Opteka Universal Soft Screen Flash Diffuser for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, & Kodak On-Camera Pop-Up Flashes

by Opteka

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0017SVEDQ
• Item model number: BLUE-FLASH-DIFFUSER
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #75 in Camera & Photo > Accessories > Flash Accessories > Diffusers
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 14, 2008

Product Description

Diffuse your pop up flash and prevent red eye with the handy Pixco pop-up flash diffuser. Quick and convenient to put on & take off. This is the answer to most on camera flash problems.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little time saver, February 16, 2009

By 

Mark "Marky D Sharky" (Medford, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opteka Universal Soft Screen Flash Diffuser for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, & Kodak On-Camera Pop-Up Flashes (Electronics)

This is a great little time saver for those times when you want to use your built-in flash. When not in use if fits easily in a pocket. I am very happy with my purchase, it is a nice compliment to my speedlite setup.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother - won't help, November 1, 2009

By 

Mark Twain (Alpine Meadows) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Opteka Universal Soft Screen Flash Diffuser for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, & Kodak On-Camera Pop-Up Flashes (Electronics)

Based on other reviews, I thought I'd give this a try on my Canon XSi. What's the problem with the pop-up flash? Aside from the lack of power, it's directional and harsh. In portrait orientation, the pop-up flash will produce dark shadowing to the side.

If you add this Opteka diffuser on, it does NOT reduce the shadowing noticeably (maybe 5% improvement at most). What's worse is that the color turns more yellowish/brownish, and very ugly color at that. I've played with the white balance settings, but those won't yield acceptable results for me either. Perhaps a custom white balance might, but I didn't try that.

The diffuser will marginally soften the light on your subject, but due to no improvement in shadowing and negative effect on color, my opinion is that you're better off without it.

It's also very cheaply made. It's simple thin plastic. The back has a tab that is folded and used to slide into the hot shoe to hold it in place. But this it feels like it'll rip at the crease, so I'm extra careful with it.

A better solution that using this diffuser is to get an external flash. That will improve your lighting options and quality by leaps and bounds. But if your budget doesn't allow for an external flash, then you shouldn't let waste on this either. It's really useless.

I have only tried using this diffuser indoors for casual family photos, so maybe it may work better for some other uses (macro, outdoor fill).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best "bang for the Buck", August 7, 2009

By 

Samuel E. Webb "Sam Webb" (Miltom WV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Opteka Universal Soft Screen Flash Diffuser for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, & Kodak On-Camera Pop-Up Flashes (Electronics)

Of all my accessories (including several diffusers) this has the most effect per dollar spent of all of them. It can hide in you case or even pocket, then pull it out when you don't have or need a bigger flash. The most obvious improvement over standard pop up flash is the elemination of bright spots. It seems to even make the colors more natural.