Lighting diffuser, Gary Fong, Whaletail, reporter or studio?

[Benosaurous]

i've done my research on light diffusers and decided to purchase a gary fong whaletail diffuser, however all the reviews seems to be on the studio diffusers. I do know that the studio version has better light coverage but i feel that the size of it makes it too difficult to travel with and too heavy mounting on, not the mention my camera gona off balance badly (450D with 580exii and diffuser), and also catching too much attention with it:sweat:.

Anyone who used the both version care to tell me if the differences between it and the studio version significant? And how significant?

 

[Quinty]

Can't say much coz' I'm currently only using the Reporter..
It's pretty good so far..
Got it coz' LightSPhere is back to the old hard version.
Reporter's much more compact and easier to carry..

 

[spazzer]

Can't say much coz' I'm currently only using the Reporter..
It's pretty good so far..
Got it coz' LightSPhere is back to the old hard version.
Reporter's much more compact and easier to carry..

yeah lightsphere is so big and bulky

 

[Quinty]

Let me do a short review on the WhaleTail Reporter.
It's small enough and considered to be quite convenient and portable
It's good for diffusing light with the capability of bouncing light off walls too.
However, it does have it's minor problems as well.

It does drop out from the flash at times..
The velcro snapped on me once.
Possibility of losing a flap. (Lost one at SingFest.)

I've done some adjustments to the WhaleTail Reporter that I believe will render better performance to allow it not to drop at all.
Carve some lines into the WhaleTail Reporter's inside grips..
It will enable the rubber band on your flash to hold up the WhaleTail Reporter better due to the friction.
Stitch up the adjoining part of the velcro to ensure that when the velcro snaps, the sewing stays on to carry on holding up your WhaleTail Reporter..
(I did mine like embroidery.)

Flaps, rubber band and spacers are replaceable.

Note to Nikon users:
Use the larger spacer for your SB-800s.
The smaller one leaves too much gap..

 

[ahguan]

I tape little pieces of anti-slip sheets inside the whaletail flaps so that they grip better to the flash with less tightening. my only complain is that the SB800 head is not fully flat where the spacer contacts, so the head is actually slightly tilted and cannot lock in some positions