DIY Collapsible Scrim and Sun swatter to be
Posted under: Hey guys, it seemed like ages since I last blogged. I’ve just been really busy planning shoots and settling in in NYC. Right now I find myself sitting in a Starbucks in DC, having taken the overnight bus from NY to shoot for LShandi Designs ‘s brand revamp portfolio. More about that soon I suppose. In the meantime, over the past couple days I’ve been lusting over one of the California Sunbounce’s Sunswatters and Scrims. AFter my outdoor shoot on the roof I really want to have more control over the sun, hence looking into these pieces. Unfortunately, CSB Sunswatters start at around $800, a ridiculous price for essentially aluminium beams and sheet of fabric. Scrims of 4′x6′ size start around $300. So I started looking into DIY solutions. Here is my creation.
*DIY. My feeling towards DIY is mixed. Coming from an engineering background I love making and designing equipment. Unfortunately, often is the case that my DIY product is not not even 1/2 as good as the manufactured product and when you factor time and effort in, I’ve spent more money on the thing. However it is a lot of fun making it and this time I think I’ve done pretty well.
So far this is just a scrim. will eventually be a sun swatter.
final product 4' x 6'
Hit the link to check out some rough DIY pics
Making a scrim out of PVC is rather easy, just 90 degree corner joints and a few straight edges, but the problem is that since PVC pipes are designed for interference fit (ie can’t be easily taken apart) you essentially end up with a pig piece that you can’t take anywhere. So I’ve opted for some modifications which make my 4′x6′ scrim collapsible and portable. The longest piece is 4 ft.
all components in individual pieces
As you can see, there is a bit of over engineering. The corners are aluminium pieces from outdoor fence railing and the PVC are 1″ diameter pipes. I added the wooden rods so that I end up with a solid pvc pipe where it matters, so that the PVC doesn’t easily deform under pressure…over engineering yes…but it’s pretty solid 
.
corner component close up
So the corners are held together by 1/4″ safety bolt/pins. It’s a tight fit but easily removable for taking apart. The bolt is to hold the inner wooden rod in place.
extension component
To make everything more portable, I broke up the 6′ length in two and connected via the metal sleeve and inner wooden rod held together by safety pin again.
frame, put together
It takes about 2 minutes to put the frame together, everything held together by 6 safety bolts. The little nob on the side is to help hold the scrim up when it is being used, you can see how it functions in the final product photo.
diffusion layer
The 4′x6′ nylon diffusion layer (thanks to Luis and Sean for the tip) has a hand sewn canvas trim (unfortunately..could’ve and should’ve hired a tailor) and there are 5 velcro tabs which hold everything in place.
final product
note the knob on the left, it’s clamped with a superclamp on a light stand.
As for performance, check below. sorry for the dufus model
bare strobe
with scrim, same strobe power
The scrim with its current diffusion layer is too thin and cuts down about 1/5-1/4 of a stop. not nearly enough. I’m looking to get two more diffusion layer material which I can simply safety pin to the canvas trim and hopefully I will get 2/3 of a stop and 1 stop difference.
I will be using this thing in a shoot tomorrow…so real life samples to come soon.
Enjoy that for now
ps…it costed me about $70 for everything
Can you tell us where you got the nylon or at least what the name of it is. I am actually looking for a 1/4 stop material to slightly diffuse the sun. Thanks for the detailed post
The one I have on it now is just very shear nylon from a fabric shop…it doesn’t do very much in my opinion. Rip-stop nylon is what I would recommend.
well that material is just right for scrim material rip stop is a bit more dense and will act like a diffuser instead of scrim or for that matter 2 stops of light vs 1/4 and therefore to much
[...] course all this can be avoided if you have a big scrim or sunswatter, you can check out my DIY version. Check back next time as we explore the world of high key [...]