Lighting News

This year we’re seeing a surprising number of new ringlights plus lots of accessory light modifiers, dedicated cords, flash brackets, and continuous LED lights which are helpful when making videos with multipurpose D-SLR cameras.

Aputure’s Trigmaster makes controlling a studio strobe or Speedlight wirelessly easier at distances of up to 300 feet with 16 different channels, so there is little likelihood of any interference in congested flash situations. It also can be used as a remote shutter trigger for your camera.

Aputure Trigmaster

Bower’s new SFD 52 dual intelligent speed light has a dual lighting system for conventional shoe-mount flash applications plus a plug-in macro ringlight attachment. Available for Canon and Nikon, it has a GN of 112 on the main unit (which has bounce, swivel, and zoom capabilities) and a GN of 59 with the macro ring. The SFD 850 is a universal unit with bounce and swivel capabilities, wireless sync for cameras having pre-flash, and a GN of 99. The unit comes complete with bracket, sync cord, and diffuser. Bower also offers a 4.5-foot dedicated coil extension cord for major camera systems.

Bower SFD 52

Dot Line Corp. has a Dual Honeycomb Grid/Bounce Reflector that can be attached to the head of many models of shoe-mount flash units via hook-and-loop fasteners. Included are bounce panels in silver and white. There are three different base units having different honeycomb grid effects from small to wide spot. The MSRP is $30. The DLC Ring 48 Macro LED Ring Light has 48 LEDs and a continuous running time of approximately 1.5 hours on two AA-sized Ni-MH batteries or it can run on an optional AC adapter. You can use all 48 LEDs or just the left or right side’s 24 LEDs. The effective distance range is 1.1-40” and lens mount adapters for 49-67mm are included in the $140 price. The RPS Studio BeautiDish System Kit contains everything needed for altering the light output from your shoe-mount Speedlight. The basic system has a 12” dish, one translucent plus one aluminum deflector and a fabric diffuser, all hardware needed, mounting bracket with tilt capability, and retaining ring. It can be mounted on a light stand, tripod, or extension handle and has an MSRP of $130. Optional accessories include a 16” square softbox, a 12” honeycomb grid, a conical snoot, and handheld extension poles.

Dot Line Corp. Ring 48 Macro LED Ring Light

HP Marketing Corp.’s prototype of the new Stratos flash bracket is configured differently than any other bracket I’ve ever seen. It fastens to the base of the camera, then extends forward ending in an arc-shaped bracket around the lens onto which the flash attaches. The flash can rotate 180? so it can be above the camera or on the extreme right or left side. There also is a new Stratos Modular Flash Bracket System that lets you position the flash along a 90? arc for horizontal or vertical compositions. Made of machined metal, it features a large neoprene non-slip rubber gripping area and a non-twist metal lockable shoe to hold the flash unit.

RPS Studio BeautiDish System Kit

Stratos Arc Flash Bracket