Lighting Pop-up Flash Diffuser - Recommendations or thoughts?

[Kevin]

What are your general thoughts or recommendations on a diffuser for cameras with pop-up flashes? In my particular case it'd be a Canon 77D, and I know that there are a few different products out there and a bunch of DIY methods, but I'm more curious to the topic in general.

Are they recommended? Not recommended? Just get it over with and use a dedicated flash unit if you have a hot shoe available? Do the DIY methods work just as good as the dedicated products that can be purchased? Are there different types that should be known about? Tips & tricks for using them? Which solutions work best for being able to 'throw it in a backpack for the road'?

My personal favorite DIY I've seen so far is using an opaque plastic film canister with a notch cut out. I already checked my supply here at the house, all of them black.

 

[CatsAreGods]

What are your general thoughts or recommendations on a diffuser for cameras with pop-up flashes? In my particular case it'd be a Canon 77D, and I know that there are a few different products out there and a bunch of DIY methods, but I'm more curious to the topic in general.

Are they recommended? Not recommended? Just get it over with and use a dedicated flash unit if you have a hot shoe available? Do the DIY methods work just as good as the dedicated products that can be purchased? Are there different types that should be known about? Tips & tricks for using them? Which solutions work best for being able to 'throw it in a backpack for the road'?

My personal favorite DIY I've seen so far is using an opaque plastic film canister with a notch cut out. I already checked my supply here at the house, all of them black.

I made a bunch of useful ones from the handles of plastic milk jugs.

Edit: found one!

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[John King]

I made a bunch of useful ones from the handles of plastic milk jugs.

I've also used plastic milk/cream containers for these things. The white balance is pretty nice too. e.g.

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[John King]

I made a bunch of useful ones from the handles of plastic milk jugs.

Must try that on my various FL-LM3 type units, thanks .

 

[CatsAreGods]

I've also used plastic milk/cream containers for these things. The white balance is pretty nice too. e.g.

View attachment 362072

View attachment 362073

That top one looks better than the diffuser that came with my Godox TT350!

 

[Irene McC]

I've also used plastic milk/cream containers for these things. The white balance is pretty nice too. e.g.

View attachment 362072

View attachment 362073

Yes, I've used kiddies' juice bottles, the type you pack into the lunchbox for school. They work well

 

[JensM]

When experimenting with product shots somewhere between 1999 and 2002, the workplace had a Nikon 950 which ate the entire budget and gave rather "Meh" results trying to light beer and soda cans with the onboard flash directly.

We taped a lot of stuff over the flash, including regular copy paper, some translucent paper normally used in packed lunches and a white nylon stocking, trimmed down and stretched and taped onto a piece of toilet paper core that was cut to size. The latter was what did the trick with a distance piece (a bit of an eraser) inside to "center" the diffuser on the flash, , along with a reflector made by gluing aluminum foil to a piece of cardboard.

 

[ImageMaker]

I started with a pop -up flash, then speed light, then several speed lights, then a strobe, then several strobes, then a ton of modifiers. Somewhere along the line, I started getting paid for the effort…

…then got some very expensive modifiers. Now I’m happy.

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[AntonLargiader]

To me, the goal with modifying pop-up flash (and I've done a bunch of DIY stuff along these lines) is to make the light source bigger and soften the shadow edges. That means the diffuser needs to be at some distance in front of the flash so that the light has a chance to spread before being redirected. OTOH you're fighting a lot of light loss when you put things in front of the flash; most of what I see shown here will scatter list far wider than needed.

Thinking it through, if I were to do it again I would:
1) see how the light actually spreads out from the flash the way it is
2) try to create a reflector to direct more of the scattered light to the subject. Maybe foil; it's easy to shape.
3) Only if needed would I then add diffusion. Regular office paper blocks too much light; use tissue paper or cooking parchment.

 

[wiltw]

Most modifiers for on-camera speedlights are far too small in effective area to benefit by its use, and when considered on a cost-reward basis they are totally overpriced.

Years ago, as I joke I made two modifiers, from ice cream container and from feta cheese container...

...and made one of them collapsible for easier transportation

and this photo is an example of the results

but even a modifier which is 5" x 7" in size is of limited value at a shooting distance of 20 feet.

versus one which is 16" x 20", also at 20 feet.

 

[AntonLargiader]

You're asking specifically about pop-up flash here, and many of these posts are abut speedlights. With pop-up I suspect it all comes down to the geometry of that particular flash and what you're trying to do. I have had some luck reflecting pop-up flash up to the ceiling which is a great form of diffusion but the flash power becomes a real limitation. A small mirror (could just be a bit of polished metal) that velcros onto the camera could work as a portable and consistent tool. If you can't bounce then you really are looking for a diffuser and like I mentioned before you need to save every bit of light that you can so focusing it is as important as diffusing it. Merely diffusing it is going to spread that light EVERYWHERE, as in way too wide.

A speedlight is so much more flexible. You can bounce it, it has more power, and it's far enough off the camera axis that you can install a small softbox on it. Search for "speedlight softbox" and you will see all kinds of stuff. The one I have folds very flat.