[richg35]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning on picking up an AF-540 flash, and was wondering what everyone's favorite diffuser is.

I had a Sto-Fen omnibounce for my AF-500, and I thought it sucked.

Was wondering if anyone has used the Harbor Digital Design bounce diffuser or the LumiQuest bouncer with better results?

I see adorama also makes something called a Strobo-sock - anyone ever use one of those?

Thanks in advance.

[Chako]

I have both the Lumiquest softbox and the Lumiquest mini pro softbox.

They do the job fairly well. Here is a photo of my cat with the larger softbox installed. This was taken with my Canon 20D, 580EX flash and the 17-40 f4L.



I bought the smaller one for portability. It doesn't look so ridiculous on a flash. With the larger softbox attached, you will get a lot of strange looks from the crowd wondering what it is lol. The larger softbox diffuses the light better then the smaller version. I use it with all my macro work. Here is a photo to show you how I use it, and to also show you how large the softbox is.


The Lumiquests do fold flat for easy storage. I would not hesitate in buying them again. I am quite pleased with what they do.

[Peter Zack]

The Lumiquests are good and I had one for awhile but was looking for something a little better/softer. Trying to take flash shots that didn't look like flash shots. So I picked up a Gary Fong lightshphere system. Easy to carry and not as bulky when in use as the LumiQ. The diffusion effect of this product is truly outstanding. Flash shots look as if they were taken outdoors or with more than 1 light source. No hot spots. I'm very pleased with the results. The photo examples on his web site LIGHTSPHERE Flash Diffuser are very true to what I've experienced with this unit.

[stewart_photo]

I've tried various products over the years, most of them not working all that well. My goal has always been something that's tough, waterproof, thin, folds or lays flat in a camera bag, attaches to the flash easily, and, most importantly, works. Here's what I currently use.

The Sunpak DFU-01 Diffusion Kit. Two sizes included, tough plastic/vinyl, waterproof, thin, folds very flat, and good light output. These work especially well for closeups or macro, with the larger one also fine for casual portraits.

Sunpak | DFU-01 Diffusion Kit | DFU01 | B&H Photo Video

The Precision Design Bounce Reflector. Tough plastic/vinyl, waterproof, thin, and opens to lay paper thin in a camera bag. This one works very well for overall scenes in crowded spaces, such as news coverage, candids at parties, or similar events.

Amazon.com: Precision Design Bounce Flash Reflector for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Olympus Electronic Flashes & Digital SLR Cameras: Electronics

All of these quickly attach using standard velcro strips. While these will work equally well indoors or out, I also often simply use standard bounce flash indoors. In the end, nothing beats a really large surface, like a wall or ceiling, for spreading out light. But these devices are useful when the wall or ceiling is colored or not refective enough, or the object is small enough to not truly warrant a really large surface.

So what common products didn't work? The LumiQuest products are made using very thin plastic over thicker cardboard. The cardboard prevents them from folding truly flat and the thin plastic doesn't hold up well to repeated use (rips or tears along the folds). I also didn't like the large, billboard-like, "LumiQuest" logos. But, moreover, the plastic surfaces are too shiny or glossy to truly spread the light. The Precision Design reflector above is better in every regard.

The StoFen devices, and variations like cloth socks or the lightsphere, don't do much when aimed directly at the subject (nearly same size as flash head) and require a nearby surface to reflect indirect lighting back onto the subject. As a result, they're nearly useless outdoors and don't really do that much more than standard bounce flash indoors. All three devices above work better overall than the StoFen or StoFen-like devices.

stewart

[atnbirdie]

I highly recommend the Better Bounce and Feather Lite Cards. You can order it for about $36 or make it yourself for about $5-10. It's cheap, water proof, folds flat and works. It's worth a try before you start investing big bucks.
See this link for videos on how it works and instructions on how to make it.
ABetterBounceCard.com
Steve

[Mike Cash]

Thanks, Steve! That is a very large help!