Customer Reviews

Gary Fong Puffer Pop Up Flash Diffuser - CANON/NIKON

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I got this to use with my Canon 40D for those trips where I just don't have enough room to bring along my big flash and Whaletail. This is a nice compact little gadget that comes in 2 pieces. The bracket slips into the hotshoe and then you push the white diffuser onto the little pegs and can adjust it as needed higher or lower for your particular flash. I didn't find it as flimsy as the other reviews, it snapped right into place on my hotshoe without a problem. It is a bit more difficult to attach the head to the bracket, that would really be my one main complaint that I would like this to be easier. As for performance, I was pretty impressed for the most part. Sure, it doesn't come near to the performance of my full-fledged bounce flash setup, but for a $20 gadget it does quite good. I took some photos of my dogs which is usually a huge red eye problem with direct flash (most animals produce far worse red eye than people) and the results were quite pleasing with virtually no red eye and much softer shadows. Check the sample images for a comparison shot with and without the puffer that I took of my cat in front of the fireplace to see the improvement that this little device gives you.

The mount that some people have had trouble with was fixed with a slight design modification quite a while ago. While most dealers' stock has been replaced, there are some that are still trickling through. If the mount broke for you, call customer support at 800-906-6447 x1 and they will send you the new one. It doesn't matter where you purchased it. The design change is illustrated here http://garyfonginc.com/images/PUF-MOUNT_v2.jpg.

I have read reviews of other Gary Fong products and never purchased one. I have been stuck many times without a flash and not wanted to use the pop-up flash on my Olympus E500 because of redeye and overexposure issues. I received my Puffer today in the mail. It works great! Exactly as expected. The puffer is made completely out of plastic and fits snuggly on the hotshoe mount. There are several hight adjustments (holes to mount the diffuser) and I haven't found the best height yet. I snapped a few pictures with the flash at full power and no images had redeye and the skin tones looked natural without any over exposure highlight areas. This is a definate must have for the camera bag!

For the price of the product, I think the product works fine. However, the white plastic portion of the product is quite flimsy. I am extremely careful when putting it on the black pegs to attach to camera. As well, the white plastic portion is hard to attach to the pegs, and the fact that it is flimsy doesn't help.

With all that said, the product produces great results, and does exactly what I would expect it to do. The price is reasonable and I haven't seen too many products that do the same thing. I would recommend it if you can be careful with your photography products!

I was a little hesitant after reading some of the reviews about how flimsy the mounting bracket was but I decided to go ahead and try it. The only other option was the Lumiquest-Soft Screen and I didn't feel like putting velcro on my Canon 30D. I've had no problems with the bracket and for the price, I think that the construction is strong enough.

The comparison with portraits is amazing. Not only are the shadows softer, but the colors are more saturated and intense...more like an existing light photo. My four favorite nude practice models, our dogs, have little or no red-eye.

One change I did make, was with flash compensation when using the pop-up as fill flash. I usually dial the flash exposure down about one stop. I don't do that when I use the puffer. You also lose a few feet of range on the flash so if your subject is at the outer limit of what your flash will illuminate, you'd better remove the puffer or move closer to the subject.

This is a cheap little plastic device that claims to greatly improve your flash photos with your pop up flash. It is exactly that. I put this thing on my D90 and was instantly impressed by the results. It actually prevents that pop up flash from doing the only thing it can do..... making everyone really ugly. $20 just turned that useless flash into something very useable. The light is much softer and falls on the subjects in a much more appealing way. Outdoors, it works really well for fill flash. I use flash in rear-sync mode almost all the time, and the puffer makes it easy to blend the flash with the existing lighting.

Keep in mind, a speedlight with a defusor will always give you better results, but you may not have it with you, or not have one at all.

As for the other reviewers having problems with build quality, I have not experienced any of this. I took it out of the package, set it up on my camera with no difficulty, and started shooting. It's in and out of my camera bag all the time, seems sturdy and durrable enough to me. Some reviewers refer to the plastic being to flexible or soft. To me that just means it will be less britle in cold weather, so less prone to cracking. I consider the type ofplastic used a plus.

Big improvement on everyday shots. I would absolutely recomend this to anyone..... again, HUGE bang for your $20.

If you've read the reviews that discuss broken or damaged devices, there's a reason for that: This little gadget is made of the lowest quality materials that could possibly be used and still have some sort of functionality.
If you get one of these, and I do recommend getting one (or 2), be very, very gentle assembling and, most importantly, mounting the device. Once on your camera, I use it on a XSi/450, it works very well. Some quick advice if you get one. 1, be gentle putting it on your camera - this may sound redundant but you'll understand. 2, increase your flash compensation to +1 stop and experiment / test from there.
Most Important: The results using the "Puffer" are surprisingly good. I've used it at a couple of family gatherings with great effect. The images, both indoor and outdoor fill light, are much, much better than without.

I would recommend this product. I'm a beginner with dslr cameras. I bought this for a Canon XTI. I hate using the flash because its so harsh, but now that i have the puffer i get the best of both worlds, can use the flash and still keep pictures looking natural. Can't live without it.

If you own a DSLR with a pop-up flash, there is no reason I can think of not to have this product. Amateurs and professionals alike can benefit from this inexpensive yet effective tool.

The primary reason why you should avoid using your pop-up flash whenever possible is that the light is too harsh and also too weak. I would only use it in a situation where there was no other alternative and I did not have a flash with me.

This product enables you to take the very harsh and very narrowly projected pop-up flash and both diffuse it and spread it out coverage-wise. Will the result be as good as an external flash with a diffuser? No, of course not. In my opinion, however, it will be at least half as good which is saying a lot since this item costs about a 1/15 to 1/20 the cost of an external flash and diffuser.

The thing is, though, I don't think this is meant as a replacement for an external flash. In my mind, it is intended for the following situations:

1. Someone on a budget who wants better flash quality but doesn't have the money for a Speedlight yet
2. Someone who prefers a lightweight solution over having a heavy flash on top of their camera
3. Someone who wants to travel light and not bring an external flash, yet who wants to be able to diffuse flash if need be in a pinch
4. Someone who wants to keep this as a backup in case they have forgotten their external flash, don't have it with them, or had it break.

Again, you will not necessary get professional results from this item (although I'm sure a competent professional could make it happen) but I don't think that is what this item is intended for. It is intended for the situations I detailed above, and in my experience it has fit the bill.

Another home run for Gary Fong's products.

I bought this item when it was first released. I was really looking forward to trying it out but the "patent pending" method for connecting the puffer to my Nikon D80 broke on my first attempt to insert it. I wasn't forcing it or anything, it's just a flimsy piece of plastic in my opinion. I'm really disappointed wit this product and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This is also the second review I've put on this site for this product, my first one was removed!