Customer Reviews

Gary Fong Lightsphere Universal System Cloud

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Me: "My name is Bob and I'm a Lightsphere user."

Everyone else: "Hi Bob."

I agree that it sometimes does not produce "artistic" lighting that is bounced off walls or people's shirts. However, if you want to get acceptable and often better lighting without a lot of fiddling, this thing does the trick. If I have time then I'll use some fancy light-shaping bounce thingy. If I have lots of time I'll set up an umbrella or two. If I need to grab and go then I find myself grabbing a Lightsphere more than anything else.

My only complaints about the original Lightsphere are that it looks... stupid and that it looks stupider when it falls off my flash. This version solves at least the second of those two issues. If you put it on right then it will stay on.

Everyone else: "How do you put it on right, Bob?"

Me: Shove the dome over your flash as far as you can. See where that is. Take the black rubber band that you get with the LS and place it around your flash just above the furthest point that it reached. Now put the LS back on your flash. The bottom flanges should cover, but just cover, the rubber band. Now tighten the Velcro strap and you're in business. Covering over the "GARYFONG.COM" with black sharpie or gaffer's tape is optional.

Thank you for attending this meeting of Lightsphere Users Anonymous. Now I think I'll put on my "Proud to Chimp" tee shirt and go take some pictures. :)

BEFORE YOU BUY, CHECK OUT Gary Fong LSUCLOUD Lightsphere Universal Cloud - It's the same thing for almost $10 less!!!

BTW, I feel that honest, effective reviews can take the place of first-hand experiences that are lacking in online shopping. I've always appreciated the help I've received from other reviewers and work hard to return the favor as best as I can. I hope you found this review helpful and if there was anything you thought was lacking or unclear leave a comment and I'll do what I can to fix it.

Originally, I bought the Gary Fong Lightsphere II. I read that the Gary Fong Lightsphere #1 was terrific, but alas, it fell off all the time. So I figured the Gary Fong Lightsphere II would address this problem. Silly me.

The good news is, for $10 more, the Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere comes with the Gary Fong "archival" band (its a rubber band) and the Gary Fong Velcro strap. Using these two items, the Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere really does stay in place. Only hitch is, the Gary Fong promotional CD that comes with the Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere doesn't explain the attachment proceedure. It does, however, give a series of Gary Fong promotional demos, featuring Gary Fong.

I figured it out pretty quickly but it was just a lucky guess. Before you even reach for your Gary Fong Lightsphere, you wrap the Gary Fong archival rubber band around the top of your flash. Make sure the side that says GaryFong.com is facing outwards. The rubber band provides enough friction so that when you tighten the Gary Fong Velcro strip, the diffuser will stay in place. You'll know the Velcro is oriented properly when you see "GaryFong.com" prominently displayed.

Otherwise, its a good, soft diffuser.

The Gary Fong Lightsphere Cloud Universal System is great. You are able to use it on any flash. With several different cameras, I do not have to mess around with a light diffuser for each camera.

I love this product. It really takes the "blunt" light away and illuminates wonderfully.

If you are looking for something that can be packed away in a tight space, this is not the product. It is hard plastic. I run the strap of my camera bag though it and store the dome in the bag. Easy to get to and you will always know you have it with your camera.

I love this and would recommend it to anyone looking for a superior diffuser.

This product works as advertised. Mind you it doesn't work as well as it's advertisement (Fong) claims. It does work, however. This price is the killer for me. I paid 39.00 for it and felt like a chump after I began using it. The velcro strap does hold it on fairly snug, but fairly snug means it will get knocked off rather easily and you'll spend time chasing this bouncing tupperware piece across a hard floor as it rattles around like a tall plastic cup bouncing like a football. My advice, save your money look elsewhere for a cheaper one, maybe a knock off. I would have felt okay paying $10 for one, but that is all. I went back to my old sto-fen for 95% of my flash work at a daily newspaper.

I first was very hesitant to buy the system, because of many tries before and none of them successful, but I have to confess that this diffuser is really good!!!!. My first shots were a disaster, but after using it with different settings the pictures begin to improve up to the point that my portable softbox felt jealous. Well obviously the quality of a larger source is not comparable, but I think for the size it is the best diffuser Ive owned. Now I feel very confident that pictures are going to be very good. Indoor photography at first was very cold, but I set my temperature setting up to 7000 and the pictures were amazing!!!. On outdoor photography also is very good. My suggest is to buy it, 49 dlls is not a great deal, and if you work a little bit on your camera settings you'll get amazing results.

I'm not a huge fan of using my flash unless I absolutely have to. So when I do, this thing is a MUST. I love it! It filters the light nicely and helps ensure no harsh shadows. Plus, it seems to really help with white balance so photos aren't too warm. I never use my flash without it.

Everybody is leary of people like Gary Fong and Bill Gates. But, both of their products have their place. The Lightsphere works wonderfully in the following situations:

1. Indoors, expecially in close quarters (i.e. a hallway, or small room)
2. It replaces the need to have a bracket because when you put your camera sideways (portrait orientation), the Lightsphere puts the flash back where you want it.
3. Any portrait situation where you want a nice-sized catchlight in your subjects eyes.

For me, I keep the Lightsphere on all the time when I use the flash. It probably isn't always entirely necessary, but if you purchased one just for the above 3 reasons, you would definitely get your moneys worth.

It's a good tool.

Gives nice results. Better than standard diffuser. But don't get the ChromeDome accessory because it doesn't fit on this. The extra step or so of light would have been nice.

First the "bad" news. The price seems a bit high considering it is basically a piece of plastic. That is the only reason I've given it four stars rather than five.

Now the good news; it does exactly what Gary Fong says it will do. The DVD that comes with it, while being a commercial for other Gary Fong products also does an excellent job of explaining how to use it. The quality of light is excellent. The removable top cap allows bouncing off ceilings as well.

I've used it for both portraits and macro photography and the results are superb. For portrait work exclusively I would recommend the clear Lightsphere. Highly recommended.

First of all, I want to say that I do like the quality of the photo that comes out... this is a very good diffuser. But the main problem is that it is just a pain to "use". Let me explain.

1. Size.. this thing is huge, so it will take at least one compartment of your bag just to carry it. When it's on your flash, it will definitely get attention from bystanders because your camera with flash is now a foot tall.

2. "Installation"... you first need to put a rubber band around your flash so that the Lightsphere can be installed on top of that. You just slide the thing on and tighten the velcro. The problem with that it's a lot of steps to go through simply to put it on. As compared to Stofen diffuser, this takes way too long.

3. Dork factor... depends on how you look at it, adding this to your whole set-up will either make you look pro or look like a dork.

4. Price... It's almost 4 times the price of Stofen diffuser and the quality of the photo is not 4 times better...

I'm giving this up to buy a Stofen instead, so that I can carry it around and not look like a dork.