Flash diffuser

wilko

wilko

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I am thinking of buying one of the Gary Fong diffusers, possibly the collapsable one. how good are they? there are a few variants of these to consider, and i'm wondering which is the one i should go for? I currently have a Canon EX430ii that i will be fitting one of these to. any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
All these things work by redirecting light towards the surroundings, eg ceiling, which then becomes the main light source - and is obviously much bigger and therefore softer - so a) they tend to give similar results, and b) it depends more on the room you're working in than anything else.

First of all I would try a bounce card, which Canon has fogotten to fit to the 430. Really easy, gives great results, see here www.abetterbouncecard.com Or a simple Stofen diffuser (or an ebay copy for £2.99) - they work brilliantly too.

Of all the various devices out there, I like the Lumiquest Quik Bounce best. Quite a clever and effective device.
 
I bought myself one from B&H camera shop (photographers heaven!) when I was in america back in march cost me about £45. only had 1 chance to use it so far at a wedding evening doo but was very pleased with the results. previously had a cheap ebay diffuser (fixed over flash with elastic) which was ok but unlikely i will be using it now i have the lightsphere!

The fact that the new version collapses is much better as fits in kit bag easier and takes up much less room. It fits very securely onto my flash too.

Going to invest in interfit strobies portrait kit next.....
 
melaniew2000 said:
I bought myself one from B&H camera shop (photographers heaven!) when I was in america back in march cost me about £45. only had 1 chance to use it so far at a wedding evening doo but was very pleased with the results. previously had a cheap ebay diffuser (fixed over flash with elastic) which was ok but unlikely i will be using it now i have the lightsphere!

The fact that the new version collapses is much better as fits in kit bag easier and takes up much less room. It fits very securely onto my flash too.

Going to invest in interfit strobies portrait kit next.....
Click to expand...

You mean one of these Mel, the Lumiquest Quik Bounce that I metioned above? http://www.lumiquest.com/products/quik-bounce.htm

About £40 from the likes of Warehouse Express :thumbs:
 
grotty said:
Isn't the purpose of a bounce card to bounce the light onto the subject rather than off of a ceiling/wall?
Click to expand...

Not really. With a bounce card, certainly a small one like the little high-light panels that pull out of the flash head, the light going directly to the subject is pretty much the same as you get from firing the flash direct.

The big benefit is the overall soft fill-in light you get from sending most of the light up to the ceiling and bouncing it off that. Using a bigger bounce card increases the light going directly forward, but in doing so it reduces the ratio of bounce-to-fill. Generally speaking you need the majority of the light going to the ceiling as by the time it's travelled the extra distance up and down again, spread over the ceiling and been absorbed/diffused, there's not much brightness left even when the flash is working flat out.

The ideal ratio depends on the ceiling/walls/environment and can vary quite a lot. In a small light room, you would need a bigger bounce card as there's more light coming from the ceiling/walls; in a larger room or a high ceiling, a small bounce card is needed to put proportionately as much light up to the ceiling as possible.
 
I see, thanks - just acquired a flash and I've yet to use it (other than to test it works) or read up on technique.
 
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