Technical Tuesday - Saberstrip Light Modifier

I've owned the Saberstrip light modifier for several months now.  In fact I bought it on cyber monday and got a killer deal on it, 1/2 price.  I think it was $60.  I've been anxious to try it out but just haven't had the opportunity.  And to be quite honest I was wven pressed for time to test it out tonight.

Here's what it looks like.

The bottom piece (where the little yellow twist knob is) loosens and pops off.  Then you just attach your strobe and wireless trigger.

Here's the set up I used for the test.  I love overhead soft lighting and this is a great tool to use for that.  I attached the Saberstrip to the head of a tripod and placed it on top of the dining room table.  Simple enough.  I actually love how incredibly simple this set up was.  I hate long arduos light setups.  Its not that I don't care about lighting, its just that I love simple lighting.  Thats why I use available light a lot and modify that to exactly what I want.  This modifier is just about as easy as that.

Front view:

Back view:

I started photographing my children first.  But they lost interest fast.  For the record using your kids when you are trying to test out a new piece of equipment is not a good idea.  They have no patience for it and could care less about what your testing.

I snapped this of myself, at arms length.

The only image I got of Scout before she decided what I was doing was lame.  I love how soft the light is but it still maintains really good shadows.  Sometimes shadows can be lost if the modifier wraps too softly around all the features of a person.

Lucky for me my wife came home right when I was testing.

I love this too.  With a little more direction to her I could have made a really good photograph here.  I love the black in this image.

Lastly my wife grabbed a frame of me before I shut everything down.  Its actually way better than the ones I took of them.  I love how the flash looks like a white line across the frame, very graphic.

All in all I think its a pretty cool modifier.  Its light weight, strong and easy to use.  The long slit in the tube gives a nice direction and width to the light.  Its very soft, but because its so small you still get good shadowing on the subject.  I would recommend it to other photographers, especially if you can get it for what I payed for it.

I will be experimenting more and more with studio lighting, but starting with the very basics.  I want to take my portrait game to a new level, and I want it to have a very painterly quality to it.  I think this modifier will really help that journey.

Here's the technical info:

Camera: Nikon D700
ISO: 100
File Format: RAW
White Balance: Auto, corrected in Adobe Lightroom 3
Lens: Nikon 50mm F/1.4
Aperture: F/4
Shutter Speed: 200
Flash: Nikon SB-28DX
Flash Power: 1/128
Flash Distance to Subject: 6 inches to 1 foot
Flash Triggers: Alien Bees CyberSync's