Flash Diffuser... which one?

[acrephoto]

I'm looking at buying a flash diffuser to go on my Canon 420EX, I was wondering which ones you guys use, and which ones are the best. I've looked at a couple different styles on ebay and I was wondering what would work the best. Some of them have material and others are plastic, and difference in performance? Thanks,

[MaxxuM]

I've been using these two at http://abetterbouncecard.com/ and have gotten really good results. However, they do not work as well as I would like outdoors or in places with high or dark ceilings. I have used a double sheet of pure white nylon fabric I got from Wal-Mart attached with Velcro to the flash, but it is a pain to deal with. I've heard a lot about these diffusers at http://www.lumiquest.com/ and am on the verge of buying one but a Sto-Fen looks so easy to deal with (only with close up shots though).

[G35Driver]

im in the same boat you are im also looking for a diffuser for my 420EX. Hopefully someone will chime in and give us some answers

[Deerio]

As MaxxuM said earlier. Sto-Fens are good in close range and very easy & quick to use. On other occasions I personally like the Lumiquest Big Bounce but is a bit cumbersome.

[Souwalker]

A better bounce card or Flipit. am using FlipiT with 430ex and very happy.
Pat

[canotographer]

Garyfong lightsphere II works well for me... just got it 2 days ago and took pictures in the house...Good results with my 580EX II on 30D and 5D so far.. (need to use -1 flash EV in most of the cases), will test it in church and outdoor this weekend.

[acrephoto]

I'm trying to decide between using either A Better Bounce Card or getting a Lightsphere. The nice thing is I can do the better bounce card for next to nothing but the lightsphere is on ebay for around $50. What do you guys think of these two? Which would you choose?

[poloman]

With the Lumiquest Pro system you get an 80/20 bounce, three different bounce cards (white, gold and silver) and a diffusion screen. That gives you a lot of possibilities and it all fits in a flat wallet style package. Best used on a flip camera bracket.

[tim1960]

I have the Lumiquest 80/20. It's OK but if I had my time to go over, I'd go with the Gary Fong lightsphere. I like this a lot better than the lumiquest 80/20.

[Uhland]

wow I was just watching the Lightsphere video he has showing the comparison to studio flash.
Very impressive

[jr_senator]

...I was wondering which ones you guys use...

The Westcott Micro Apollo Softbox. I have two ( often I use multi flash). The diffuser is made of the same stuff the larger stuido soft boxes are, not plastic.

[Maxdave]

I have both the Stofen and the Lumiquest, and in my opinion the "betterBounceCard" is better than both of them. But, i agree, if the ceiling is high or dark, nothing works as well as I would hope.

[G35Driver]

I tried the betterbounce card and it works good

[picturecrazy]

The best diffuser I've ever used is a wall.

[poloman]

I have the Lumiquest 80/20. It's OK but if I had my time to go over, I'd go with the Gary Fong lightsphere. I like this a lot better than the lumiquest 80/20.
If you don't have the rest of the kit, you can't deal with situations in which the ceiling is high, black or non-existent.
The lightsphere blows light in all directions..great in a hallway but try it in a large dark room and I think you'd be disappointed.

[canotographer]

I guess...Gary fong LSP II with Chrome Dome may help in darker and higher ceiling situations.

[tonkabui]

I guess...Gary fong LSP II with Chrome Dome may help in darker and higher ceiling situations.

or you can use a piece of foil on the back of your LS so even more of the light is kicked forward and even more light is shot upwards (compared to the $50 chrome dome). i use one of those black paperclip things to hold it in place when i am not using the inverted dome.

i still use a flash bracket (newton fr) with my LS to always keep the flash above the lens. no matter what fong says, you'll get shadows when you're shooting vertical with no bracket unless the room you're shooting in is REALLY SMALL.

[Titus213]

Your choice of diffuser may be related to where you plan to use it. Around the home, with normal white walls and 8-10 foot ceilings the LSII really works well as would most diffusers. The bounce is the trick here and if you don't have anything to bounce light off of you will have problems.

The LSII works in some situations. The ProMax System works in nearly any situation because you can insert the bounce panels or use the diffusion screen on it. The down side of the ProMax System is that it really works best with a camera rotating bracket and an off-shoe cord which adds a minimum of $125 to the price.

I've not used the BetterBounce card but it looks quite interesting, simple, and cheap.

[acrephoto]

Well I went to my local walmart and picked up a couple pieces of the foam paper people have been using to make "A Better Bounce Card" and I made a couple on friday. I used one to photograph my daughters first birthday and all I can say is wow, the results were far better than I could have imagined. For something so inexpensive to make they perform like a champ. I'll post up some pictures later today.

[LightInspire]

LightSphere II Cloud...with chrome dome and amber dome..can't beat them.

[craiglee]

bubble wrap works well.