On-Flash Diffusers: Useful or Useless?

I'm getting a flash bracket to move my speedlite off my camera a bit. I hear that'll make pictures look better, while allowing me to move and recompose quickly, which is something I need to be able to do. Now my question is, should I toss on a Opteka SB-1 Mini Universal Studio Soft Box Flash Diffuser, or a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce OM-600 Flash Diffuser, or something similar onto my flash while I'm at it? Will there be ANY improvement in my flash with my planned usage?

Don't bother spending signficant money on any product whose surface area (as viewed by the subject) is no larger than the original flash lens by a substantial amount. For example, with a flash head about 3 sq.in., if the modifier is smaller than 25-30 sq.in. it will have little benefit when there is no ceiling or walls to bounce light off to become a large virtual source of light.

SIZE MATTERS -- for light sources giving softer light.

Whilst my opinion is that all of these modifiers are not any better than pure, bare, bounce flash, Wilt is right, the larger, the less the useless it is.

When you say better do you mean "softer"?

If so:

Quite Useless:
Stofen
Gary Fong products
Any cup/tupperware type "diffuser"
Flip It

A little useless:
The super jumbo Flip-it's
The very large Fongs

Only Mildly Useless:
A massive "a better bounce card"
Lumiquest pro bounce

If you mean plastic slide on device, useless. Larger bounce cards like the demb flipit, lumiquest etc. have some value.

How about this thing on my 430EXII on a flash-bracket?

http://www.lumiquest.c​om/products/softbox.ht​m

I find the stofen is good for diffusing light when bouncing onto a ceiling then a shiny object.

If I bounce a bare flash, it can create a hot spot.

But the stofen creates a good diffusion.

I wouldn't recommend the main one though, too expensive.

You can buy chinese versions for a fraction of the price.

I have also made my own flag/bouncer.

It is black one side and white the other.

I used it at a friends wedding recently and it worked very well.

It is a small "flag" with a velcro seal.

It stops the light going straight forward and forces it to bounce forward at an angle that allows light to go forward without blowing everything out.

I use it in my product shots and was pleased with how well it worked at the wedding.

They are hardly useless. I don't have the need, the money, or the time to mess with high end lighting equipment. Right now my camera is for my own personal use- fishing, family pics, nature, etc.; so as long as I am happy with the pics, I'm good with that. The pop up flash diffuser I have make a big difference when it comes to harshness. Granted, I wouldn't spend more than $10 on them, but for how much I paid, I am very happy with them. I can see how they would be deemed "useless" by professionals going for that perfect shot though.

http://www.dinodirect.​com …-Bounce-Diffuser-Cap.html

JHaegs wrote in post #12088176
They are hardly useless. I don't have the need, the money, or the time to mess with high end lighting equipment. Right now my camera is for my own personal use- fishing, family pics, nature, etc.; so as long as I am happy with the pics, I'm good with that. The pop up flash diffuser I have make a big difference when it comes to harshness. Granted, I wouldn't spend more than $10 on them, but for how much I paid, I am very happy with them. I can see how they would be deemed "useless" by professionals going for that perfect shot though.

http://www.dinodirect.​com …-Bounce-Diffuser-Cap.html

Fair enough JHaegs, but I think they are useless, and you've been slightly deceived their deceptive marketing and advertising

It's not about pro shots or not, it's about the laws of physics. A flash head's light is emitted by a component Canon calls an "auto reflector array". It is a flash tube with a deflector. The light passes through the flash head's front panel which you can see. It creates a uniform even spread of light for a given field of view depending on the zoom setting. There is absolutely no value in putting further semi translucent surfaces in front of the flash unless it is substantially increasing the size (a la a softbox), otherwise it is just wasting battery

Just google "baldness cures" and that's exactly what this feels like

These are quotes from a website linked

We're talking about an engineered flash unit, not a $10 torch which shows segments and rings. When you fire your flash at the wall do you see the rings and segments you do when you shine a torch? No...in which case this is a useless advantage

Not as easy as not using one

You could win a nobel prize given you have made a major advance in physics

Further contribution to environmental degradation

Fair enough...I guess it's a good protective condom for the flash

How exactly does dispersion of light in a wider direction lead to softer light? Does that mean light is softer when the flash is set at 24mm zoom setting vs 105mm? No. It's only softer if the light then bounces off adjacent surfaces and comes back. In which case this is probably no different to using the built in wide angle diffuser panel.

mtimber wrote in post #12086242
I have also made my own flag/bouncer.

It is black one side and white the other.

I used it at a friends wedding recently and it worked very well.

It is a small "flag" with a velcro seal.

It stops the light going straight forward and forces it to bounce forward at an angle that allows light to go forward without blowing everything out.

I use it in my product shots and was pleased with how well it worked at the wedding.

I don't think it's acting as a flag - it's acting as a reflector

A flag should be black on the side facing the flash head so as to flag off light hitting certain areas

SunnyOctopus wrote in post #12064438
I'm getting a flash bracket to move my speedlite off my camera a bit. I hear that'll make pictures look better, while allowing me to move and recompose quickly, which is something I need to be able to do. Now my question is, should I toss on a Opteka SB-1 Mini Universal Studio Soft Box Flash Diffuser, or a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce OM-600 Flash Diffuser, or something similar onto my flash while I'm at it? Will there be ANY improvement in my flash with my planned usage?

you might want to first experiment with DIY diffusers/reflectors before buying anything
e.g
http://super.nova.org/​DPR/DIY01/

smorter wrote in post #12088876
I don't think it's acting as a flag - it's acting as a reflector

A flag should be black on the side facing the flash head so as to flag off light hitting certain areas

Not at all

I might need to take a picture so that you can understand.

When I aim the flash at an angle to bounce of a ceiling, certain amounts of light still go straight forward.

I put a flag on front of the flash, which stops this.

Forcing the light to bounce up at the angle I have selected on my flash swivel head.

This means I only bounce light off of the ceiling and none goes directly forward.

Hope that makes sense, if not, I will have to post a pic.

It is a very useful technique for controlling bounce.

mtimber wrote in post #12089134
Not at all

I might need to take a picture so that you can understand.

When I aim the flash at an angle to bounce of a ceiling, certain amounts of light still go straight forward.

I put a flag on front of the flash, which stops this.

Forcing the light to bounce up at the angle I have selected on my flash swivel head.

This means I only bounce light off of the ceiling and none goes directly forward.

Hope that makes sense, if not, I will have to post a pic.

It is a very useful technique for controlling bounce.

I understand, you're referring to the technique popularised by Niel Van Niekerk aren't you?

I personally don't flag my flash, not that I don't want to, just that I don't have black foam and also because I'm happy with the results I have so far

No doubt an effective technique though, primarily because you are using directional bounce, rather than the flag itself.

smorter wrote in post #12089156
I understand, you're referring to the technique popularised by Niel Van Niekerk aren't you?

I personally don't flag my flash, not that I don't want to, just that I don't have black foam and also because I'm happy with the results I have so far

No doubt an effective technique though, primarily because you are using directional bounce, rather than the flag itself.

I thought someone else might have done something similar, but this was something that came out of my product photography.

I would bounce the flash, but still get glare.

So I thought that if I just flag that I will only get the bounce light.

I would be interested in a link to this other guys technique though.

*wanders off to do a search*

Mark