Name: Gary Fong Puffer Plus Pop-Up Flash Diffuser for Canon Cameras
Brand: Gary Fong
SKU: GAPUFPLCA
Price: 18.95 USD
Availability: Discontinued
Rating: 3.71 (7 reviews)

Gary Fong Puffer Plus Pop-Up Flash Diffuser for Canon Cameras

Gary Fong Puffer Plus Pop-Up Flash Diffuser for Canon Camerqas

Gary Fong

Adorama

Photography

Lighting & Studio

Flashes & On-Camera Lighting

Flash Accessories

Flash Bounce & Diffusers

Gary Fong Flash Bounce & Diffusers

Gary Fong Puffer Plus Pop-Up Flash Diffu...

Buy: Gary Fong Puffer Plus Pop-Up Flash Diffuser for Canon Cameras Buy now & save $1. Type: Bounce Diffuser

Puffer Plus utilizes a new, larger shield with an advanced, light-filtering textured finish and a convenient sliding rail system that allows for quick centering of the shield over the camera's pop-up flash, greatly softening the quality of light. Flash diffuser for Canon brand cameras.

I was amazed at this simple device. I've long wished I could diffuse the on-camera flash. It softens and scatters the light coming from the pop-up flash. It doesn't prevent red eye in animals but for objects, it's really nice.

Pop-up flash diffuser for Canon

I bought this for use on my Canon cameras.

As it comes from the maker, it has three elements that cause it to be unstable when mounted in the hot shoe: First, the right side mounting rail on the hot shoe adapter is necessarily truncated to avoid depressing the flash switch under the hot shoe retention spring, which leads to the unit falling off the camera if it happens to be jarred to the rear (I've found no satisfactory fix for this). Second, the rails on the slide-in hot shoe adapter for the diffuser support frame are so loose in the frame channels that I had to seal the unit in place on the frame with "Shoe Goo." Third, the same loose tolerances between the hot shoe channels and the support frame rails necessitated creating a "Shoe Goo" shim on the rear of the adapter's underside to prevent the entire unit from slipping out of the hot shoe.

A fourth problem is that the diffuser's adjustable slide channel tolerances are so loose that very little accidental impact is needed to separate the diffuser from the support frame; for this, I have yet to devise a viable solution; "Shoe Goo" does not adhere to the diffuser material, otherwise, I'd use it to block the tops of the adjustment channels.

The diffuser works well for me with the modifications that I've made, though the loose diffuser remains a constant iirritation during active shoots.

I also have one of the earlier Fong diffusers that I had to modifiy by shortening the right hot shoe rail and shimming the left rail to prevent the unit from falling off my cameras.

I would suggest that the manufacturer might subject such units as these to a great deal of real-life field work before putting them on the market.

I did not recommend the unit as-is, but I believe that it is a good idea that would solve a need if the failings that I note are properly addressed.

R.M. Boxberger

OK, but only with modifications.

I got the diffuser hoping it would work on on my canon under water housing as I was waiting for an original to be shipped from the UK. Did not fit well and was not going to work without casting a shadow. This my be a nice thing for some, but not for underwater photography

Underwater housing

I use it it works. But as a professional it is more for the beginner

it's ok

When I want to travel very light, this is a handy tool to have, and it fits nicely in my Sling Bag. It is very durable, and you would have to go out of your way to break it. Built in Flash is very harsh, and this really helps in softening the light. Because a built in flash is not very powerful, you will have to be close to your subject for it to be of any use, with the Puffer mounted to your camera, you will lose even more flash power, but the trade-off is better looking pictures. One draw back is the way it mounts on the camera. Because there is a pin in the right side of a Canon camera hot shoe, that tells the Camera that a Flash is attached, the Puffer Diffuser connects to this hot shoe only part of the way, to avoid making contact with this pin, but as a result has a tendency to swivel back and forth... hence the 4 stars.

Much improved pictures for a built in flash.

The "Gary Fong Puffer Plus Pop-Up Flash Diffuser" is versatile, lightweight, quickly and easily  installs on the camera, and provides the right amount of fill-flash. This means I acn use my pop-up flash when I need it and stow the flash when I don't need it without having to remove the diffuser. I think a future design might incorporate a slightly sturdier material.
I would recommend this product to friend.