Lim's Easy Bounce pop-up flash Bounce & Diffuser

This is "Lim's Easy Bounce, built-in flash Bounce & Diffuser" a neat little gadget for those of us that can't afford that Speedlite flash just yet.

Before discovering the "Easy Bounce" I found myself getting a little frustrated shooting in low light, with just the built-in flash, and it seems I'm not the only one.  It's just not that easy to get a good shot with a straight burst of light on your subject.  I have found a few tricks and products to help diffuse the light such as the ping pong ball diffuser and the "Gary Fong Puffer Pop-up Diffuser".

(courtesy of google)

(courtesy of google)

Now I can't say much for the ping pong ball since I haven't tried it just yet, but being it's odd, I'll be sure to give it a shot.  As for the Gary Fong diffuser, I did purchase a knock off that's exactly the same and even comes with a couple other colors (blue & amber).  I actually found it on Amazon.com for about $7 shipped.  This diffuser is pretty cool and can really help keep your subject from turning pure white.  For example, if this was shot without the diffuser everyone's cheeks would look brighter white, almost like I was pointing a flash light straight at each of them.  Thanks to the diffuser I was able to keep a softer skin tone.

(Tara, Rebecca & Kristin.  Thank you ladies)

 

 

Now on to the "Easy Bounce"!  Found this little gadget by accident when I was trying to find the Gary Fong diffuser.  I was able to purchase it on Ebay for $28.50 shipped from Korea.  Install is quick and easy, you don't need to know how to read Korean to follow the pictures.

The Easy Bounce's diffuser works similar to the Gary Fong diffuser, but the Gary Fong seems to disperse the light a little better. The thing I really like is the "bounce" feature.  It has a detachable mirror that just slides into place on the back side of the diffuser, which also has a pivot, so you can angle the bounce from the subject to the ceiling.

The downside is there is no left or right pivot.  So now if you need to rotate the camera for a specific shot, you have no choice but to bounce light off a wall.

Anywho, here's a "Before & After" I took this morning.  The sun wasn't shining through this window yet and the blinds were down, so not too much light.  Say hello to Helo.

Here is Helo with nothing but the built-in flash firing directly at him...

 And here is he is again, but this time with the "Easy Bounce" firing off the ceiling first and bouncing back.

 So basically, if you're like me and want to utilize your built-in flash, and just don't have the funds for that nice Speedlite yet, give the Easy Bounce a shot.  It's a pretty cool and useful little gadget for a much smaller price.