Flat panel electronic flash

pathfinder

Has anysone seen or used on of these gadgets, a flat panel electronic flash as described here http://www.tocad.com/fp_38_flash.html

It looks kind of like a white 10x10 inch panel on top of a camera.

If this is anygood, it looks like it might be useful in certain circumstances. It would not replace a good bounce unit, but there are times there is no ceiling to bounce off of, and this might be an alternative.

wxwax

I gotta question their claim about the "soft box effect." Sure, the light source is larger than the light emitting part of a standard flash. But is the difference enough to prevent the harshness of a flash?

pathfinder

wxwax wrote:

I gotta question their claim about the "soft box effect." Sure, the light source is larger than the light emitting part of a standard flash. But is the difference enough to prevent the harshness of a flash?

The closer you are with this gadget, the bigger the light source will seem to the subject - for macro.if it is bright enough, it would be a huge light source. Might be large enough for portraits too - you can use two of them together on a stand also in a studio. That's why I was wondering if anybody has an experience with them.
I have read about large panels lit with LEDs for a soft, broad, cool and energy efficient light source.

wxwax

pathfinder wrote:

I have read about large panels lit with LEDs for a soft, broad, cool and energy efficient light source.

That's interesting. In terms of both light quality and cost, I wonder how that compares to a couple of 550EX flashes firing into umbrellas?

wxwax

They're not very expensive, that's for sure. I wonder about controllability?