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Waj K Maj · 06-11-2012, 05:42 AM

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Hello again Forum,

I am stuck on finding myself a flash diffuser can anyone tell me where I should be looking and what type(s) currently I own a Sigma EF-610 DG SUPER and it just creates too many dark shadows and bright spots up close!

All I know is that they come in various shapes and sizes but no idea how the material or brand makes any different? And they seem to be very cheap as well.

Kind Regards

Waj.

**TER-OR** · 06-11-2012, 05:53 AM

Make a Flexible and Effective Flash Diffuser from Craft Foam

I have made the foam sheet one, and it works very well. i have also purchased a Gary Fong "Puffer" for the pop-up flash which seems to work quite well.

ihasa · 06-11-2012, 06:10 AM

That home made diffuser looks very effective!

Ebay-special inflatable soft boxes are working very well for me. However to get a genuinely soft light, I applied white duct tape to the front of it (they are a bit too transparent to really diffuse the light).

Another thing I've been trying is a tupperware box, with a hole cut for the flash at the back, and a sheet of thin white paper in front to diffuse the light. Works great but looks terrible!

I haven't tried a stofen-type of diffuser (which fit directly on the front of the flash). To me they look too small to effectively diffuse the light. I would avoid them, they look useless! The goal is to increase the area of the light source.

Of course one of the simplest and best things you can do indoors is bounce the light off a wall or ceiling.

**baro-nite** · 06-11-2012, 06:29 AM - **1 Like**

To soften light you have to make the effective light source (i.e., the diffuser) large, relative to the subject size and distance. The closer you can get the diffuser to the subject, the smaller it can be and still give the same amount of softening. It's all about the angles -- the wider the range of angles from which light hits the subject, the softer it will appear. So for macro a quite small diffuser can be enough, while for portraiture you need something much larger. As ihasa says, bounce flash is a great way to do this.

cali92rs · 06-11-2012, 06:31 AM

Originally posted by ihasa

That home made diffuser looks very effective!

Ebay-special inflatable soft boxes are working very well for me. However to get a genuinely soft light, I applied white duct tape to the front of it (they are a bit too transparent to really diffuse the light).

Another thing I've been trying is a tupperware box, with a hole cut for the flash at the back, and a sheet of thin white paper in front to diffuse the light. Works great but looks terrible!

I haven't tried a stofen-type of diffuser (which fit directly on the front of the flash). To me they look too small to effectively diffuse the light. I would avoid them, they look useless! The goal is to increase the area of the light source.

Of course one of the simplest and best things you can do indoors is bounce the light off a wall or ceiling.

Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops

At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing.
Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box.

StephenHampshire · 06-11-2012, 06:41 AM

Originally posted by cali92rs

Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops

At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing.
Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box.

I use the Lumiquest Softbox and also the Ultrasoft, which is a bounce like device . Using old style thyristor auto flashes are much more consistent when bouncing with the K5.

ihasa · 06-11-2012, 06:49 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by cali92rs

Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops

At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing.
Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box.

When bouncing the flash I just set it to full power, and manually set the camera's ISO to 400, aperture to f5.6. Take a shot and adjust aperture/ISO if needed (exposure depends on the size of room / ceiling height, but those settings get you in the right ballpark). When the exposure is set, you can leave it alone, assuming you are staying in the same room. The distance from flash to subject will always be approximately the same.

I find this way of working more predictable than relying on PTTL! :P

Last edited by ihasa; 06-11-2012 at 07:10 AM.

Waj K Maj · 06-11-2012, 07:13 AM

Thanks guys, information overload! TER-OR that Air blow flash diffuser looks so ugly!

I need to order one ASAP as I have an event this Thursday :/ I was thinking of the Rogue FlashBender Bounce Card but decisions decisions!

Thanks all for the help, when I order what I "feel" might be the "right" choice I will let you guys knows!

Kind Regards

Waj

reeftool · 06-11-2012, 07:43 AM

I'll throw in my 2 cents for the Lumiquest softbox also.

Anvh · 06-11-2012, 07:49 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by cali92rs

Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops

At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing.
Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box.

No problem over here with the K5 + AF540FGZ in P-TTL.
I use flash only with the K5 in manual mode, maybe that's the reason why?

@Waj K Maj
I gave up on small flash diffusers completely i now either use a 28inch softbox or bounce the flash.
Bouncing always gave me better looking light then a diffuser but i know some don't agree with that and swear on diffusers but i find them too small to be effective.

GibbyTheMole · 06-11-2012, 08:59 AM

Here's what I use when I'm only using one flash:

1) Separate bounce flash unit with light bounced off the ceiling.
2) Separate bounce flash unit with head set at 75 degrees & white card attached to the flash head with a rubber band to act as a diffuser
3) $5 eBay Gary Fong "Puffer" clone is in the small bag for those occasions when I don't have an external unit handy. It helps a little to soften up the light from an onboard flash, but it's not a miracle worker. It's strictly a thing to use if you have no choice but to use the built-in flash. I bought the $5 version because IMO $25 for the identical name-brand product isn't worth it. It's just a hunk of cheap plastic.

Cheers,
Bobbo :-)

Waj K Maj · 06-11-2012, 10:01 AM

Thanks Anvh but I seem to have fallen in love with the SpectraLight flash diffuser which pretty much does both right? bounce light and reflect? Now my biggest problem is finding one! It seems like a Asian sold product in Asian only which sucks because I would like to own one by Thursday and looks unlikey, anyone have any ideas where I can find one in the UK, London?

Kind Regards

Waj.

Anvh · 06-11-2012, 10:09 AM

funny you say that it does both, really think about it, the bounced light is also reflective light.

You can see the ceiling as a flash diffuser but then a bit further away and larger.
Beside that natural light 99% of the times comes from above so flash source on the ceiling looks natural.

http://www.presslite.com/flashdiffuser.php

http://russellspixelpix.blogspot.nl/2008/11/flash-diffusers-no-need-to-spend-big.html

For macro they can be handy though.
http://home.comcast.net/~dougsmit/bounceflashtoys.html

sterretje · 06-11-2012, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by Waj K Maj

I was thinking of the Rogue FlashBender Bounce Card

I've recently bought it to replace my plastic slide-on diffuser. I haven't had much chance to play with it but one thing to notice is that on a AF540FGZ flash, the weight of the FlashBender can pull the head down. It's a little instable at 45 degrees, 60 degrees is reasonable and 90 degrees is OK. If I have to point the camera down for a photo, I 'm always scared that it will fall over. I hope the 'hinge' of your flash is a bit tighter than the one on the AF540.

RioRico · 06-11-2012, 11:18 AM - **1 Like**

Cheap, tiny diffuser for onboard flash: infant's white sock, not too thick.
Cheap diffuser for mounted flash: translucent Tums (or generic) bottle, cut to fit.

06-11-2012, 05:42 AM	#1
Waj K Maj New Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London Posts: 22	Flash Diffuser Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here. Hello again Forum, I am stuck on finding myself a flash diffuser can anyone tell me where I should be looking and what type(s) currently I own a Sigma EF-610 DG SUPER and it just creates too many dark shadows and bright spots up close! All I know is that they come in various shapes and sizes but no idea how the material or brand makes any different? And they seem to be very cheap as well. Kind Regards Waj.

06-11-2012, 06:10 AM	#3
ihasa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: West Midlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,066	That home made diffuser looks very effective! Ebay-special inflatable soft boxes are working very well for me. However to get a genuinely soft light, I applied white duct tape to the front of it (they are a bit too transparent to really diffuse the light). Another thing I've been trying is a tupperware box, with a hole cut for the flash at the back, and a sheet of thin white paper in front to diffuse the light. Works great but looks terrible! I haven't tried a stofen-type of diffuser (which fit directly on the front of the flash). To me they look too small to effectively diffuse the light. I would avoid them, they look useless! The goal is to increase the area of the light source. Of course one of the simplest and best things you can do indoors is bounce the light off a wall or ceiling. Last edited by ihasa; 06-11-2012 at 06:18 AM.

06-11-2012, 10:09 AM	#13
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	funny you say that it does both, really think about it, the bounced light is also reflective light. You can see the ceiling as a flash diffuser but then a bit further away and larger. Beside that natural light 99% of the times comes from above so flash source on the ceiling looks natural. http://www.presslite.com/flashdiffuser.php http://russellspixelpix.blogspot.nl/2008/11/flash-diffusers-no-need-to-spend-big.html For macro they can be handy though. http://home.comcast.net/~dougsmit/bounceflashtoys.html Last edited by Anvh; 06-11-2012 at 10:18 AM.

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06-11-2012, 05:53 AM	#2
TER-OR Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Dundee, IL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,699	Make a Flexible and Effective Flash Diffuser from Craft Foam I have made the foam sheet one, and it works very well. i have also purchased a Gary Fong "Puffer" for the pop-up flash which seems to work quite well.

06-11-2012, 06:29 AM - 1 Like	#4
baro-nite Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Carolina, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,295	To soften light you have to make the effective light source (i.e., the diffuser) large, relative to the subject size and distance. The closer you can get the diffuser to the subject, the smaller it can be and still give the same amount of softening. It's all about the angles -- the wider the range of angles from which light hits the subject, the softer it will appear. So for macro a quite small diffuser can be enough, while for portraiture you need something much larger. As ihasa says, bounce flash is a great way to do this.

06-11-2012, 06:31 AM	#5
cali92rs Veteran Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 3,354	Originally posted by ihasa That home made diffuser looks very effective! Ebay-special inflatable soft boxes are working very well for me. However to get a genuinely soft light, I applied white duct tape to the front of it (they are a bit too transparent to really diffuse the light). Another thing I've been trying is a tupperware box, with a hole cut for the flash at the back, and a sheet of thin white paper in front to diffuse the light. Works great but looks terrible! I haven't tried a stofen-type of diffuser (which fit directly on the front of the flash). To me they look too small to effectively diffuse the light. I would avoid them, they look useless! The goal is to increase the area of the light source. Of course one of the simplest and best things you can do indoors is bounce the light off a wall or ceiling. Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing. Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box.

06-11-2012, 06:41 AM	#6
StephenHampshire Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winchester Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,523	Originally posted by cali92rs Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing. Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box. I use the Lumiquest Softbox and also the Ultrasoft, which is a bounce like device . Using old style thyristor auto flashes are much more consistent when bouncing with the K5.

06-11-2012, 06:49 AM - 1 Like	#7
ihasa Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: West Midlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,066	Originally posted by cali92rs Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing. Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box. When bouncing the flash I just set it to full power, and manually set the camera's ISO to 400, aperture to f5.6. Take a shot and adjust aperture/ISO if needed (exposure depends on the size of room / ceiling height, but those settings get you in the right ballpark). When the exposure is set, you can leave it alone, assuming you are staying in the same room. The distance from flash to subject will always be approximately the same. I find this way of working more predictable than relying on PTTL! :P Last edited by ihasa; 06-11-2012 at 07:10 AM.

06-11-2012, 07:13 AM	#8
Waj K Maj New Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London Posts: 22 Original Poster	Thanks guys, information overload! TER-OR that Air blow flash diffuser looks so ugly! I need to order one ASAP as I have an event this Thursday :/ I was thinking of the Rogue FlashBender Bounce Card but decisions decisions! Thanks all for the help, when I order what I "feel" might be the "right" choice I will let you guys knows! Kind Regards Waj

06-11-2012, 07:43 AM	#9
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,555	I'll throw in my 2 cents for the Lumiquest softbox also.

06-11-2012, 07:49 AM - 1 Like	#10
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Originally posted by cali92rs Bounce flash is great...unless you have a K-5 which over exposes the crap out of your pics by almost 2 stops At least for me its consistent so easy to compensate for, but still very disappointing. Anyway, I've had good results with the lumiquest soft box. No problem over here with the K5 + AF540FGZ in P-TTL. I use flash only with the K5 in manual mode, maybe that's the reason why? @Waj K Maj I gave up on small flash diffusers completely i now either use a 28inch softbox or bounce the flash. Bouncing always gave me better looking light then a diffuser but i know some don't agree with that and swear on diffusers but i find them too small to be effective.

06-11-2012, 08:59 AM	#11
GibbyTheMole Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Iowa Photos: Albums Posts: 2,275	Here's what I use when I'm only using one flash: 1) Separate bounce flash unit with light bounced off the ceiling. 2) Separate bounce flash unit with head set at 75 degrees & white card attached to the flash head with a rubber band to act as a diffuser 3) $5 eBay Gary Fong "Puffer" clone is in the small bag for those occasions when I don't have an external unit handy. It helps a little to soften up the light from an onboard flash, but it's not a miracle worker. It's strictly a thing to use if you have no choice but to use the built-in flash. I bought the $5 version because IMO $25 for the identical name-brand product isn't worth it. It's just a hunk of cheap plastic. Cheers, Bobbo :-)

06-11-2012, 10:01 AM	#12
Waj K Maj New Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London Posts: 22 Original Poster	Thanks Anvh but I seem to have fallen in love with the SpectraLight flash diffuser which pretty much does both right? bounce light and reflect? Now my biggest problem is finding one! It seems like a Asian sold product in Asian only which sucks because I would like to own one by Thursday and looks unlikey, anyone have any ideas where I can find one in the UK, London? Kind Regards Waj.

06-11-2012, 10:19 AM	#14
sterretje Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Roodepoort, South Africa Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,561	Originally posted by Waj K Maj I was thinking of the Rogue FlashBender Bounce Card I've recently bought it to replace my plastic slide-on diffuser. I haven't had much chance to play with it but one thing to notice is that on a AF540FGZ flash, the weight of the FlashBender can pull the head down. It's a little instable at 45 degrees, 60 degrees is reasonable and 90 degrees is OK. If I have to point the camera down for a photo, I 'm always scared that it will fall over. I hope the 'hinge' of your flash is a bit tighter than the one on the AF540.

06-11-2012, 11:18 AM - 1 Like	#15
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Cheap, tiny diffuser for onboard flash: infant's white sock, not too thick. Cheap diffuser for mounted flash: translucent Tums (or generic) bottle, cut to fit.