DIY Flash modifier/diffuser

[The_Terminator]

Hello Everybody,
I was monkeying around with a concept I had for a flash diffuser/modifier and thought I would share it with you all.
I wanted to see if I could get the onboard flash to actually yield some decent results. I figured I would need two things:
1) To get a lot more indirect light instead of the flash blasting forward.
2) To diffuse the light to make it softer and more appealing.
So I set out creating a paper mockup of the design I conceived, and then tweaked it and traced it on to a piece of white poster board.

Here you can see the pattern traced onto the poster board:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496714988_xkwKP-O.jpg



Here you can see the shape cut out.
I added the little tail at the bottom to insert into the hot shoe:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496714998_wTznr-O.jpg



I folded it up and mounted it on my XTi.
The hot shoe tab didn’t work, so I cut it off and just used masking tape
to affix it to the camera:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496714989_8dSjZ-O.jpg



Looking into the diffuser, you can see that I covered the front panel in tinfoil.
This tinfoil reflected the light onto the ceiling for bounce,
Plus, it bounced the light back into the large diffuser:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496714996_FFTKs-O.jpg



Here is a side view showing the diffuser mounted to the camera:
(sorry for the poor quality pics  )
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496715010_gRiLg-O.jpg



Next, I shot a photo in the mirror with the flash power dialed all the way down.
This shows that the huge “diffuser” worked as intended.
At full power, the flash bounced so much light off of the white ceiling,
that it overexposed the whole shot.
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496715037_cHMbv-O.jpg

[The_Terminator]

And now the test: what does this do in real life?

Here is a photo taken with regular on board flash.
Note the telltale hotspots and ugly harsh shadows:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496715033_ogtKr-O.jpg



Attaching the flash diffuser and dialing up the flash to full power yielded the following:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496715041_5qSLB-O.jpg

Note that the harsh shadows are gone, and the light isn’t bad at all?
Not bad for the wimpy onboard flash, eh?!



Here is one more of some tulips in my house taken with regular flash.
Note the harsh highlights and ugly shadows:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496715060_fNwDx-O.jpg



Again, using the flash diffuser, the photo is much more pleasant:
http://mroberg.smugmug.com/photos/496715054_zF59S-O.jpg



All in all, I think it’s pretty impressive for the on board flash. I enjoyed going around my house and doing A-B comparisons with and without the diffuser.
It’s too big to shlep around, and quite crushable, so it’s not a great solution for walking around, but it was a fun exercise nonetheless.
Enjoy, and please let me know what you think.
Thanks!

[JDubya]

The results look great, good job

[smorter]

I'd imagine the range would be low, but great idea ! I was expecting something stupid when I opened the thread, but was pleasently surprised

[Lotto]

That gives the best result for the on board flash I have seen so far. Great job.

That man without a face in the mirror looks scary:shock:

[The_Terminator]

The results look great, good jobThanks!

I'd imagine the range would be low, but great idea ! I was expecting something stupid when I opened the thread, but was pleasently surprisedThanks! You are correct. The range is terrible. Depending on how close I am to the ceiling, I can go a little farther. For example, when I'm standing up, I can get a litte farther from my subject. When I crouch to take a shot of the kiddies, I have to get a little closer.
That gives the best result for the on board flash I have seen so far. Great job.
That man without a face in the mirror looks scary:shock:Thanks! I really wanted to get that "use the flash but it doesn't look like I used a flash" look.
I just can't afford a dedicated flash at the moment. Thus, this idea was born.
I really wanted to use a slice of super reflective mylar instead of tinfoil. That would increase the efficiency. That's coming in version 2.0 though. :lol:

I also had thoughts of using a poster board that had a peach tint to it to warm up the flash. I might do that as well at some point. Maybe I'll just spray paint it.

Lastly, I had the thought of spray painting the tall diffuser portion with that 3M super white reflective paint if I could find it. I think this would increase the efficiency of the flash by a measurable amount.

I'll try to post more examples when I get a chance. Thank you all for your comments.

[ZSutton]

I like it alot, good work! you should post a stencil of the design online

[SYS]

I also had thoughts of using a poster board that had a peach tint to it to warm up the flash. I might do that as well at some point. Maybe I'll just spray paint it.



At least your DIY has some merit due to your attempt to make the light source a bit larger as opposed to some other ones that just cover up the pop-flash...

As for your attempt to "warm up the flash," the one I'd recommend getting is what's called "Metallic Gold" fun foam that you can find at places like JoAnne Fabric or Hobby Lobby, etc. It's very effective. In fact, I'd recommend that you make the whole thing with this fun foams and see the difference. They're so cheap yet effective that I made three difference sizes. Here's mine right next to the white version to accentuate the difference:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3068/3332426664_edf2fae082.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/3321902392_cae303a492.jpg

[JDubya]

If you want to color the flash just get some gels to cover the flash itself. They'd be a lot easier to carry than a bunch of large colored pieces of foam/posterboard.

[SYS]

If you want to color the flash just get some gels to cover the flash itself. They'd be a lot easier to carry than a bunch of large colored pieces of foam/posterboard.

True, but I'd think that covering the already weak pop-up flash -- which the OP is trying to reflect off of a tin foil onto his bouncer -- with a gel would even further weaken the bouncing effect. But then it's simple enough to try it and find out! I prefer the foam "insert" personally. It's only $.99 and less messy with the gel becoming warpy after some use, etc. ;)

[JDubya]

True, but I'd think that covering the already weak pop-up flash -- which the OP is trying to reflect off of a tin foil onto his bouncer -- with a gel would even further weaken the bouncing effect. But then it's simple enough to try it and find out! I prefer the foam "insert" personally. It's only $.99 and less messy with the gel becoming warpy after some use, etc. ;)

I think light loss would be fairly similar. For example, bounce light off of red foam, it will reflect less than white will. Now bounce it off of pale yellow, it will reflect more but not as much as white. Similarly, a pale gel will pass more light than a dark red one.

Also, OP, did you try just using white where the foil is? Sometimes if the foil isn't completely flat/aimed perfectly it can be a little too specular (hot spots in the wrong places). If so, I was just curious how your tests fared.