I have used this pop-up flash diffuser for a few days with my Nikon D90. It is working as advertised. Used under the correct circumstances, it will indeed diffuse flash output and lead to more evenly lit images than those produced without it. The quality of the product is so-so - it is made of molded plastic, and has a fairly cheap feel to it, but, of course, the price is quite low, so my expectations weren't very high to start with. The vendor sent me a box that was labeled as the 'Opteka' pop-up flash diffuser (not the 'Prolite' mentioned on the Amazon website). However, the product itself looks identical to that shown on Amazon.
The product has a few limitations that become apparent with use. It results in unevenly lit images under wide-angle conditions (none of the five possible screen positions will correct this), and it will not work well with very short distances between the camera and the subject). Finally, despite the TTL flash metering of the camera (which I presumed would compensate for the light loss produced by the diffuser), the flash on the camera has to be set to higher output values (+1EV) to result in lighting of the scene comparable to that achieved without the diffuser. Thus, with the diffuser, the flash's reach is actually substantially reduced.
Even with these limitations, this is a good product at a good price which makes the camera's on-board flash more usable. Opteka Soft Pop-Up SLR Flash Diffuser for Canon EOS, Nikon, Olympus, & Pentax On-Camera Flashes with White, Blue (Cooling), & Orange (Warming) Screens
I bought this for my Canon Rebel XT. Mine, too, came in a box marked Opteka. I am glad I bought this, as the product works fairly well and the price was reasonable. I used it to take some photos of my kids (in the stands) at a high school basketball game, where I know I couldn't bounce the flash with my speedlight. I was satisfied with the result of this pop-up diffuser. But, don't expect the kind of depth in your photos that you get from a speedlight. It just takes enough of the edge off the flash so that your images will look less flat than Uncle Lou's, who is not using a diffuser.
The product description says "Light loss is about 2/3 of a stop." Forget that. Even at a full stop, I thought the photos were underexposed. I ended up combining an exposure compensation (+1/3) with some flash compensation.
Update Feb 2011: I have upgraded to a Canon 50D and I tested the diffuser on that body. It fit fine and did not prevent the pop-up flash from engaging. Worked just fine. However, at least on other reviewer has commented that the mounting prevented the flash from popping-up on her 50D.
The first thing I did after receiving it was set up a test shoot, just like the person that posted the pics of the lamp on the sample images. I was skeptical that it would soften the shadow lines that much but it absolutely did, works perfectly. The key to it, is the little dimples and the curved surface. It diffuses light much better then a flat screen or paper. I do not intend to use the orange and blue diffusers. In fact I have plans to modify them for other uses (top secrete stuff). Also all of the similar diffusers like this one are all the same; they are just sold under different brand names. Just find the cheapest price and shipping combo between the different ones and get it. It's worth having, it takes up very little space in your bag, and it's cheap. It's by far the best option for diffusing a pop up flash. And it doesn't look ridiculous like some of the others. It's one of those "why didn't I think of this" type of products. I think those that got poor results have a weak internal flash to begin with. There's no fault in the product.
It's a plastic diffuser for the on-camera flash. It does decrease the intensity of the flash but that is expected with any diffuser. I purchased it to replace the paper I was using as a diffuser and freed up my hand. It's attached to my D90 and would recommend it to anyone else looking to soften the light on a on camera flash. This is not going to work like bouncing a flash off the ceiling, but it does a good job filling in.
You can achieve the same effect by putting a tissue paper over your internal flash, and it's MUCH more convenient, except it's just kind of ugly.
This thing doesn't stay on the camera firmly which irritates me. Whenever I rotate my camera, let's say for portrait shot, it slips right off immediately. VERY LOOSE.
I don't use it anymore after I got my external flash. I don't recommend people buying this product because it's a waste of 24 dollars. Spend it on bags or hand-straps, it's more worthy.
This product doesn't really soften the camera's onboard flash but blocks it.
The result is a weakened flash image, with some exposure in the center of the frame, but the dropoff to the edges creates a black, vignette effect.
That is not the effect I wanted, it's too unnatural. - Photography - Flash - Flash Diffuser - Soft'
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