

Cinegel:
3006 - full
3007 - light (this is most popular)
3022 - quarter

It's not a total diffuser, more of a softener, nice for taming the hard look of light out of an open face instrument like a Lowel Omni or Tota, or an Arrilite. It doesn't change color temp of your lights, nor does a particular light temp need to be matched with a particular spun. You'd probably buy a 20x24" sheet of 3007 to see if you liked it, for small lights it could be quartered for clipping to barn doors.

Info from Rosco at http://www.rosco.com/us/filters/cine...=so&display=17

Ralph Keyser · March 13th, 2006, 11:40 AM

A good source for individual sheets is www.filmtools.com.
They have a broad collection of diffusion and gels by the sheet. For small instruments, or small jobs, that's the way to go.
Last time I was there, they only had Lee filters online, but Lee makes Tough Spun as well. It's a high-temperature, non-yellowing spun polyester, and it feels like a fabric. Seth is right, it's more of a softener than a full diffusion, and sometimes it is just the right answer.

February 28th, 2006, 12:06 AM	#18
Jack D. Hubbard Major Player Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Menlo Park, CA Posts: 342	Rifa Seth, The 44 is small, but I do a lot of quick interviews, and for that purpose, it is useful. I agree that overall the 55 does the job. I do love the quick set up time.

February 26th, 2006, 07:15 PM	#16
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Gee, favorite? Whatever is at hand and works. Tough spun is easy to clip to barndoors and doesn't melt. Always some of that in the kit. A white ceiling if it's handy. Bouncing off 4x4' or 4x8' sheets of foam-core if it's a larger shoot with c-stands at hand. There's always a 5-in-1 reflector or two in the kit, which can be used as (dense) diffusion or as a reflector. Baker's parchment if I'm at the grocery store. Whatever. My favorite "new" discovery is the Rifa. The 44 is a little small for my taste, I like the 55 because it has a nice "wrap" for faces from a good working distance. Sets up so much faster and fewer parts than a chimera.

February 27th, 2006, 04:18 PM	#17
Joshua Reafsnyder Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 49	I have not tried this but it is used in one of the local cable studios. Furnace Filter Its non flamable and has lots of layers so you can subtract or add on as needed.

February 28th, 2006, 01:12 AM	#19
Eric Lagerlof Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Pacifica, CA Posts: 348	A 6'x6' or larger frame with a silk and a few 1k's. It can take a bit to haul and set-up, and you need to have the power but the large area can provide a wonderful wrap-around for the wider medium shots and interviewer plus interviewee shots as well as close-ups.

March 2nd, 2006, 03:49 PM	#20
Ralph Keyser Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico USA Posts: 287	I fear that I may be a diffusion junkie. There sure are a lot of choices out there, and many of them overlap. I love playing with them though. Especially those that provide directionality or additional character to the light. If I was going to have just a few, I'd probably pick: 216, 251, Opal, Hampshire Frost. For exteriors, Tough Spun or one of the "silent" varients would be handy. This ignores the categories of other forms of diffusion such as softboxes, silks, bounces, etc.

March 2nd, 2006, 05:23 PM	#22
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Tough Spun is from Rosco, one of the leading gel makers. They make Roscolux Tough Spun, branded for the theater market, and Cinegel Tough Spun for film and video. I think there are more densities available in Cinegel. Cinegel: 3006 - full 3007 - light (this is most popular) 3022 - quarter It's not a total diffuser, more of a softener, nice for taming the hard look of light out of an open face instrument like a Lowel Omni or Tota, or an Arrilite. It doesn't change color temp of your lights, nor does a particular light temp need to be matched with a particular spun. You'd probably buy a 20x24" sheet of 3007 to see if you liked it, for small lights it could be quartered for clipping to barn doors. Info from Rosco at http://www.rosco.com/us/filters/cine...=so&display=17

March 13th, 2006, 11:40 AM	#23
Ralph Keyser Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico USA Posts: 287	A good source for individual sheets is www.filmtools.com. They have a broad collection of diffusion and gels by the sheet. For small instruments, or small jobs, that's the way to go. Last time I was there, they only had Lee filters online, but Lee makes Tough Spun as well. It's a high-temperature, non-yellowing spun polyester, and it feels like a fabric. Seth is right, it's more of a softener than a full diffusion, and sometimes it is just the right answer.