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04/09/2010 03:24:24 AM · #1 |
Has anyone tried one of these things? Retailing at $40 or so, (although I have no idea of the cost of shipping to the UK!) it seems like a cheap option to have something reasonable small to stick in the bag for family occasions etc.
Lightscoop
It must work up to a point or it wouldn't be selling, but I am curious whether it is really up to the (DPC) mark. |
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04/09/2010 04:30:40 AM · #2 |
The Party Bouncer
Retails for a couple of cents (pence in your case), shipping free to the UK...
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04/09/2010 08:49:44 AM · #3 |
Prior to getting a shoe mounted flash, I've used an index card taped in front of it to bounce it off the ceiling. It's a little bigger than the business card method above, and I taped it to the housing in front of the flash. Worked reasonably well. Main limitation is the strength of most pop up flashes.
The lightscoop does look like a more elegant device, however.
Message edited by author 2010-04-09 08:53:03. |
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04/09/2010 09:55:46 AM · #4 |
I bought this gadget a little while ago. Not quite as cheap as the white card, but a lot less than the Lightscoop. It works pretty well except at the wide end of my 10-20mm lens and is light and easy to carry around. And they don't even charge for postage.
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04/09/2010 10:23:41 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I bought this gadget a little while ago. Not quite as cheap as the white card, but a lot less than the Lightscoop. It works pretty well except at the wide end of my 10-20mm lens and is light and easy to carry around. And they don't even charge for postage. |
Thanks for that tip. Nice find. |
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04/09/2010 11:25:18 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by FrankRobinson:
Has anyone tried one of these things? Retailing at $40 or so, (although I have no idea of the cost of shipping to the UK!) it seems like a cheap option to have something reasonable small to stick in the bag for family occasions etc.
Lightscoop
It must work up to a point or it wouldn't be selling, but I am curious whether it is really up to the (DPC) mark. |
This isn't a substitute for a full-featured external flash, but it looks promising. I was wondering how it rotated to choose between ceiling and wall flash -- then I realized to bounce from the wall, you turn the camera vertically! :-) |
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04/09/2010 12:03:03 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by GinaRothfels:
I bought this gadget a little while ago. Not quite as cheap as the white card, but a lot less than the Lightscoop. It works pretty well except at the wide end of my 10-20mm lens and is light and easy to carry around. And they don't even charge for postage. |
I bought a Gary Fong diffuser very similar to that. It did ok, but I found it was awkward to store in my camera bag, even taken apart. Eventually the plastic bracket broke where it slips into the hotshoe after a few months of modest usage.
Added: Can't argue with under $4, however! For that price who cares if it breaks after a while? The Gary Fong item was $20.
Message edited by author 2010-04-09 12:04:23. |
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04/12/2010 08:17:48 AM · #8 |
Thanks for the tips - I think I will hold on to the cash for the moment and try the business card trick, with the cards my employer has been kind enough to supply. I never use them for anything else!
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04/12/2010 11:55:16 AM · #9 |
Hmm, why not just build one of these?
Looks like a plastic support with a mirror mounted to it at about a 40 degree angle... Quite frankly, I would want a 2 mirror system that bounces forwards...
Go grab a "blank stencil" from your local hobby store, make a template from cardstock, then cut our the stencil to fit... |
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04/12/2010 12:25:10 PM · #10 |
| I've used this ping pong ball diffuser on my Lumix, but haven't yet tried it out on my DLSR. Works pretty good on the P+S flash, and easy to carry around. |
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04/12/2010 01:45:45 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by coryboehne:
... Quite frankly, I would want a 2 mirror system that bounces forwards... |
Alan Alda made a gadget just like this on his show Scientific American Frontiers -- you can stream the video if you can locate the episode. Essentially, it forms a little periscope to move the flash farther from the lens axis. |
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04/12/2010 02:01:04 PM · #12 |
I've been messing about with this for an hour or so now..
I've forgone the mirrors because it's just a PITA, so, instead, I've tried about 10 geometries of bounce cards, and here's what I've come up with...
Honestly? It's producing what I feel are the best results I've ever seen out of this type of thing.. I can't stress this enough-- Geometry makes a HUGE difference here, if you are off by 1/3" you will see significant changes in behavior..
You need a sheet of bright white 110 lb card stock, fold it top to bottom, so that there is about 1 inch that is left sticking out from the fold.
On the short side of the paper, cut a slit in this for your flash to stick through, just over 1/3rd of the way up from the fold.
The really good news is that the angle tends to be quite perfect with the paper resting against your forehead (although you look like a complete idiot with this on your camera..)
Here are some images of it on the camera, and in action..
All images are as-is out of camera (with the exception of the "Bouncer" picture, I did do a white balance on that one..) No editing at all.
All camera settings are identical in every picture, (with the exception of the "Bouncer" picture, that was taken without flash, and in different light)
Without Flash-Bounce
With Flash-Bounce
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On camera (with another bouncer on the 20D)
On camera (normal flash)
Front View
Bouncer
ETA:
I've added two more shots, so you can REALLY appreciate the difference (These are full size images, this is closer range, and on a horribly difficult subject.)
With Flash Bouncer
Without Flash Bouncer
Message edited by author 2010-04-12 14:21:39. |
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