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California Sunbounce Pro review...


If you shoot with reflectors please stop what you're doing, pull up a chair, and let me show you something way cool.

If you have ever shoot with a reflector outside in even the slightest of breezes you know just how difficult it is to put light on your subject because of the reflector bending and twisting in the wind.

And the larger the reflector the more bending, twisting, and difficult it becomes.

I recently got a California Sunbounce Pro and started being impressed as soon as I opened the box. When I unpacked (and assembled) my Sunbounce I was immediately taken with the quality of the materials and the design.

The frame is made of high strength aluminum tubing and can easily and quickly be put put together and taken apart, when disassembled it fits nicely into a small tripod size carrying bag for easy portability.

The day my package arrived it was (luckily enough) a breezy day and of course I had to assemble it and head right out doors, it was like I was pointing a flashlight (not fighting a kite in the wind) as I was easily able to put my light on a subject and just as important, keep it there. I was also impressed with the amount of light I could throw (which included throwing enough light inside the house to light up a subject standing 10 feet away from the window).

Two weeks ago I was shooting a wedding with Chris Riley in (Beautiful) Jackson New Hampshire and one place brides want their picture taken is in the old covered bridge (known as "Honeymoon Bridge").

The problem is that inside the bridge is dark, the further into the bridge you go, the darker it is.

As Chris and I were discussing how to address the (lack of ) lighting (we were considering setting up a couple speedlights) I remembered I brought my California Sunbounce and suggested we give it a try.

As you can see by the sample images, our subjects were standing pretty deep inside the bridge yet the Sunbounce had no problem throwing light on them.

In each set of images the exposure for the before and after image was exactly the same, the only difference is the light being thrown on them by my Sunbounce.

My Sunbounce Pro is all that AND a bag a chips, and once I finish this post will be ordering a Sunbounce Mini.

You can view each image larger and in a new window by clicking on it.


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