I found something better and cheaper than HONL

[JohnBiggs]

I like small portable lighting (a-la strobist) so I have been trying tons of different modifiers for cool effects. I ended up investing $150 in HONL stuff but now I've found something better. (Message me if you want to see my work with the HONL grids)


I got the link off another thread here (can't remember) www.honeycombgrids.com

I ended up buying the $50 kit which comes with all 3 grids and a speed strap. This same thing would cost $100 from HONL.

They sell three different speedlight grids that actaully are better and cheaper than HONL. They don't offer the cool snoot or gobo like HONL so you will still have to get those elsewhere but they are all compatible.

The 12" speed strap they sell is very much comparable to honl. They also sell a 10" which is supposed to be a more exact fit. In all fairness the rubber on the honl seems to have slightly more grip. Not enough to worry IMO. The stitching and everything else is just the same.

The grids are better than honl. They weigh about half as much but they don't feel like they will fall apart. The weight will actually make them perform better because no matter how correctly I attach the HONL, it sags and you don't want a sagging grid.

Now I am confident that I could literally stand on the HONL and not break it. These honeycomb grids aren't for standing but you could throw them across the room, sit on it, whatever and they wouldn't break. They also have velcro all the way around vs the honl just two sides.

In all I'm very impressed and I wish I knew about these a few months ago.

BTW: if you are a DIYer they sell the honeycomb material in any size for your own projects. About 12 cents per square inch.

[Village Idiot]

We have velcro cable ties at work that come in 50 yard rolls. I snipped a few pieces of that and wrapped it around the heads of my strobes. Works perfect for the velcro mods.

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by Village Idiot

We have velcro cable ties at work that come in 50 yard rolls. I snipped a few pieces of that and wrapped it around the heads of my strobes. Works perfect for the velcro mods.

I went to a fabric store and bought velcro that has hook on one side and loop on the other so it can wrap around anything.

There were two problems:
The velcro didn't have any rubber so it would slip easily. (the 580EXII was better with this since it has rubber on the head, but the original 580 is all plastic on the head so it was really bad.)

The velcro was not as wide as the speed straps so some accessories were harder to keep attached.

I looked for a lot of solutions and even ordered samples from textile manufacturers. It would have taken a lot of work on my part to get something good.

I eventually gave up and got the honl speed straps for $10. But now I'll buy these honeycomb speed straps for $6

[Village Idiot]

Ours is probably about an inch in width. You can order different sizes from websites that sell the stuff. I have it on my 285HV strobes and as long as you wrap it tight enough, it doesn't have a huge issue with slipping.

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by Village Idiot

Ours is probably about an inch in width. You can order different sizes from websites that sell the stuff. I have it on my 285HV strobes and as long as you wrap it tight enough, it doesn't have a huge issue with slipping.

Thats cool. I was only able to find about 3/4 inch. It doesn't matter, straps or not, this is still a better option for grids than the honl. Grids aren't so easily made.

[Village Idiot]

Originally Posted by JohnBiggs

Thats cool. I was only able to find about 3/4 inch. It doesn't matter, straps or not, this is still a better option for grids than the honl. Grids aren't so easily made.

No, but a shooter from NoVa made one for his Nikon flashes using gutter spouting, PVC, and little black straws. Very nice toy.

[Shane422]

Take a look at these for comparison. http://www.saxonpc.com/
DIY price without the assembly.

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by Village Idiot

No, but a shooter from NoVa made one for his Nikon flashes using gutter spouting, PVC, and little black straws. Very nice toy.

I made one using straws.... I don't know how he did it but I strongly recommend that you do not try this. It was the biggest pain in the butt.

Cutting the straws to the same length was impossible. Glueing the straws was also difficult as you had to hold the form while gluing and it was a mess. After it was all done, straws eventually started breaking loose and falling out.

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by Shane422

Take a look at these for comparison. http://www.saxonpc.com/
DIY price without the assembly.

This looks promising. Its about half the cost. I'm not sure of the wieght of the foam but it is a perfect solution for a hobbyist.

[kundalini]

Cool find. I've been mulling over the Honl system for the past week pretty hard. Glad I'm indecisive at times.


I think..........

[Manfr3d]

There is a guy on ebay who sells this stuff (iscphoto). I ordered a couple of grids and straps from him two weeks ago. Still watiting for the arrival of the package (I live in Europe), I hope it only hangs in customs

One thing I noticed is that the Honl grids have straps fastened to them, the
ones here dont. But that shouldn't be a big problem.

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by Manfr3d

One thing I noticed is that the Honl grids have straps fastened to them, the
ones here dont. But that shouldn't be a big problem.

The honl have two peices of velcro on the units (one on each side), then they have a 2 inch piece of velcro hanging off of that.

These have velcro all the way around and they come with a 10 inch piece of velcro which you cut to the length you want. It's not shown in the pictures.

I used this kit this weekend and I like it much better. Because it is lighter it doesn't sag. The honl would often sag.

[Manfr3d]

Good to know, thanks!

[Manfr3d]

My Kit arrived today (the 3 different grids + 2 flash straps). I could not be happier.
It's plasticly but sturdy, very light and inexpensive. Can't wait to try it out on
a shoot.

If you are looking for a dealer I can recommend this guy on ebay, I
experienced fast shipping and helpful customer service.

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by Manfr3d

My Kit arrived today (the 3 different grids + 2 flash straps). I could not be happier.
It's plasticly but sturdy, very light and inexpensive. Can't wait to try it out on
a shoot.

If you are looking for a dealer I can recommend this guy on ebay, I
experienced fast shipping and helpful customer service.

Yeah, if yours are just like what I got, they are great!

[nickolai]

Hi this is Nick from www.honeycombgrids.com. Thanks for the feedback and props.

FYI- We hope to have an 8" & 5" speed snoot available soon. I'm thinking around $15-$20 price range (ballastic Nylon isn't cheap).

Any feedback / suggestions on the Honl Snoot? The 8" snoot seemed a little floppy,,, Should it be firmer? If it was firmer then maybe it could double as a bounce card. hmm...

[Manfr3d]

Originally Posted by nickolai

Hi this is Nick from www.honeycombgrids.com. Thanks for the feedback and props.

FYI- We hope to have an 8" & 5" speed snoot available soon. I'm thinking around $15-$20 price range (ballastic Nylon isn't cheap).

Any feedback / suggestions on the Honl Snoot? The 8" snoot seemed a little floppy,,, Should it be firmer? If it was firmer then maybe it could double as a bounce card. hmm...

Hi Nick, welcome to dgrin!

I don't own the honl snoots so I cant comment on them. However I would
be interested in ordering a pair of snoots from you when they come out.

You don't seem to have an rss feed on your site, do you have a mailing list for
product updates or something similar?

[JohnBiggs]

Originally Posted by nickolai

Hi this is Nick from www.honeycombgrids.com. Thanks for the feedback and props.

FYI- We hope to have an 8" & 5" speed snoot available soon. I'm thinking around $15-$20 price range (ballastic Nylon isn't cheap).

Any feedback / suggestions on the Honl Snoot? The 8" snoot seemed a little floppy,,, Should it be firmer? If it was firmer then maybe it could double as a bounce card. hmm...

Nick, some people fold the honl in a way to make it a forward reflector bof sorts so if you make it stiffer that may not work. However When I use the honl snoot I do have a problem with it not holding a decent shape.

I have another idea for the snoot to also make it a little better than honl. If you cover more of the snoot with velcro on the output end the user could make the opening even smaller like a cone.

I'd also like to see decent Gobos like honl, but cheaper. One side is bounce the other is black. Perhaps your snoot can do it all? The Honl sure can't.

Lastly, you could create a reflector on a hinge so you can control the bounce with the speed strap system. Its basically a plastic card, hinge, and piece of velcro.

[rpcrowe]

Unless you absolutely need the relatively small size and battery operation of the hotshoe flashes; why not equip yourself with "real" studio strobes instead of the make-do Strobist jury rigs.

A set of decent studio strobes will actually be less expensive than setting up with several Canon or Nikon hotshoe strobes (al-la Strobist doctrine) and will certainly me better all-around lights.

The real studio strobes can be easily and, usually fairly inexpensively, equipped with light modifiers.

Using a softbox to soften light that has been concentrated by a hotshoe flash reflector is like freezing water before you boil it for tea. Most studio flashes have reflectors which can be removed when working with a softbox. The only hoshoe flash that has this capability is the great, but discontinues, Sunpak 120J.

STUDIO STROBES WILL ALSO HAVE BUILT-IN MODELING LIGHTS!

At a rock bottom price, a set of inexpensive studio type strobes will out-perform the Vivitar or Sunpak hot shoe flashes jury rigged into pseudo studio lights.

[Manfr3d]

So how do you run your studio strobes outdoors?