I own several Gary Fong diffusers for my Nikon S-800 flash units. I love them.
I purchased 2 new Nikon SB-900 flash units (love them, too, after turning the temperature limit off) - and I need some Gary Fong diffusers for the SB-900s. I purchased a "universal" Gary Fong diffuser to test on a Nikon SB-900 - and it is a piece of junk!
The Gary Fong units for the SB-800s attach firmly to the flash. The "Universal" for the SB-900 Nikon flash is not made to fit the SB-900 at all. It has 4 "flaps" that go over the flash head - and a poorly-designed strap and - get this - a rubber band (!) to hold it on. It does not stay on !!! In the middle of a wedding or the reception it will be on the floor if you move too fast.
I'm shocked by how poorly this fits my flash. I can only hope that Gary Fong has a true SB-900 unit in production.
Universal here means "not really designed to fit anything." Gary Fong LSUCLOUD Lightsphere Universal Cloud
This diffuser does a great job of eliminating shadows - maybe too good of a job. I used this diffuser for the first time list last weekend. I got some great shots - but some of my shots were a little flat.....moodless; it did such a complete job of diffusing because everything was evenly lit.
For a wedding or event shooting it would be great.....for art shots you want to go for something with more control.
I wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew I needed a diffuser for my speedlite since I was going to be doing some night weddings soon. And really, that shadow right behind a person, that's bush league. That should never be there if someone is paying you.
Pulled it out of the box, and my first impression was: "sturdier than I thought it would be." Yes, for a piece of tupperware it's probably slightly on the expensive side. Under $40 is still a pretty chunk of change (and you should always equate what that really costs in your area of living. $40 = one dinner date (if you don't splurge), 6 fast food meals, 3.5 movie ticktes, 1 used video game, 1 decent shirt from the mall, 75 kg of food in Uganda, etc). But if it saves you time in post-production/ processing, then I think it's worth it. The flash, by being diffused, is not harsh. Allows for more crisp photos in darker situations. As with all lighting elements, if you're in a bigger room, then you don't want to be using a medium or long range lens with this, but a shorter range lens works quite well.
If you have problems with it fitting snug on - well, it fit fine on my speedlite. And if you're having problems with it fitting snug on, you can always pad either the flash or the lightsphere's prongs with a layer or several of black electrical tape. The rubber band made it snug on it's own on mine.
For the price, yes, I think it's worth it. Will I need this all the time? No. But that 10% when I do need something like this, I feel confident that it will work, and that I won't have to slave over a picture in Photoshop trying to make the best of a decent or bad situation.
I got this for shooting weddings and events, but have found it invaluable even for shooting around the house. In the past, I've had to stick with prime lenses when hanging out with friends in a poorly lit room - but now I can use my 16-35 lens (much better for stuff like this), without boosting the ISO. I've also used it for simple outdoor portrait settings, and it's really helped even out the fill flash. I love it - it's a little bulky, but well worth it even for casual settings like a home. I haven't had a chance to bring it out to events yet (first one is tonight) - but I'm confident that with as useful as it's been for situations it's NOT designed for, that it'll be awesome for weddings/events.
The GF "Universal" Lightsphere broke when placed for the 3rd time on my SB-900. The system, which tries (and fails in my experience) to accommodate flashes of very different sizes using rubber bands and velcro _fails_ on the large Nikon SB-900. I tried to fit it tightly and it just shattered. No excessive pressure, nothing. Broken. In my opinion it is _not_ compatible with the SB-900, claims to the contrary by Gary Fong not withstanding. I have no idea how well it works on smaller flash heads, or the smallest ones where I might be concerned about the security of the rubber band+velcro system for securing the supposedly universal device.
With that said, the two times I did use it before it broke I was pleased with the images compared to bounce+flash-card, especially in portrait mode. The direct light is good and the bounce + fill works well. The theory is good. In my experience the implementation is not adequate for serious work.
If you can (somehow) baby your gear in the field, the Gary Fong lightsphere might give you good results. That isn't me; I need to rely on my equipment and the universal ligthsphere fails badly with my SB-900 set. I will either go back to card+bounce, try the Honl modifiers or something else. For me, the Gary Fong "Univeral" lightsphere is an Epic Fail. - Photography - Diffuser - Lightsphere - Gary Fong'
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