Here I compare the light loss of the Honl reflector to bounce or direct flash. All three are taken at the same flash output level. At left is direct flash. a 0.5 stop RAW adjustment was needed to reduce exposure for the right flesh tone. The middle shot is bounce flash. It gives about the same exposure with -0.5 RAW exposure compensation but at a 2 stop more open aperture; i.e. 2 stops of light loss compared to direct flash. At right is the Honl 8" reflector with the flash in a vertical position. At the same aperture as for bounce it needed +0.3 stops RAW exposure compensation to produce about the same flesh tone, indicating it loses about 2.8 stops light compared to direct flash in this situation (subject at 6 feet, 8 foot ceiling).