Peanut diffuser findings..

Hi all,

Like many of you I have been trying to come up with the perfect diffuser for my macro work. At the moment I am experimenting with, what I like to call, the peanut diffuser. Because it was made from a plastic container which contained peanuts.
I have taken some test shots with this diffuser, without a diffuser and with (a variation on) the coke can diffuser, so you can judge for yourself.

The peanut diffuser:

First of all, the credits for this type of diff. go to the (most excellent) Swedish macro photographer John Hallmén. I'm a big fan of his work and as far as I know he was the first one to come up with this.

Here's what mine looks like:

It's basically just a plastic container with a plastic lid transformed into a beauty dish type diffuser.
I have lined the inside of this with aluminum foil and placed an inverted V in the middle of it (number 2 in next image) . A hole was made in the bottom of the container and I atached a snoot like smaller plastic container (made from the plastic sheets used for overhead projectors, you can get them in any office supplies store) in there. This container (number 1 in next image) fits my flashhead and makes sure that my flash is always inserted into the diffuser in the same angle and same distance.
I have lined the outside with a material called 'skai', (imitation leather) which is strechtable, cheap as chips, water resistant, and looks nice as well.
It helps to strengthen the container too.




I have cut an oval piece (from the plastic sheets) that fits in the inside of the lid of the container. In between the lid and this sheet is a piece of paper towel. This way the paper towel is less likely to tear when I stick my diffuser into a plant (you don't want to know ho often that has happened to me) or when dewdrops from that same plant wet the towel and make it desintegrate on the spot.

The advantage of the the inverted V (also made from clear platsic sheet and reflective material glued to it) is that it splits the beam from your flash and sends the light bouncing around the container. The brightest light will exit the container on the left and right side, so the flash output will look like this:


Reminds you of something? Looks a lot like that big light the dentist hangs over your face huh? Because of the V and the bouncing inside light gets out send in every direction which helps to diffuse, the paper towel adds to this, and the less bright spot in the middle helps to reduce glare on your subject.
Note: Obviously a diffuser like this works best when it is as close to your subject as possible. so, important rule for macro photography: the further away your flash,the less attractive the light will be..

(continued in next post)

The 'same-principle-but-far-from' coke can diffuser.

The downside to the peanut container is it's size and shape. You can't easily store it away. My previous diffuser was built with this problem in mind, here's a few shots:

Square box, to stick on top of the flash unit, piece of paper towel taped to the front.
Lined the inside with shiny silver gift wrap paper. As opposed to alu foil, this paper is equally reflective on both sides. More refelctive then al foil btw.
And foldable. Velcro holds to ends together to form the square. Unfold it and it can be stored away flat.

Time for some comparison shots.

Click image for bigger view:

IMAGE LINK: http://i36.tinypic.com​/2eow2ub.jpg

All images where shot with same conditions, from a tripod.
Subject distance: 44 centimers
Canon 40d, 320 EX Flash.
Sigma 150mm Macro lense

I choose a reflective surface for this test and allthough this was not an ideal setup for the diffusers (distance to subject was pretty high), the effect is obvious.
Note the difference in the spreading of the light and the lifting of shadows in the last image (the peanut diffuser) especially around the inner edge of the watch.

I am not sure what caused the glare in the bottom of the watch though. Both diffusers seem to cause this. The bare flash also creates it but limits it to the edge of the glass, it's a small glare but reveals no detail underneath it anymore. Both diffusers do.

I'm still testing things out (need to fine tune the V for instance) but things look promising for now.

Here's a pic of the setup used to get the above shots, showing the peanut diffuser attached to the flash:


And finally.. here's a real life shot for which the peanut diffuser was used (note the shape of the highlights in the eyes):


Thanks for reading.