Home Made Diffusor's

[Alex Kamm]

I was wondering has anyone made any homemade diffusor's lets say for their video light's such as the Sony HVL-20 series or the Canon video lights. And if so what material do you guys use?

[Don Bloom]

I went to a local craft store, and found 8x10 sheets of a plastic material. 1 type is a frosted white and is heat proof the other is a sort of frosted clear material, thicker than the other but not heat proof. I cut the sheets into equal sizes to fit my light and sandwiched materials together. I made 2 different "softboxes" 1 with 3 pieces total, 1 with 2.

For the light you are using I would start with one piece and go from there.

The other alternative would be to get a piece of 'Tuff Spun' and tape it on the light.

Don

[David Phillips]

It's not too difficult to fix a 35mm filter holder (the type used for stills lenses) to the front of your light. allowing you to just drop in the filters you need at the time.
Dave

[Ken Tanaka]

All good suggestions!

In terms of plastic material (such as Don mentioned) what you're looking for is called Mylar. It's relatively heat-resistant and quite durable. You can generally find it in either sheet or roll form at art supply stores, particularly those that carry drafting supplies.

In a pinch you can just go to a grocery store and get a roll of baking paper. It's cheap, very heat resistant and, when placed in front of a light, does a respectable job of softening!

Have fun!