Gary Fong Diffuser - worth it?

[IgsEMT]

Just as the title says, I'm looking to purchase one but wondering if it is really worth it? What do you like about it, what don't you like about it? If it was something of $20 I probably wouldn't question it and just get it but shelling out $50 isn't something I'm willing to do for the product that I don't know if would work for me.
All responses are welcomed.
Thanks All

[TPF Sponsor]

[CxThree]

Nope.

I have the Fong. It works ok, but for the money, you can do so much more. It also is way too bulky so it takes up too much room in my bag.

Look at the lumiquest pocket bouncer or something like that. Or, consider making your own. http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/

[musicaleCA]

No. It makes your flash look like a torpedo, and only produces flat, boring light. And it's only useful indoors. Frankly, I haven't seen light from a Fong that hasn't made me yawn. And a Gary Fong can't solve the problem of shadows behind the subject; only getting the flash off-camera or bounce flash will do that for you.

I suggest the Presslite Vertex. It's worked fabulously for me. Great little device, that is like a bounce card you can turn in every direction, mirror (for bouncing fullpower flash at say, a wall) and a flag, all in one.

[JamesMason]

I saw i pro nature photog using one of these on bbc1 the other night. Personaly ive never gone wrong with a bog standard omnibounce diffuser

[musicaleCA]

I saw i pro nature photog using one of these on bbc1 the other night. Personaly ive never gone wrong with a bog standard omnibounce diffuser

...Nature? Why? I would think you'd need another fresnel lens on the darn thing. You know, those large honking things that go about a half a foot in front of the flash and focus it even more. And you see guys with scorch marks all over their gear because they forget to take them off.

[JamesMason]

I have no idea why either. She was taking a photo of a frog at the time. She was using a ring flash later in the program so im assuming using the gary fong did not pay off.

Perhaps she was attempting to cook the frog for dinner ?

[Big Mike]

If you are shooting something fairly close up, the 'Fong Dong' can make the light quite a bit softer than just bare flash. It still wastes a lot of light though.

When shooting things from farther away, the size increase over the bare flash, is much less noticeable, and thus, doens't help much.

As mentioned, this thing is really only good when used indoors where you have a lot of surfaces to bounce off of. The only reason I would consider using it, is because with all this bouncing, you can turn your camera vertical without getting the harsh side shadows that you do with bare flash.

Personaly ive never gone wrong with a bog standard omnibounce diffuser

These things are 'abused' just as much as the Fong Dongs. I see people shooting outdoors with them all the time....where they don't do anything but steal light. They are good for splitting the light when you are bouncing off the ceiling, but pretty useless the rest of the time.

[Village Idiot]

No. It makes your flash look like a torpedo, and only produces flat, boring light. And it's only useful indoors. Frankly, I haven't seen light from a Fong that hasn't made me yawn. And a Gary Fong can't solve the problem of shadows behind the subject; only getting the flash off-camera or bounce flash will do that for you.

I suggest the Presslite Vertex. It's worked fabulously for me. Great little device, that is like a bounce card you can turn in every direction, mirror (for bouncing fullpower flash at say, a wall) and a flag, all in one.

I have a Vertex, but I seem to rarely use it for some reason.

OP - Go eat chinese. Order small soup for carryout. Cut a hole in the lid. Own fake Fong.

[IgsEMT]

THANK YOU ALL FOR RESPONSES...

OP - Go eat chinese. Order small soup for carryout. Cut a hole in the lid. Own fake Fong.

Yeah, I tried that - didn't get the results as good as expected...

DIY Reflector-Diffuser

DID THAT - got a foam sheet from craft store and did something very similar to it. So far not very satisfied with the results...

A little while ago, I asked for opinion for a bounce card and http://super.nova.org/DPR/DIY01/ was the recommendation.

The whole reason why I'm looking into something that can spread the light nice and soft is to eliminate time in post processing and eliminate use for umbrellas - my kid is 2yrs old, running around and occasional likes to stand near walls and pose (at which point I shoot) and end up with nasty shadows on the wall. I can clone them out in PS or set up umbrellas but again 2-year olds don't stay still. The foamy bounce card works better, for me, then the omnibounce but doesn't replace umbrellas or softboxes - thus here I am and the quest continues.

The other day I was a second crew at the wedding, where 1st crew photog was using Gary Fong's and swore by how good it is.

Can you tell me more about Vertex? Pros and cons?
Thanks folks

[CxThree]

If you paid $50+ for a piece of plastic and were asked about it, would you say you made a bad purchase? Most people would not.

I can tell ya. I made a bad purchase. Hell, I ordered the pro kit for $150. I'm honest enough to tell you that it does not suck. It works fairly well, but I think it's way overpriced. If you can pick up a used one or can get one for cheaper, go for it.

[IgsEMT]

CX, thank you!!!
I looked at his site in his demo videos - was pretty impressed (if they are as honest as I'd hope they are). But it really the price that holds me back...
thanks for your feedback

[sween]

I asked about a Fong diffuser here and elsewhere about a year ago - no real rave reviews at all. Most seem to think it's little more than gimmick, not any better than a homemade diffuser costing a couple bucks.

[Jaszek]

[Derrel]

Gary Fong Thing-A-Ma-Jig-A-Tron 4000...the cartoon says it all.

There is no small on-flash cap (Sto-Fen, Nikon,Canon) and no small on-Flash Diffuser that can take the place of an umbrella. An umbrella is large, like 30 to 60 inches across the face,and even larger when measured around the curvature ( a pretty common way of specifying umbrella size). A larger light sourfe, in relation to the subject's size, and large in relation to the light-to-subject distance, is what determines how soft a light is.

Take a Fong diffuser. Total area? Maybe 15 square inches. Very small. Beyond 10 feet with a small diffuser like that and you have a small light source that is basically a point light source, and it will cast relatively hard, sharp-edged shadows---once you compensate for the large light loss it causes.

With an umbrella, your light source's size in area is somewhere between 50 and 200 times larger in area, which will keep umbrella lights large and mostly soft across quite long distances. Overcast sunlight shining through low-lying clouds makes for soft lighting much like umbrella lighting; the unobscured sun itself casts shadows much like a small flash with a small diffuser does at 30 feet. Diffusers like Fong or Sto-Fen can create diffused lighting when used at close range,and on very small subjects, but at longer distances and or on larger subjects, their physical size is SO SMALL in relationship TO the subject, that they are, in effect, nothing more than light-sucking, small light sources.

Gary is a good marketer,and always sells a lot of products. But light operates outside his marketing influence. There is no substitute for "size" in light modifiers,and there is no substitute for umbrella or scrim diffusion for people work at distances more than about 10 feet.

[Mike_E]

Indoors- fast glass and bounce off the ceiling and walls.

Outdoors- fast glass and light off camera.

The DIY bouncer (if that's Chuck Gardner's site) works as well as anything -use glue instead of staples though- but no matter how fast you are you still can't get around the laws of physics.