Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I have long used the weird and great Kuangren dual head flash, and I have been thru a couple different diffusers with it. That was fun and all, but I can't help noticing that dual head flashes give certain artifacts like twin highlights. Now single head flashes can have their own issues, but I thought I should give them a serious try. Maybe the grass is greener, since so many people use them with big 'ol conical diffusers. So I am building a new diffuser for a single head flash. We shall see.

Here is a 3rd generation prototype, built out of paper for now. What is a bit unusual about it is that it is an articulating diffuser. One can bend it on a hinge to play with light direction and fit to different lens focal lengths.

The basic configuration. I include a lower deflector that I might use. I only need to figure out how to attach it!
IMG_2339 by Marcoli Sturtevantione, on Flickr

Here the front piece is bent down. The simple brass paper fasteners that are used for a hinge actually work quite well, and they may stay in the final version.
IMG_2330 by Marcoli Sturtevantione, on Flickr

The front diffuser is too big, I know. Besides the front diffuser layer, there is also an inner diffuser layer, deep inside.
IMG_2332 by Marcoli Sturtevantione, on Flickr

Here the front part of the diffuser is removed. There is still the inner diffuser layer. This configuration may be useful for when I use the wide angle macro lens, since that lens has a very short focal length.
IMG_2328 by Marcoli Sturtevantione, on Flickr

The final version will be built from polypropylene plastic. I will experiment on different combinations of diffuser layers. There will also be an LED modeling light inside to help illuminate subjects when shooting manually from a stopped down aperture.

Thanks for looking!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Mark, your search for the Holy Grail of illumination diffusion is afoot. As your journey takes you on many paths, perhaps the two of us will cross at some point. What appears to be so simple is ever so complex. Just create the conditions of an overcast sky where the intense light of the sun is softly diffused by the clouds which are a distance away from the subject. What could be easier? Oh, solving World hunger or perhaps bringing peace across the World.

I enjoy seeing your creativity and I will surely follow your progress. Hey, what better way to play indoors on the cold winter days?

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

Thanks! The conditions you mention are met well enough by using a white umbrella. I have one of those, but it's pretty difficult to manage out there on my own since you pretty much have to hold the thing lest it blow away in a breeze.

As in other efforts to build a diffuser, I find that further changes are needed as I move from building them in paper, to flexible plastic like polypropylene sheets. The thickness changes, as does the bending properties. Then, what worked in a paper template is just a little "off". There are also challenges in sourcing the material. Lots of people who build these things rely on rolls of polypropylene from places like e-bay or even Alibaba. Amazon is strangely lacking in this stuff. But I've found good resources from art supply chains and those don't seem to be tapped into by many people yet. Using a laminating business to make the parts in laminated plastic is also a useful option, I am finding.