Review, Info, Shoot, International, flash, hardware Joeri Peeters Review, Info, Shoot, International, flash, hardware Joeri Peeters

Magmod Professional Strobe Kit XL (English)

Photo shoot with the Magmod Professional Strobe Kit XL as light shaper

“Finally available, a Magmod with Bowens mount!”

Magmod's light shapers are part of (many) photographers' daily setup. These universal add-ons are suitable for universal flash units for both rectangular and round flash heads (Magmod 2).

The success of these light shapers are mainly due to the ability to quickly install / remove accessories such as a grid, a diffuse, sphere or snoot by means of magnets. Many wedding photographers always have them with them.

A product engineer at the Magmod company must have thought of making an XL version with Bowen's mount. It is now available. Other mounts such as for Profoto can be ordered separately.

The Dutch importer Disnet sent me a copy of the Magmod Professional strobe kit XL a few weeks ago and asked me to test the product. As a portrait and fashion photographer, I use various light modifiers in my daily work. So I was very curious in which circumstances I could best use the Magmod Professional strobe kit XL.

Contents of the XL Kit

In a beautiful printed cardboard box you will find a sturdy cylindrical carrying case with the following parts.

  • A collapsible XL reflector

  • A magsphere (a soft white sphere in soft white transparant rubber)

  • Two rubber grids. (angle of 40° and 20°)

  • 3 CTO gels (1/1, 1/2 and 1/4). (no CTB gels)

Each part feels very sturdy and professional. It is therefore not surprising that this product is aimed at both professional and amateur photographers.

The carrying case has a clickable strap at the back so you can attach it for example to a tripod. However, there is no handle, but you could attach a carrying strap (not included).

The collapsible reflector has a silver coating.

A 20° and 40° rubber grid are part of the package.

The 3 CTO gels fit together. You will find a 1/1, 1/2 and 1/4 gel in the box.

Dimensions:

All parts together (with the collapsed reflector) measure approximately 21 cm high and fit perfectly in the supplied cylindrical bag.

With the reflector unfolded, we measure approximately 28 cm

The three supplied CTO gels in hard plastic fit perfectly in the folded reflector.

The CTO gel placed (here a 1/1) in the reflector

The grids (made of rubber) are easy to apply magnetically

You can magnetically attach the Magsphere on top of the grid.

Light output:

The basic part, the XL reflector, is made of plastic and has a silver coating on the inside. At first glance, this seems to reflect a little less compared to a standard metal reflector. I was therefore curious about the light output of this light shaper. Mounted on a Godox AD600 Pro, I measured the light output of the standard supplied reflector of the Godox AD600 Pro as well as that of the Magmod XL with a Sekonic L-858D. I also compared the light output with a Godox RFT-19 with ribbed silver interior.

Here are the values I measured:

  •          Standard AD600 Pro head: f/22

  •          MagMod: f/22 (same)

  •          Godox RFT19: f/32.2 (1 & 2/10 of a stop more light)

  •          MagMod with full CTO: f/11.2 (Almost 2 full stops less light)

  •          MagMod with 1/2 CTO: f/11.8 (1 stop and 2/10 less in light)

  •          MagMod with 1/4 CTO: f/16.1 (Nearly 1 stop less of light)

  •          MagMod with Magsphere: f/16 (1 stop less of light)

  •          MagMod with 40° grid: f/11.8 (1 stop less of light)

  •          MagMod with 20° grid: f/16.1 (1 stop + 1/3 less in light)

Certainly not bad values. It is completely normal that the light output decreases with every addition of an accessory.

You can stack accessories. For example, you can first place a grid. On top of that you attach the Magsphere (although you probably won't use it much in practice).

The supplied three CTO gels are made of a hard plastic and slide into each other. The very first time you have to pull them apart with a little force. After that it goes a lot smoother.

Weight & Build Quality:

The collapsible reflector weighs 420 grams. That is about twice as much as a standard metal reflector.

Comparison:

  • MagMod XL: 420 grams

  • AD600 Pro standard reflector: 202 grams

  • Godox RFT19: 161 grams

The whole set together weighs 1690 grams.

Because the majority of the kit consists of plastic and rubber, they can take a beating. It is no problem, for example, to play Frisbee with the supplied grid.

The Magmod in practice:

I tested the MagMod XL during a shoot in the heart of Prague. My model was the beautiful and lovely Kedist Deltour (Miss Belgium 2021).

For these kind of photo shoots I like to work with a lightweight and compact setup. No arsenal of primes, but three zooms: Sony G 24-105 f/4, Sony GM2 70-200 f/2.8 and a Tamron 17-28 f/2.8. All photos were taken with a Sony A1 in RAW format. White balance was set to manual and focus was set to continuous focus with eye detection.

In the end it turned out that I took all the photos with the Sony G 24-105 f/4 . The background for this shoot had to be quite recognizable so I took all photos with an aperture of f/4.

I brought a lightweight carbon camera tripod that served as a tripod for the AD600 Pro that I equipped with an extension head. The AD600 Pro was in a Godox carrying bag and served as a counterweight. (see photo below)

The Magmod reflector is easy and quick to apply. I was pleasantly surprised with the result of the first photos. The light was softer than I expected. A reflector remains a small light source and that means in general hard light.

The photos underwent minimal post-processing with Capture One Pro that consisted primarily of dodging and burning, adjusting contrast, and sharpening the photo.

The advantage of working with a smaller light shaper such as this Magmod reflector is in general the light is a bit harder and therefore richer in contrast. This allows you to place your tripod a little further and there may be quite a bit of wind, your tripod will not fall over quickly.

A reflector behaves like a reflector. It provides focused light, but at the same time the light beam is sufficiently wide. I usually place the light source between 2 and 3 meters from the model.

I generally place the flash towards the sun. You can see this by the double shadows in the next photo. The direction of the flash light comes from the left (+ 3 meters) while the sunlight came from the right side. I opted for a black and white edit. The AD600 Pro flashed at full flash power. Camera settings: 24mm, f/4, 1/200, ISO50

The flash light gives extra "punch" to your photos.

Also for the next photo I was pleasantly surprised by the light quality. You just have to try to find the balance between ambient and strobe light. When you place the light source at the right distance, height and direction, very little can go wrong.

CTO gels:

Time to try out the CTO gels (Color Temperature Orange) although I only used the 1/1 (Full) CTO gel in this test. Just place the gel in the reflector, and that is an easy task. To remove it, lightly press the CTO gel together. Despite the fact that it is a hard material, removal is easy because of the recesses.

CTO gels are mainly used as color correction when you combine flash light with the available sunlight. Especially in the golden hour they are very useful because the ambient light is very warm. The color temperature of a flash is approximately 5500 Kelvin and that is white light. Depending on the time of day, you place a ¼, ½ or 1/1 gel.

But first we went looking for a more suitable spot to continue our shooting. A beautiful monument made out of metal as a backdrop turned out to be an excellent choice.

To make everything more blue and to give it an artistic touch I set my camera to 4000 Kelvin. That is a difference of 1500 K. This choice is purely a matter of taste. Usually, using a Full CTO gel, a white balance of 3200 K is chosen when shooting in daylight.

Here I placed the flash at a distance of about 2 to 3 meters aimed frontally at Kedist (see shadow on the ground). The flash was fired at almost full flash power with the following camera settings: 1/400, ISO50 and f/4 (1/400 on the Sony A1 is the maximum flash sync speed, so HSS was not used)

You can like it or not but as you can see the result is much different compared to using only natural light.

In post processing I replaced the background using AI in Photoshop. The wall in the background is digitally created. You can see the real environment in the photo below.

Gels and black and white editing:

When working using contrasting colors, it is also easier to make adjustments afterwards when you convert the photo to black and white. For example, you can lighten or darken the skin by adjusting the value of red and/or yellow. If we want to adjust the rest of the photo (everything that is blue) it is just as simple. Another advantage of working with gels.

Photo of “behind the scenes” is a snapshot from a smartphone video recording.

Hopefully Magmod will bring other color gels on the market. Personally I would opt for magnetic gels.

I cut different gels myself with a cutting plotter and with 4 small magnets I can quickly apply and remove these self made gels. A magnetic outer ring adhered to the gel would even be a better solution.

This blue color gel with magnets is not part of the kit!

The Magsphere:

I placed the 1/1 CTO gel together with the magsphere to see if the light would become softer, but as soon as you place the light source too far from the model, using any diffuser makes little sense. The light becomes omni-directional and is therefore much more wide (unless you really want this).

With the magsphere, the light became a bit softer, but also wider. just place the flash close enough to the model. Don't expect miracles. It remains a small light source.

For this photo I removed the CTO gel and I added the Magsphere back on. That's the power of this setup. The swap is very fast and that makes this product so interesting.

Using a Magmodsphere is certainly also useful indoors. You place the flash head with the sphere towards the ceiling and the light will spread nicely in the room.

However, if you want bundled light, then use grids. They are fantastic. You can literally use them as a frisnbee because they are made of rubber. The intention was to do a short shoot in the hotel, but that did not happen (due to lack of time). I prefer to use grids indoors rather than outdoors.

Conclusion:

The Magmod Professional Strobekit XL is a very interesting kit and costs just under 300 Euro. That is a significant amount but it is worth every euro. There is certainly no lack of quality (and light quality). It seems like it was made to never break.

You get in a cylindrical case, a reflector, the magsphere, two grids and CTO gels. This way you can quickly change the quality of the flash light. Of course, the magsphere cannot replace a large light shaper with double diffuse, but that is not the intention. You can easily use the set on location and in the open air, but also in your own studio.

Without the supplied cylindrical case, the kit fits easily in a travel case. If Magmod were to market an extension that turns this magmod reflector into a sports reflector (long reflector), I can finally take a long reflector in a travel case for my photo shoots (A metal sports reflector does not fit in a travel case). No manufacturer currently offers this.

I'm curious which accessories Magmod will bring to the market. A larger white transparant rubber sphere with a silver coating for even softer light is certainly one of the options. I would gladly communicate with Magmod about what I think would be very useful. 😊

If you want more light output with the same flash power, there are other light shapers available on the market, but then you miss the flexibility of the XL. You can place a grid in no time and if you want softer light with the magsphere, you can do this at 1,2,3.

Can I recommend this kit? Absolutely. I am using it already.

Photos copyright: Joeri Peeters

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Shoot with the 32 Miss Belgium 2023 finalists in Sharm-El-Sheikh Egypt

I just got back from Egypt to Photograph the 32 finalists of the Miss Belgium 2023 contest.

It was again a great experience as both the atmosphere and weather was great. Because of tear muscle I was not able to walk longer distances but the hotel provided me a wheelchair.

80% of the time I keep my camera on a tripod and shoot from a lower angle so I could sit down. For the portraits I was standing up and sometimes my leg did a hurt a lot but finally everything went well. I would not have managed without the wheelchair.

Again I was a little annoyed because the customs always make a fuss about the batteries I carry with me. Arriving in Egypt everything went (smoothly) but when we left for Belgium it became another story. The batteries of the GODOX ad1200 Pro are less than 100 Wh and allowed in the carry in luggage but the customs did not believe me. Batteries were taken back to the check in and the pilot approved. Finally everything turned out well but it is always a moment of stress. Why is it so difficult every time to pass the check points?



For 4 days we started shooting at 07:00 and stopped at around 15:30 and I had to photograph 8 contestants. 32 in total.

  • In evening dress

  • In Caroline Biss outfit

  • Portraits

  • Portrait with swimming cap (my favorite of the day)

The day before we left I also photographed the current Miss Belgium Chayenne van Aarle very early in the moring at the swiming pool. I woke up at 04:30 and started photographing at 05:15 when the sun was rising. You only get 15 minutes to get the shot but the result is stunning. I am very happy with the result. Sadly I cannot post any photos until the 12th of February until the new Miss Belgium 2023 has been chosen.

As a light setup I only used one flash. The Godox AD1200 Pro with a 60 cm beauty dish diffused inside. For the close ups a manfrotto 2 stop diffuser was used in front of the beautydish.

The Sony G 24—105 f/4 was my main lens used on my Sony A1. Only for Chayenne I also used the Sony GM2 70-200 f/2.8.

Because of the bright light I choose to use a ND4 filter (2 stops). Most of the time I shot at ISO 50, 1/200 between f/4 and f/5.

With this setup I am flexible. Worst case scenario is the photos are max 1 stop over exposed. (at 1/400, ISO 50, f/5) but in darker places I can shoot at 1/100, f/4 and ISO 250. I never removed the 2 stop ND filter.

Light was measured by a Sekonic L-858d with build in Godox wireless module adjusted to the 2 stop filter.

I also connected a Feelworld Lut6 HDMI monitor. The colors are very accurate and it is very bright even with the harshest sun light. It’s 2600 nits!

The president of the Miss Belgium comité was able to check the pictures I was doing.

I could have used a smartphone or tablet too but I also used this setup in February this year and it worked out well. Never change a winning team…

Doing this kind of work is teamwork. I was very happy to work again with emilieguillermin as a MUA and Brian as hairstylist and of course with the president Mrs. Darline De Vos, Anaïs and my lovely wife Nancy who took care of me in every way. (like pushing the wheelchair)

We used the matras on the ground to block the wind.

To cut a long story it was again a wonderful week and can’t wait to show you the results.

This photo was the cover photo for the show magazine of last years Miss 2021, Kedist Deltour.

For this photo I used a Godox AD600 Pro with standard reflector and AD200.




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Shoot in the Seychelles for KOKO swimwear.

Anicca , a good friend of mine who was second runner up Miss Belgium 2020 was born in the Seychelles and came to Belgium when she was 12 years old. After the Miss Belgium contest we decided to go to the Seychelles together with my wife and her mum on Holiday in May 2020. Everything was arranged and booked but in March that year we had the Corona lockdown. We had to wait until 2022 and used our vouchers.

Last year Anicca Van Hollebeke decided to launch her own swimwear: KOKO swim. I offered her a shoot in the Seychelles. Anicca booked two models and off we went.

I took some Godox gear with me but she asked me to shoot as much in the golden hour. It was one of the few times I decided not to use flash because it would take to much time. The reason I use flash outdoors is because most of the time I shoot towards the sun. The model is beautifully lit from behind and I combine the ambient light with the right amount of flash light.

We arranged two shoots. One on the Island “La Digue” and the other one on the main island “Mahé”.

The weather was very hot with little wind and humidity was high, even when the sun went down. I sweated a lot but is was worth it.

I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to shoot swimwear. Maybe Thailand comes very close but I am really impressed with the beauty of the Seychelles beaches and the Indian Ocean. It sounds strange but during the week you see very little tourists on the beaches (even in high season) so it is another reason why the Seychelles are a fantastic location for photoshoots.

We were even invited by the president himself when he heard about our shooting and he absolutely wanted to meet Anicca. He was a really nice person and the meeting took more than an hour. I was allowed to photograph the man himself, Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan

In the Seychelles you will find trees with the biggest seeds in the world. It takes 7 years for a “coco de mer” to grow. Hence the name KOKO swim. The coco de mer only grows in the Seychelles! You can buy one and it costs 350 Euro. (You have to buy one with certificate! They check the certificate and bill at the airport!)

Photo below is a “coco de mer” painted in gold.

I was allowed to photograph the president Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan in private for a few minutes.

The two models were experienced and I did not have to guide them at all. I just told them where to walk or pose and I made the shots. I put my Sony A1 in AF-C, 10 fps with fast shutter speeds. I only used one lens: The Sony G 24-105mm f/4. It would be crazy to shoot lower than f/4 with such a beautiful background.

Back in Belgium I selected the best photos and started post processing them. As requested by Anicca I color graded with accents of gold. I use a gradient layer in Photoshop to get this result.

Here are some pictures of the shooting cropped to Instagram format:

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