Which material for diffusion?

[Tiago Pimentel]

Hi guys,

 

I want to replace the cheap cloth that came with my octabox, but I'm undecided between silk or cloth. I want the best possible results on skin tones. Do you guys suggest silk or cloth? 

 

Thanks

Tiago

[Christopher Santucci]

I believe poly silk is what's used for "silks." In terms of durability, I would go with silk. Cloth, like cotton based cloth, will get dirty pretty easily. I would buy an actual silk that's just large enough for your purpose and have a tailor sew it to match the original diffusion.

[Matthew Parnell]

As Chris said, ‘Poly Silk’ is usually what is used. 
 

Gridcloth is also a pretty durable option, with options of 1/4, 1/2 and Full. You can also purchase Magic Cloth, or Halo Cloth, which is the beautiful heavy diffusion used on chimeras. 

[Stuart Brereton]

9 hours ago, Matthew Parnell said:

You can also purchase Magic Cloth, or Halo Cloth, which is the beautiful heavy diffusion used on chimeras. 

Magic Cloth is great for big, multi lamp rigs like overhead soft boxes, but I think it’s overkill for things like Chimeras and Octos. It cuts an awful lot of light, and it’s not actually any softer than grid cloth.

[David Mullen ASC]

It also depends on what is behind the diffusion, an array of LEDs or a single tungsten halogen bulb, etc.  

[Stephen Sanchez]

Does your softbox have a baffle inside? If so, then a heavier front diffusion like magic cloth would be unnecessary. In no baffle, then refer to David's response.

I'd go with a 1/2 grid to start. Most softboxes come with a couple diffusions like 1/4 and 1/2, because realistically, there are different cases for both.