Review

Mag Mod Review 2

Here's another shot from the similar setup. Which do you prefer? The vertical or the horizontal?
Here’s another shot from the similar setup. Which do you prefer? The vertical or the horizontal?

When I left off in Part 1 of my Mag Mod review, I had mentioned I would post more pictures taken with this new light modifier system.

Since then, I have had a chance to use it more.

For now, I have removed the  the Mag Mod’s from my Speedlites.

View from back of Mag Mod Grip attached to the Speedlite.The magnets are housed in a very strong elastic which I recommend you leave attached to your Speedlite. Repeated removal and reattaching might loosen the elastic
View from back of Mag Mod Grip attached to the Speedlite.The magnets are housed in a very strong elastic which I recommend you leave attached to your Speedlite. Repeated removal and reattaching might loosen the elastic

The added bulk of the Mag Mods to the  heads of the Speedlights make it impossible to fit them in my camera bags.

Keep in mind, I have 3 Speedlites, so not only does the polarity of the magnets make placement of the Speedlites awkward, when they are in close proximity to one another, I have to stow them a certain way so they attract otherwise, they repel one another, taking up more room.

Using the Velcro systems like Honl and others may be noisy  but they don’t take up as much room in my bag.

Reg gel holder attached to the Mag Mod grip
Reg gel holder attached to the Mag Mod grip

From my perspective, taking those heavy duty elastic bands which house the magnets on and off each time I shoot isn’t a practical solution because it would slow me down tremendously.

So, until I come up with a bag which will allow me to store /transport the Speedlights with Mag Mod attached, I’m back to using the velcro system.

So, there you have it, I hope this will help other photographers decide for themselves.

What you gain in supposed convenience during use of the Mag Mod modifier system, you will lose out in terms  of space in your camera bag.

If you plan on buying the Mag Mod system and if you have more than one Speedlite, plan on carrying your Speedlites in a  separate bag.

magMod-gel0One other minor gripe I have is how the more powerful magnets on the elastic band will cause the tinier magnets on the gel holders to detach and adhere to the stronger ones on the elastic band.

So you may have a situation where you have to pry the tiny magnets off the more powerful ones in the elastic band.

If you can picture what I’m describing, take a look at the picture above.

tlahualiles fest

When that tiny magnet comes loose and attaches itself to the Mag Mod holder, you will have to push it back inside the gel holder and with the right polarity.

When you disregard the polarity, you will find the Mag Mod will repel the gel holder.

So keep in mind whenever attaching a gel holder or the grid spot, be sure you orient the grid or gel holder so you can see the little magnets like in the picture below.

Proper orientation with the small magnets visible to you is important. If you don't watch that, the small round magnets will detach from their holders and most likely attach to the Mag Mod holder when you remove the gel holder or the grid spot holder
Proper orientation with the small magnets visible to is important. If you don’t watch that, the small round magnets will detach from their holders and most likely attach to the Mag Mod holder when you remove the gel holder or the grid spot holder. So if you’re facing the Speedlite like in this picture, be sure the small magnets are visible from the front even if you’re stacking a gel holder or a grid spot.