Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible Gen5

Obviously I would have like to spend about $30 less on this beauty but the build quality and diffusion are really awesome. It is worth it if you need solid, portable diffusion for your work. Very convenient and packs down easily into any camera bag. That alone adds some serious value to it, imo.

I've heard about these Gary Fong Collapsible Speed Mount Light Sphere (White) light modifiers a long time ago and just ignored them because of the cost and seems a little like a gimmick. While I do sometimes see these used at events by other photographers, it never seemed to be the most popular and so I wrote them off until recently. I had an event where I was going to be using a lot of on-camera flash with possible no light bounce options which I loathe but understand sometimes it's necessary so I decided to try one of these.I had also purchased the mini flash softbox diffuser too and thought maybe this cheaper tool would suffice. My first session I used the mini softbox and while I like it better than the light direct from the flash, it really didn't fill the area as much as I would like. So the next session I used the Fong Sphere and was pleasantly surprised. It did require a bit more light power since some light is lost to the sides and back but the spread of the light on and around the subject was very pleasing.This really made the situation much more tolerable and I was happy I had spent the extra funds to get the sphere. I am sure I will use it more in the future which brings me to another notable point of the sphere. It is a nice thickness of rubber material with hard plastic top and I feel that this material construction will last a good deal of time as long as it is not left out in the sun to bake and dry out.

Works as described. Diffuses the flash nicely, fits snug on the speedlight. It collapses easily and becomes compact. Seems to be durable, the dome surprisingly stays in place (based on the design, it seemed questionable, but I've had no issues with it coming out during event shoots). The only downside is that it's fairly bulky.

I'm learning photography and I'm very new to flash and off camera flash and while I have been able to bounce flash effectively for more natural effects, sometimes you can't bounce the flash but the straight flash is too harsh. This does a great job diffusing the light and making everything softer, more natural, and eliminate hard shadows.I'm using this with a Neewer TT560 flash (~$30 on Amazon). Despite it being so affordable it has so far been reliable and able to put out a lot of light. While it does have a bounce card attached to the flash, sometimes I need more options for flash. This Light Sphere fits on tight and holds very well. The velcro quality is somewhat questionable but so far it has held up and using it I can easily pick up my flash by the diffuser without worry that it will detach. I don't carry my flash like that but it holds on very well.I also really appreciate the ability to collapse the Light Sphere for compact portability. It is fast to deploy and fast to put away. The materials all seem to be of high quality and I haven't had any concerns of tearing with the softer materials however like I mentioned earlier, the velcro doesn't seem to be of the highest quality and I'd prefer it didn't say "GaryFong.Com" over it because it the print and quality of the velcro makes it look cheap. Nevertheless it does its job and it doesn't matter what it looks like when it does a fantastic job of diffusing flash.I knocked a star mainly for the price. It was difficult to knock the star because it really does an amazing job and seems to be quality made but I can't help but feel this is priced just a bit too high at around $60. I think at $39.99 this would be priced perfectly and would seem like a steal for what you get from it but even $45 price point would have made this a 5 star review. If you are not turned off by the price, this really has been a great product for me and I can recommend it.

What a great device. It does take a bit of practice to use it indoors or outdoors. I hate shadows so when using bare flash or a diffuser like a Stofen, horizontal shots are usually fine for people and groups because the flash goes straight back. When you switch to vertical the shadow goes to the subjects left. This causes a large dark blob behind the person. I have used brackets to eliminate these shadows but it is a hassle to mount the bracket on the camera every shoot. However with the Light Sphere there is hardly any shadows produced. Depending on your location, the best use of this diffuser is in a venue with white ceilings where the light can bounce and also spread the light. With practice you will figure out whether to use the dome or no dome and to bounce or shoot straight on. This thing fits almost all flashes. It does use a lot of battery power but for the what you get in the images it's well worth it. If you want fast recycle times, use an external battery source like a Quantum or the Bolt.