Clip on flash diffusers for Canon Speedlites ...

cuthbert

cuthbert

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Just a quick one, do those bits of plastic (of various designs, such as bulb and little flat covers) that go over your Speedlite flash really actually do anything that cranking down the flash exposure compensation wouldn't do ?

The benefits of using a brolly/bounce flash is plain to see, but i'm not convinced those plastic bits really do anything at all?
 
cuthbert said:
Just a quick one, do those bits of plastic (of various designs, such as bulb and little flat covers) that go over your Speedlite flash really actually do anything that cranking down the flash exposure compensation wouldn't do ?

The benefits of using a brolly/bounce flash is plain to see, but i'm not convinced those plastic bits really do anything at all?
Click to expand...

Quick answer is yes.

They allow you to use the surroundings, eg ceiling, to provide soft-fill-in light along with the hard direct light from the flash.

There are other ways of doing it, eg a simple bounce card/high-light panel, but it's completely different to adjusting the flash ratio. Way better. But you need a ceiling and/or light walls for it to work.
 
Thanks Hoppy, i'll get one off the bay and have a play!
 
cuthbert said:
Thanks Hoppy, i'll get one off the bay and have a play!
Click to expand...

Those Stofen-copy things? They work great.

What flash have you got? Does it have a pull-out bounce card? The effect is very similar - it's got much more to do with the nature of the bounce surface than with the device itself.

Same basic idea here www.abetterbouncecard.com
 
i've just ordered a stofen type diffuser for 3 quid, i'll see how i get on with - I've got a 430exii... are you saying the little pull out flappy thing has much the same effect as a diffuser?
 
cuthbert said:
i've just ordered a stofen type diffuser for 3 quid, i'll see how i get on with - I've got a 430exii... are you saying the little pull out flappy thing has much the same effect as a diffuser?
Click to expand...

No, the 430EX/MkII is about the only gun that doesn't have a pull-out card.

Senseless omission by Canon :thumbsdown:
 
The plastic diffusers basically soften the light so it is not so harsh...

Obviously you will loose some power and will have to compensate...

:thumbs:
 
markw08 said:
The plastic diffusers basically soften the light so it is not so harsh...

Obviously you will loose some power and will have to compensate...

:thumbs:
Click to expand...

That's an incomplete answer that confuses a lot of people.

The diffuser spreads the light all around - ceiling, walls etc - so it bounces off the surroundings. It is the light reflected back from the surroundings that softens the light, not the diffuser as such.

Like the softening effect, the amount of light lost also depends on the surroundings. Use it outside and it just blasts into nowhere wasting most of the power. But auto-TTL metering will compensate automatically.
 
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