i just picked one up today and it is freaking awesome ! i have a question though , wouldnt it get a little more distance if it was fully enclosed ? if the only reason for it being open on top and bottom is for easy storage , i will make it permanent and close it off.
Stuart Edwards
1DX Mark II , 6D , Samyang 14mm f2.8 ,Sigma 85mm f1.4A , 24-105mm f/4L IS , 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II ,100-400 f5.6L II , 300mm f/2.8L II , EF 1.4x III , EF 2x III, 430EX II
Probably wouldn't matter. There are some reflections that escape from the top and bottom (some light reflects off the Fresnel lens then bounces back forward off the flash head) but that light would be lost anyway. Maybe you'd get a little more power if you lined the 'arms' and added top and bottom pieces with reflective material, but since the arms are black… Also, the idea is that the zoom setting on the flash head is appropriate to cover the Fresnel lens and not much more than that. I haven't done the math, and it's likely going to be different for each flash head, but I shot the projection of the bare 600EX-Rt at different zoom settings from a distance of 5 feet, with the dots on the wall spaced one foot apart. Some geometry would let you calculate the coverage area at the distance of the Fresnel lens from the flash head.
Side note on the Better Beamer… It's sometimes called the Better Burner, for good reason - a Fresnel lens works both ways, so if you're using it outdoors in sunlight, the sun shining through the lens can cause damage to your gear of the 'hotspot' falls on your flash, lens or body.
I have the BB as well. My nitpick is that the Canon version fits the 580EX II only. I have the 430EX II and I added some velcro strips above and below the flash head to flesh it out a bit, but the BB still doesn't fit snugly, which causes droop. Unless they've come out with another version, I don't think the BB will fit the 660 EX-RT either.
Harbor Digital makes one that is more universal, but it's not collapsible, so it's not as easy to pack it along in your kit.
http://www.harbordigitaldesign.com/x...ionlens-1.aspx
There's a start up company called Magmod that looks promising. They're supposedly developing a flash extender attachment for their system. I think they show great promise.
http://magnetmod.com/
Mark - Flickr
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The FX-5 is the correct one for the 430EX/430EX II. You apparently have the FX-3, which is for the 580EX/580EX II. I have an FX-3, and it fits just fine on my 600EX-RT.Originally Posted by M_Six
I ordered it from the BB website, but I didn't notice that there was one designed for the 430EX II. My mistake, no doubt. I'm still going to wait and see how the MagMod version turns out.
Mark - Flickr
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Love the Better Beamer....use it extremely often on my bird images. I think it's one of the best "bang for buck" gadgets out there.
I think they used to make 2 versions for Canon (580 & 430)
I don't know about closing it off....you might get unwanted reflections. It aready reaches out quite far. I have taken images from 70-80 feet
Last edited by Joel Eade; 01-17-2014 at 08:18 PM.
they didnt have an fx-5 in stock at the local store so we tried a 3 and a 4 on a 430 EXII. the 3 was too big but the 4 fits perfect so thats the one i picked up.
I thought i was going to be able to reach out to 3 or 400 feet. boy was i wrong lol. it works great , just not as far as i thought it would. i tried it out to 200 feet and it seems to still work but i know that is really pushing it.
Stuart Edwards
1DX Mark II , 6D , Samyang 14mm f2.8 ,Sigma 85mm f1.4A , 24-105mm f/4L IS , 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II ,100-400 f5.6L II , 300mm f/2.8L II , EF 1.4x III , EF 2x III, 430EX II
Wow, that is pushing it. Since I am imaging birds, the detail I am seeking really can't be obtained much further than about 30 feet unless it's a really large bird. The other big advantage is that it magnifies the flash in such a way that you can use less flash power thus conserving batteries and allowing fast recycle times.
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