Where to buy stofen?

[alpha-q]

i saw an imitation of stofen at ebay and it cost 490 pesos including shipping.  Are there any difference from the original ones?
btw is stofen  included when buying and sb-800?

Im thinking of buying an sb600 but if stofen is included on the 800 i might consider.

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[wolfpack]

meron ako stofen, pero hindi ko talaga sya gusto, its a last resort for me. imagine buying a high powered flash tapos tatakpan natin ng stofen?...sayang flash power ive tried Ligtsphere way better than stofen... havent tried demb, though I made my own bounce flash. now im using spectra... better than stofen, I like it better than lightsphere in regards to form and function. Another problem with stofen since it reduce the flash power it sometimes change your image tone, and may underexpose your shot.

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[nap]

some of the fake stofens arent pure white. you might get a yellow or blues tone out of them. i rarely use my stofen now a days. i find using a bounce card more effective.

I also think bounce cards are better. My flash recycles faster when using a bounce card instead of a stofen meaning that the stofen actually robs your flash of some of its power.

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[ZD5]

Di ba parang OT na yung mga sagot? Kasi Stofen ang tanong kaso highlighted na ang spectralight or other diffusers? 

anyways, Yung orig na stofen eh may nakalagay na S T O F E N sa harap. Advantage ng orig sa fake? Walang blueish / yellowish cast. White Balance is good and even ang lightfall distribution.

imagine buying a high powered flash tapos tatakpan natin ng stofen?...sayang flash power

It's a diffuser dude, it has a specific application, unless you don't know how to use it properly. 

Para yang Studio Strobe na nilagyan mo ng softbox, or umbrella, the power of the strobe is lessen, but the harshness also dissapear. 

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[nap]

Tama ka Topy, I apologize to the original poster for being off-topic.

I'd probably get from JT Photo - at least I know it's the real thing. When I was in one of the Hidalgo stores, I inquired from the store owner how much their stofen was (I was pointing to a specific display unit). The owner said 1000 plus (I forgot the exact price).  Afterwards, I asked one of their staff the same question. He said 500 pesos. I asked bakit mura. He told me it was fake.

What if I took the word of the owner and bought it thinking that it was the real thing? As some of you know, the packaging of real stofens is not good - you would think it's a fake.

Now why recommend JT photo? With the Gary Fong issue they went through last year, I think JT would be more careful and responsible to be selling only the real thing.

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[ZD5]

Tama ka Topy, I apologize to the original poster for being off-topic.

I'd probably get from JT Photo - at least I know it's the real thing. When I was in one of the Hidalgo stores, I inquired from the store owner how much their stofen was (I was pointing to a specific display unit). The owner said 1000 plus (I forgot the exact price).  Afterwards, I asked one of their staff the same question. He said 500 pesos. I asked bakit mura. He told me it was fake.

What if I took the word of the owner and bought it thinking that it was the real thing? As some of you know, the packaging of real stofens is not good - you would think it's a fake.

Now why recommend JT photo? With the Gary Fong issue they went through last year, I think JT would be more careful and responsible to be selling only the real thing.

No problem nap, nangungulit lang ako. 

Pero in fairness naman with JTPhoto, thier Stofens are authentic, with the Gary Fong issue, it's not that they are selling the imitation with the price of the orig ones, I think it's more of giving pinoys an alternative. But that's another issue that needs to be tackled in a different thread. 

Going back to topic:

Another thing pala to check if the stofen that you'll buy is orig or not is by checking the material used. The fake ones are kinda soft and easy to squeeze, compared to the orig ones that are of high grade plastic material (thick plastic). It's durability was tested when I accidentally sat on it while it's in my back pocket. No dents, cracks or deformation was made with it. A friend had the e-bay "stofen" and his got deformed when he accidentally misplaced it under his backpack full of clothes only.

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