Flash Extender

I have been using the Better Beamer for a while. It competes with the Harbor Digital Flash Extender and each has an advantage and disadvantage. Since I recently tried the Harbor Digital product, I thought I would write a comparison review for anyone interested. The Better Beamer is priced more affordable. It collapses down extremely conveniently, which is why so many professional nature photographers use it. It can be brought into and out of the field with little effort, and there is a huge premium on that mobility with the accessory. It suffers from a certain degree of droop and works best when a flash arm is attached so the droop can be compensated for. The flash arm isn't necessary, it just helps a lot when you get out to 800+mm focal lengths using teleconverters. That is really the only disadvantage. It does take a little more time to set up and there is a risk of burning holes in equipment, but those are very minor problems that are easily avoided. The Better Beamer also projects a tighter area of brighter light than the Harbor Digital for equivalent flash zoom settings. This will make the Better Beamer better for very long focal lengths. The Harbor Digital extender is a slide-on unit. It is bulky and does not pack well. It is about as light as the Better Beamer but really is larger to carry than it looks. It does not suffer from the droop problem the Better Beamer suffers from but it is really kind of hard to get on the flash unit every time I slide it on. It also seems to provide a more uniform flash across the frame, where the Better Beamer kind of had fresnel lens refraction artifacts in the light that was cast at the distance. It is hardly noticeable, however, but there is a difference. I wouldn't try packing the Harbor Digital into the field. Either one is great, you just have to evaluate your application and decide if you want mobility or slightly more even light across the frame. If you need fill flash in sports, then use the Harbor Digital. However, the Better Beamer is going to be much better if you are photographing subjects in nature.

This product does exactly what it says it does, right down to getting close to two stops better light when I used it at 40'.It is light, sets up quickly and really does extend the flash greatly. I use it for birds, and on an overcast day, with a 500mm/F4.5 lens extended to 700mm/6.3 with a high quality converter, it is the difference between a quality ISO and pushing the envelope. My one nit to pick is that on birds, it puts strong highlights in the eyes--sort of the avian version of red eye. An example is attached. This can be addressed in post processing, and the sharp, clear photo of this tiny finches could not have been taken on this day without the Better Beamer.

This is a great tool for bird photography, not only to throw the flash farther, but to allow more high-speed flashes before your capacitor needs to be recharged. BE WARNED! If you let the sunlight shine back through this onto your equipment--lens, camera, flash IT WILL MELT PLASTIC AND BURN THE PAINT RIGHT OFF YOUR LENS. Both my flash and one of my telephoto lenses have the scars to prove it. It can happen quickly while you're set up for a shoot, if the sun comes out from behind a cloud, or the shade moves away. It is like a powerful magnifying glass. You can fry ants and mosquitos with it, or use it for a fire starter! For those wondering, it also fits my Yongnuo 560 flash For the price, it's an indispensable piece of equipment for wildlife and bird photographers, very easy to carry with you and put onto your flash. An excellent product.

This is an easy to setup product. It works as expected, is light and the soft lens can handle backpack carriage. It does increases the distance of the flash. However it still overpriced to my taste considering the cheap manufacture. I use the models FX-3 for a Samsung flash ED-SEF580 (it fits perfectly) and a FX-5 for a Nikon speedlight SB-700. This is a must have for nature photography.

Anybody with the ef 400mm 5.6 knows that it demands great light and hates shadows and cloudy days. FINALLY, I'm able to use my 400mm when the light isn't perfect, thanks to the Better Beamer. Lights up the subject and its near background, pretty much filling in the shadows just right within the area of the frame when shooting 30 - 70 yards away. The only adjustment I make is cranking up FEC (ETTL mode) on my 580ex. It might work even for longer ranges, but about 70 yards is as far as I've tried. At that range, even in deep shadow, +2 stops of FEC is just right. Simple, super effective, and easily portable. Brilliant product.

The better beamer will concentrate sunlight in the opposite direction. This resulted in nearly setting my speed light on fire! As you can see in the photos significant damage was done before I realized what was going on. It should be redesigned with a lens hood or something to block the sun, as shooting back lit subjects is a fairly common practice. Further more do not leave product assembled as it quite easily could burn your car or house done if left in direct sunlight. It does get one extra star as it does concentrate and exten the range of a flash.

I use this on my Yongnuo 565EX flash, not a Canon. It works perfectly fine. It's just a bit of hard material that straps onto any flash. It magnifies/focuses the light so you get further effective reach. It's nice because it reduces the need to use high power flash, and you can stop down the flash power and still get good reach. I can light up a bird at 60~100 feet at 1/4 power no problem. That means more shots, less cycle time, which means more shooting. Must have for anyone with a telephoto lens doing wildlife.

It is very flimsy. It is just 2 pieces of plastic, a glass screen, tied to your flash-head with Velcro. I didn't enjoy the flimsiness as I am used to brushing against the brushes and this came off couple of times. It was just one more thing to worry about. The beam was powerful. I was getting over exposed birds nearly couple of hundred feet. It is cheap so not end of the world. If you are only getting silhouettes, this might be more useful for you.