A few months ago I picked up a couple of the Fstoppers Flash Discs from Patrick Hall and Lee Morris. Now that I’ve had a few events to try them out in real world conditions, I thought I’d write a quick review since so many other photographers have been asking me about them.

Now what I really like about the Flash Disc is how small and compact it really is. It folds up nicely and fits in my camera bag where I keep all of my shoot thru umbrellas and such. The only thing that I’ve had to compare it with in the past was my smaller Westcott collapsible umbrella (part #2001) that I use on most setups. What I’ve been photographing lately with it is ring shots, awards, and other  detail shots. Since it has a smaller overall circular design, I’ve found that it doesn’t get in the way at events the way my larger shoot thru umbrella did. Nothing is worse than doing a quick table top setup at a reception event with an umbrella when some guest walks by and bangs it with their shoulder or body (insert drunk guests here) 😉 . Seeing how the flash disc doesn’t have any rods or anything else poking out like most umbrellas do, I’ve found it to be a rather smooth setup for situations like this.

Of course with this flash modifier and it’s compact design I’m not trying to light big group shots of 100 people. It’s just not designed for that. Different things for different types of jobs. I’ve found it’s a good item to use in the tool bag of light modifiers when trying to work fast and compact during tight timelines. I can also easily hand hold this on my flash when walking around photographing people at events if needed. It gives a nice diffused quality of light for skin tones that I’ve noticed. (see example pic below) Overall for my quick setups that I need to do at events, this have proved to be a very handy tool for me.  I guess the only thing that Lee will have to worry about will be all of the Chinese knock-offs coming out this time next year of his Flash Disc. (support the local folks!)

Some sample pics below

The first images is a close up shot of the rings using the flash disc on the right side of the camera. Same setup with the images below lighting an award.

Here I was simply hand holding an SB-800 with the Flash Disc attached.

When the Flash Disc is opened up, it’s about 12 1/2″ inches wide. The square patch right under the tape measure is there to help reduce a hot spot from the flash when being used.

This is the universal flash head holder. It’s a stretchy material that allows it to be used with a wide number of flash models.

The material in between the Flash Disc is a neoprene type material that helps to give a nice overall soft light source from the flash.