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My little review of the orbis® flash adaptor

http://www.orbisflash.com/

I was first introduced to the orbis® Flash at Focus On Imaging in Birmingham earlier this year.  For those of you who have not heard of this gadget, “the orbis® easily turns your harsh SLR flash into beautiful, shadowless light - the ring flash effect, with equipment you already own” is the promise from inventor James Madelin.

The pictures below are all shot using the orbis® attached to a SB900. Shot with a D90 @ 50mm.  Eddie and a  Frio were used to mount everything together.

Model & Make-up: Chloe-Jasmine Whichello

In a nutshell the Orbis® Flash is an adapter that shapes the light coming out of your speedlight / flash into a much nicer shape while adding a certain about of defusing at the same time. It has been called a budget Ringflash. Its important to not compare the orbis® to a 800watt mains powered Bowns or Profoto Ringflash,  in my eyes they have been designed to meet different needs. They both have good points and bad points. If you are in a studio environment and have the time to set up a proper ring flash, then the orbis® is never going to be able to stand up to the raw power. This is due to the fact that the orbis® powered by a speedlight pushed into the bottom, its only reflecting the light into a better shape. It’s only going to ever be as strong as what ever speedlight you are using. I am lucky enough to have the SB900 Nikon flash which does kick out a strong light. This has led to overheating problem when attached the orbis® though.  The studio is clearly not where the orbis® has been designed for.

A ringflash is a flash that is designed to wrap around the end of the lens  leaving a space for the lens to come though the middle, the idea is that, this should leave very little shadow , creating even and soft light on the subject, I think, it was a dentist that first came up with the idea. Its the sort of lighting that forensic photographers use. Its used a lot by beauty and fashion photographers as it can be used to show great detail. Ringflash lighting is clean and simple to use. Most people use a ringflash close up for head shots. Usually a ringlash is part of a lighting set up in a studio with a hair light or back light too, nothing stops you from using it on its own though.

For me, the orbis® really comes into its own when you step outside or need a very lightweight portable lighting solution. With the rise of the popular Strobist / off-camera flash look it was only a matter of time before the big company started to make lighting modifiers for speedlights. Nothing really has come though as good as the orbis® though, It shapes the light so nicely. As a photographer, this is the single most important factor. For the last couple of months the orbis® has lived in my camera bag, at first, I never really used it that much. I do love natural light. At times I never even carry my flash, this would mean carrying an orbis® would be even more silly.  I had the idea that the orbis® would only give me the Strobist look, something that I didn’t want. It was after a couple of weeks I started to really start shooting with the Orbis to see how versatile it is. Most of the time that I used the Orbis, it is mounted on Eddie ( 3 legged thing) and used as back light , side light or to create funky catch lights. Most of the shots taken don’t even look like they have had any flash at all. You can get some super soft lighting, and quickly do the super lightweight set up of the kit.

I have used the orbis® with the Frio, with a SB900 All mount on super lightweight Carbon Fibre Tripod from 3 Legged thing. Shooting Nikon is great as there is no need to buy any remote triggers, you can just set the Speedlight and Camera to fire remotely. You can do all adjustments in the camera menus. You can also pick up the orbis® camera mountings which nicely mount the flash,orbis® and camera all together. Great for shooting though the center of the orbis® in a ringflash style.

So its light, cheap and greats great light. But, it can be bulky as a portable bit of lighting kit at times, it does overheat the flash if used “pap style”, when mounted on the camera, it does create a bit of a funny weight problem. There is also a small problem of being able to fully use the lenses to zoom or focus as the orbis® sits over this part of the lense (when shooting though it) I get round this by mounting the orbis® on the Tripod and just shooting though the middle. Pretty much all lenses do fit, of course a 200mm f2.0 wont fit, but why would you need it to !!

To sum up, for the small downsides the orbis® has, it’s quickly turning into a vital part of my camera kit. While out on a shoot, just having it close by is a comfort, knowing how much of a creative tool it can be. I am very sure Nikon, Cannon, Metz and the other lighting companies starting kicking them self when they saw the orbis®. I would never dream of using my Speedlight without the orbis® attached now. I would love to see some colour gels for the orbis®, and I wonder if orbis® will ever make their own flash to fit the adapter in an even more snug way, I don’t know, I hope so as most of the downfalls are not the orbis®s fault but in fact limits of the flash units.

The photos of Chloe-Jasmine on this blog are all shot using the orbis®, the very top photo is using the orbis® as a ringflash, the next two underneath are using the orbis® as an off-camera flash, balancing with the window lights. These photos were taken on my living room floor and wall.  Mains powered ring flashes tend to be very powerful and hard to mix with natural light. Another point for the orbis®.

In a couple of days, I am flying off to teach on Bryon Paul McCartney’s art Nude workshops. I have given a great deal of thought to which kit get the nod and gets to come with me. Space is very tight when packing to travel and fly. The pros and cons of the orbis® are very clear. The shape and light that it gives, the creative ways that it can be used are enough to justify the size and bulk. Are are also taking an Elinchrom quadra if things need that bit extra. In Tuscany, there is always great light, we tend to use alot of reflectors to balance out shadows, but this year, I feel the orbis® will be taking care of the fill lights and helping to creative effect.  I am hoping that cooling the flash head in the Tuscan sun will not be to much of a problem, we shall see !

Overall, does the orbis® work.  Yes. Should you have one, very much so. If you are an events photographer, Sports, Wedding, Portrait or art photographer, there are very few reasons why you should not have an orbis®

http://www.orbisflash.com/

Do also check out the Frio and 3 legged thing Tripods. The Frio is very clever little clip that enables you to mount the flash to a tripod, it has a very simple and safe locking system. I was and do use the fabulous tripods from 3 legged thing

Be sure to check out the orbis® Flickr group ( link )

I always have a flash gun with me. An orbis® would be ideal for shooting in low light environments without wanting to overpower the ambient. My ring flash on its lowest setting is still really powerful – Christian Scott