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Pop-up Flash diffuser, which one of these two?
- Thread starter iamdee7
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BBbuilder467
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I've used the plastic Gary Fong puffer clone for nature close-ups and macro and a few indoor photos. It's better than the bare flash, but you have to really watch the GN and distance. I have to be really careful to get the diffuser in exactly the right position or you can see where the flash misses it.Hi all,
Can someone help me with which one will be good for popup flash diffuse.
http://uae.souq.com/ae-en/jjc-pd-2-pop-up-flash-diffuser-9830841/i/
http://uae.souq.com/ae-en/3-color-p...nikon-pentax-kodak-dslr-slr-camera-5062133/i/
I want it for indoor portraits like hotels, in house etc or family pictures. I have a D750 with 50mm F1.8.
Thanks for the suggestion
Dee.
I've never seen one of those little softboxes for a pop-up, but I'd guess it would be better.
I got some use out of the pop-up with the store bought or home-made diffusers, but after the fact, I wish I'd just gotten a TTL speedlite and been done with it.
Sailor Blue
Forum Pro
Hard light comes from any light source that is small with respect to the size of the subject.
To directly soften light the source of light has to be about as large or larger than the subject and it is normally used at subject to diffuser distances between 1 and 2 times the diameter or diagonal of the diffuser.
Either of the diffusers you mention would work to some extent for macro photography where the subject to diffuser distance is very small.
For normal subject to light distances the "3 Color Pop Up Flash Diffuser Cover for Canon Nikon Pentax Kodak DSLR SLR Camera" works by sending light out to the sides and up where hopefully it will bounce off a nearby NEUTRAL colored surface and back on the subject. It is this bounce light that "softens" the hard light coming from the SMALL diffuser on the camera. If the nearby surface is colored the bounced light will color contaminate your subject.
Basically this device is useless about 99% of the time.
You are far, far better off just bouncing the light off any nearby neutral colored wall.
The "JJC PD-2 Pop-up Flash Diffuser" is better than the 3 Color Pop Up thing for macro but equally worthless for normal subject to flash distances.
If you want portrait soft light then you need to start with something like a 43"-45" white umbrella with a removable black backing on a light stand and position it between about 40"-80" from the subject.
To directly soften light the source of light has to be about as large or larger than the subject and it is normally used at subject to diffuser distances between 1 and 2 times the diameter or diagonal of the diffuser.
Either of the diffusers you mention would work to some extent for macro photography where the subject to diffuser distance is very small.
For normal subject to light distances the "3 Color Pop Up Flash Diffuser Cover for Canon Nikon Pentax Kodak DSLR SLR Camera" works by sending light out to the sides and up where hopefully it will bounce off a nearby NEUTRAL colored surface and back on the subject. It is this bounce light that "softens" the hard light coming from the SMALL diffuser on the camera. If the nearby surface is colored the bounced light will color contaminate your subject.
Basically this device is useless about 99% of the time.
You are far, far better off just bouncing the light off any nearby neutral colored wall.
The "JJC PD-2 Pop-up Flash Diffuser" is better than the 3 Color Pop Up thing for macro but equally worthless for normal subject to flash distances.
If you want portrait soft light then you need to start with something like a 43"-45" white umbrella with a removable black backing on a light stand and position it between about 40"-80" from the subject.
To add to what Sailor Blue has said, the other problem is the pop-up flash cannot be aimed for those walls or ceilings you want to bounce light off of.
I strongly suggest getting even an inexpensive speedlight, and investigating bounce flash photography. Neil VanNeikirk has a wonderful book on off camera lighting with on camera flash. To start, you may want to look at this from his web site:
I strongly suggest getting even an inexpensive speedlight, and investigating bounce flash photography. Neil VanNeikirk has a wonderful book on off camera lighting with on camera flash. To start, you may want to look at this from his web site:
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neilvn.com
Congratulations. You have made a wise decision.
The SB-700 is far superior to using the pop-up - giving more light, directional control for bounce and you can use it off-camera with the pop-up as commander with Nikon's IR based wireless system.
IMO anyone serious about good flash lighting needs a TTL hot-shoe flash that's fully adjustable for bounce. I use my Nikon SB-600 most often with a DIY bounce card indoors for bounce.
Happy flashing.
- John
Sailor Blue
Forum Pro
Great decision.
Go to Nikon learn & Explore for some good free tutorials.
Nikon Learn & Explore
If you want to do portraits here are some good free tutorials. They show using a flash meter, which makes getting the exposure correct easier, but using a flash meter isn't necessary.
Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 1 — Portraiture Using Available Light
Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 2 — Better Environmental Portraiture
Sekonic - Joe Brady - Blending Flash & Ambient Light for Beautiful Outdoor Portraits
Sekonic - Joe Brady - Control the Light and Improve Your Photography: Part 3 — Studio Portrait Lighting
Sekonic - Joe Brady & Frank Dispensa - Classical Posing and Portrait Lighting
Yeah, thanks
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