Just ran across this tonight. Gary Fong's Lightsphere: http://store.garyfonginc.com/index.html

I actually have one and don't use it very often. It's too big and bulky and I spend all my time holding on to the lightsphere for fear of it falling off.
My Stofen Omni bounce diffuser lives on my flash. And you can even put it in the bag with the diffuser still on :thumbsup:

Try the "better bounce card" abetterbouncecard.com (http://abetterbouncecard.com) since it is free if you have the materials on hand and most households do. There is a movie showing how to build it.

I made a huge one out of card stock for a large light source and it is what I used for our family sunset portrait.

Tim

A friend of mine that does mostly senior portrait and wedding photography uses one extensively and swears by it. I have never used one but he seem to get very nice results with it. I use the diffuser that came with my SB-800. It is rarely off the flash.

a guy in my photo club has one and uses it all the time ... swears by it ...

it is on my list of things to have ... but not too high in priority at the moment

Well, there's no doubt the Lightsphere will improve your on-camera flash lighting, but there's also no way I'd ever pay $50 for a tiny piece of plastic... :yikes:

Speaking of small, your comment made me LOL Alison. I guess big and bulky is a relative term, as the Lightsphere is positively miniscule compaired to anything I use for light modification... :o

FWIW, I agree, for the money, Tim's suggestion of the better bounce card is worth a try. BTW, if you really want to see something funny, go to the site he links to and watch the instructional video. In it we see the photographic equivilent of Mr. Rogers taking 1/2 hour to tell us how to do something that in reality only takes a minute or so... :lol:

I've got one, I paid the $50 bucks for it, and it was totally worth it for me. I don't use it frequently, but when I do, I love the results. Not worried about it falling off ever, as you really need to cram that thing on, and mine fits REALLY tight.

I will see if I can find some photos....

A friend has one of these and a previous version or two of his products. He says it works very well and uses it for corporate events. Sure it's tiny compared to studio lighting stuff, but it is about the size of a coffee cup and larger in diameter - so it will take some space in the camera bag.

Watched the video and wondering what this "foam miracle paper" is. Any body know?

Looks something like Neoprean from the description he gives.

Roger

I only recently got a flash and started experimenting with this kind of thing, so my standards may be lower than yours, but I'm happy with the results I get from a 3x5 index card attached to the back of my flash with a rubber band. I only have it sticking up an inch or two, but you can adjust that for different amounts of fill. Of course, this is only good for adding fill to bounced flash, and doesn't help diffuse direct flash. I figure you folks have already tried this, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case.

Paul

Try the "better bounce card" abetterbouncecard.com (http://abetterbouncecard.com) since it is free if you have the materials on hand and most households do. There is a movie showing how to build it.

I made a huge one out of card stock for a large light source and it is what I used for our family sunset portrait.

Tim

The photo's on that site are unfair comparisons as the bg's are very different. I bet he still got a flash shadow on that wall even with his home-made "better bounce card".
Thanks for sharing anyway. I will probably do tests of my own.

wow, great responses everyone. I'm tempted just to give this thing a try just on account of the price, simply because I take a LOT of quick portraits on the go for new members of our Chamber to put in our newsletter. Sometimes I take their picture outside, sometimes inside their business where lighting is dim. With my new 50mm lens lighting is not much of a problem anymore but when flash is needed I'd like to see the light a bit more diffused. About a year ago I did buy Photoflex's softbox for flash but it didn't really work that well and before long it had a puncture in the vinyl which rendered it completely useless. If anyone has taken photos with Fong's lightsphere I sure would like to see them.

The photo's on that site are unfair comparisons as the bg's are very different. I bet he still got a flash shadow on that wall even with his home-made "better bounce card".
Thanks for sharing anyway. I will probably do tests of my own.

Agreed - especially in the first two shots. Putting someone right next to a light colored background with direct flash? Of course you'll get shadows. In the second shot, she's a long ways away from a dark background... I saw the others and it looks like it does work pretty well, but the people that this is marketed to will not be impressed by that comparison.

Here's a few....

Ray,

Got one and I think it works great. Better than the diffuser that came with the flash and I have to believe much better than index card.

Also, dont have to worry so much about flipping the camera for a portrait.

thanks,
Wes

looks like a tupperware contained fashioned on the top of a flash...

DIY?

But at the same point, it won't soften the light very much. many people think thata diffuser helps soften the shadows, but it does not. if you aren't changing the size of the light source, then it won't help. The way he is shooting he has umbrellas camera right and left, and the lightsphere essentially spreads light in every direction, so part of the light is bouncing back and creating less shadows. If you think you'll get those photos just by shooting in a room with wooden dark walls, you're probably going to be looking at near the same quality of direct flash.

In reality, like I said, It's not much more than a tupperware container, which many people use to help spread the light in every direction.

he's also comparing direct flash with his lightsphere bounced. apples and oranges...

looks like a tupperware contained fashioned on the top of a flash...DIY?

There has to be a way to make one of those for a lot less than $50. Reminds me of the pvc light panels that sell for over $40 and I can make myself for about $5. A question of whether you want to take the time or not...

As for the softening effect, I think all of these devices are marketed and used with the assumption that you are going to be bouncing part of the light off of something. And using them with anything nearby (a low ceiling, a wall, a light toned panel) is still going to give you better results than a straight on harsh direct flash.

The other point that I haven't seen mentioned yet is you lose a lot of the power of the flash when you use it with a bounce diffuser. Sometimes it's a better to get the full power of shooting straight ahead, but with a softer (diffused) light...

Here's a few....

Those are nice, Adina. That last one, however, looks like the lighting may have been a lot tougher to deal with. But you pulled it off well.

Ok here are some comparisons for you. I took these when I first got my lightsphere.

#1 Direct diffused flash - lightsphere attached.

http://gallery.photographyreview.com/data/photography//500/medium/IMG_2314_lightsphere.jpg

#2 Bounced diffused flash - lightsphere attached

http://gallery.photographyreview.com/data/photography//500/medium/IMG_2312_ceiling_bounce.jpg

#3 Stofen omni bounce diffuser attached, bounced off the ceiling

http://gallery.photographyreview.com/data/photography//2/medium/IMG_8860-01_640.jpg

I think the main thing, as with all photographs, try to get your subjects away from the bg a little to avoid those awful flash shadows on the bg.

....
In reality, like I said, It's not much more than a tupperware container, which many people use to help spread the light in every direction.
...
Kinda like this one Here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vox/355217957/)?
Saw this the other day and this comment reminded me of it, thought I'd share it here in case there are others who haven't seen it. There are some examples of shots taken with the set up in a link there too looks like it works ok.