Diffuser

swintonphoto · October 9, 2008

I have been an avid Sto-Fen diffuser user for years. I have found it extremely effective and flexible when shifting the flash head various directions for various effects. My brother is looking to get a diffuser, and I am just exploring the other options to see if they are better or not. I have read a lot about the Gary Fong diffusers, but have also heard from many that they are too bulky. This is an advantage of the Sto-Fen diffuser. I have been able to make it look very similar to the Gary Fong diffusers if I point it up. Just wondering - what others thoughts are on recommending a diffuser to a sibling that has good photographic knowledge, but very limited experience working with flashes. It will be used primarilly for candid type shots with his family. Has anyone used both for an extended period of time that could comment?
Are there other diffusers I am not considering that I should?
Things to consider:
-Size
-Price
-Ease of use
-Power needed from flash
-Etc.

Thanks!

Art Scott · October 9, 2008

I have 2....a lumniquest large softbox and a GF look a like with a clear base and white and gold diffussers.....I prefer my lumniquest as I can quickly attach it to any shoe mount or potatoe masher styled flash head and get great results....also the lumniquest fold flat and can be put between back pack padddng and the pack wall to save space.

The GF look a like works real well but is only good for a single type of flash...so if you make a move to a different flash the GF look a like may not work and then you have to order another size.

Good Luck.

WingsOfLovePhoto · October 9, 2008

I have used only the Gary Fong I used to use the dome, now I have the big whaletail and love it. It is very flexible for the amount of lighting you need. I use it on my Nikon SB800. I have only gotten good reviews about my lighting, especially when used outdoors. I don't know much about the others but I can whole heartedly recommend the Fong.

ziggy53 · October 9, 2008

You can create your own light modifiers (DIY). A couple that I can recommend are:

http://www.fototime.com/inv/908195739C4C0D3

http://abetterbouncecard.com/

Joe Demb also makes an interesting device for sale (reasonable):

http://www.dembflashproducts.com/flipit/

I own a FlipIt product and it works well and is very well made.

Shima · October 10, 2008

I use the Gary Fong Lightsphere Cloud and personally love the results I get with it. It's a little awkward looking and makes my flash swivel easier than staying in place, but other than that it's a fabulous piece of plastic

it's just about always on!

Miguel Delinquento · October 10, 2008

Joe Demb Flip-it+Diffuser
I'll second the use of Joe Demb's Flip-it plus the diffuser that attaches to the Flip-it reflector with velcro. The affordable combo is lightweight, folds relatively flat (which is great in gear bags), and adjustable.
I've been using it primarily to capture groups of people at corporate events. Now that autumn's here, I've also been finding it very useful for directing soft light downward in shooting mushrooms in the dark forest.

M

dangin · October 10, 2008

i'll preface this with the fact that i'm primarily a wedding shooter...

call me old school but i prefer the pull out bounce card or an index card and rubber band. i've got 2 gary fong lightspheres, a knock-off whale tail, a sto-fen, and have tinkered w/ some of the diy diffusers as well. they all work well but: a) i've got enough stuff i'm lugging around, b) you lose too much light, and c) i got tired of answering "what's that thing on top of your flash?"

Jet Jaguar · October 10, 2008

I use two different flash diffusers, a Fong Lightsphere 2 and a DIY foam diffuser made using plans from http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/. Both have strengths and weaknesses.

I find the Fong LS gives excellent results indoors and is best in small rooms. It scatters light in all directions which is good when there are walls for it to bounce off of, but otherwise it's just wasted (you lose a couple of stops worth). Main downsides are that it's a bit bulky and takes up a lot of space in the camera bag, and it's molded to fit a specific flash so if you have different flashes you'll need different LS's.

The craft foam diffuser bounces more light forward. It's better in large rooms or outdoors and doesn't waste as much flash power. It's easier to store because it folds flat, and the velcro straps allow you to use it on any flash. Downsides is that it's physically much larger than the LS and more awkward to use. Also, since it's DIY it can end up looking like a hokey homemade job, depending on your craft skills. I'm just a hobbyist so looks don't matter, but if I were a professional then it would be important to me to look professional.

Anyway, I use both. Neither are right for all situations.

time2smile · October 15, 2008

I use the mesuring cup from a laundry detergent bottle. it fits my SB-600 perfectly. I cut out a round circle of foam packing material to put inside the cup. I take the foam out put it over the lens to use it for WB.
You can not get cheaper and its easy to carry.

mmmatt · October 17, 2008

I am still experimenting with different diffusers, and trying to perfect my flash skills in general so take these comments as such. I am currently using a "knock off" omni-bounce and a lumiquest promax system http://www.lumiquest.com/lq931.htm . so far I am finding that the omnibounce is great for forward flash, and the lumiquest is particularly good outdoors. Indoors I bounce unless I simply cant, and I have been working without a difuser or bracket when I can bounce by simply angling my flash head for vertical. I often fire the flash over my head or to the side and once you get used to that it is really easy to get good light even in big rooms on tall, angled or non-white ceilings. I think that is the BEST diffuser I have found so far!

The lumiquest with the gold card and diffuser screen matches late day sun nicely. A pet peeve of mine is seeing bluish light on the subject and a nice golden glow in the background, and a gold colored diffuser (of any brand assumably) can match the light colors of the two sources and make the fill flash much more natural looking to my eye.

The flaw im finding with the lumiquest, or other glorified bounce card systems, is they don't work as well with flash on an angle, so you need to use a bracket, and one that doesn't turn the flash 90 degrees. I have noticed that with the lumiquest, unless I have a taller bracket on, it can put shadows at the top of the frame on larger groups because the light patern falls off pretty quickly. I am thinking about remounting the velcro backwards so that I can reverse my flash head back further (pointing slightly over my head) and get by with a more low profile bracket. Oudoors this isn't that big of a deal unless you are really blasting the subject with the flash.

As for the gary fong, most wedding photogs I meet like them, but from the pics I see, there is a really strong forward flash look if you are close to the subject, but this may be part of the gf technique that is overlooked on the shots I have seen. Either way I'm not anxious to conform to the gf just yet.

My .02

Matt

EDIT promax is about $53 from adorama, and folds flat into an included wallet that fits in my rear pocket. It is universal so if you switch flashes it can be reused. It comes with the diffuser screen, a white insert, gold insert, and silver insert and can also be used like a typical bounce card without diffuser or inserts.

EMC · November 17, 2008

WingsOfLovePhoto wrote:

I have used only the Gary Fong I used to use the dome, now I have the big whaletail and love it. It is very flexible for the amount of lighting you need. I use it on my Nikon SB800. I have only gotten good reviews about my lighting, especially when used outdoors. I don't know much about the others but I can whole heartedly recommend the Fong.

I recently added the WhaleTail and am thinking about adding the lightsphere to my "Christmas Wish list" (not sure which one cloud or clear). But my question is.....how to transport the WhaleTail...it does not "fit" in my LowePro backpack with all my other equipment.(???)

dangin · November 17, 2008

EMC wrote:

I recently added the WhaleTail and am thinking about adding the lightsphere to my "Christmas Wish list" (not sure which one cloud or clear). But my question is.....how to transport the WhaleTail...it does not "fit" in my LowePro backpack with all my other equipment.(???)

the whale tail is a space hog (bad pun intended

) and takes up quite a bit of room. in fact, it would take up a camera body slot in most of my camera bags were it not for the fact it sits in one of my bins unused. the new "universal" design makes the LS deeper and take up more space than the previous LS 2 design. it can probably be finagled into a lens compartment in your backpack. i keep one in my lowepro pro 12 bag as a backup in case i forget my flash bracket and have a nikon d200 w/ lens fit into the larger open area of the LS. i'll take some pictures to illustrate this when i get home later.

photogreen · November 19, 2008

Keep he Whaletail outside the bag;)

dangin wrote:

the whale tail is a space hog (bad pun intended ) and takes up quite a bit of room. in fact, it would take up a camera body slot in most of my camera bags were it not for the fact it sits in one of my bins unused. the new "universal" design makes the LS deeper and take up more space than the previous LS 2 design. it can probably be finagled into a lens compartment in your backpack. i keep one in my lowepro pro 12 bag as a backup in case i forget my flash bracket and have a nikon d200 w/ lens fit into the larger open area of the LS. i'll take some pictures to illustrate this when i get home later.

I keep the Whaletail outside the bag. Check out this review on Gary Fong WhaleTail:
http://photo.greenlightstreet.com/www/index.php?/publisher/articleview/frmArticleID/4/
It shows how it can be done.
Also you might be interested in tests done with the WhaleTail. Several WhaleTail techniques are discussed in the following article:
http://photo.greenlightstreet.com/www/index.php?/publisher/articleview/frmArticleID/5/

Diffuser

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