Range of Robust Reflectors Create Soft Light
Review by Erik Vlietinck
Rogue’s Super Soft Silver Reflectors are robust, foldable reflectors with a silver-colored side and a neutral white side. There are two sizes of the round reflectors (32″ and 43″) and one size rectangular (20×40″); each comes in a handy bag. The quality of build of these reflectors is amazing. I’ve had the smallest one for about eight years and I tore it only because I wasn’t careful near a sharp corner of a metal cupboard.
You can create soft fill light and avoid hot spots in the light with the Rogue 2-in-1 Super Soft Silver collapsible reflectors. You’ll use them most often with speedlights or on-camera flash, but I found the reflectors also very efficient with continuous lights, especially with smaller bright light sources. In those cases, the reflectors create a more diffuse light.
The two smaller reflectors collapse to 12″ diameter, and the larger reflector collapses to 16″ for easy stowing in a gear bag. The silver side is great for diffuse light with a cold color temperature, but if you’re after a neutral white reflection, then the opposite side is what you’ll use. The white on the Rogue reflectors is a natural white, which means the fabric hasn’t been treated with optical brighteners.
Note: Optical whiteners make a white surface look more white (snowy white) to our eyes. They reflect blue light more efficiently than red, yellow, and green light; however, they produce an unwanted bluish tint in your images.
When I damaged my old Rogue reflector, it was because I didn’t take care; but, even after eight years, the coating on both sides was still in pristine condition. That’s because the people at Rogue insist on applying a thick coating of their Super Soft Silver to a heavier base fabric and have it stitched to the spring steel frame with a heavier grade spandex. ■
