DIY bounce flash attachment

ChinShiong · 30th July 2003

I'm using an A40, and as many may know, the use of flash with the lens adapter on will result in a darker corner at the lower right hand side of the photo.

Inspired by this thread, I decided to make something similar. I went around shopping and found this:

This costs $3 at Popular bookstore. Out of the box:

I decided to use aluminum foil and some plastic to make a "reflector". Plastic came from this disposable lunch box:

ChinShiong · 30th July 2003

With the plastic, I made a "reflector", secured to the camera using velcro strips.

And the "bounce card", with is also plastic wrapped in aluminum foil:

I think I've made this card a little bit too small (8*10 cm), but I shall come to that later. And the resulting setup:

I thought of attaching the clip to the camera body, but to do that would require a lot of effort to prise open the clip to the maximum. So happens that the rubber flip covering the A/V out and DC adaptor ports are on the same side of the flash, so I attached the clip to that rubber flip. There are 2 raised "bumps" on the flip, and that helps to secure the clip to the rubber flip well.

jOhO · 30th July 2003

wah...

ChinShiong · 30th July 2003

Shot without flash for comparison:

Shot with DIY bounce flash attachment:

So what do you guys think ?

tert · 30th July 2003

Nice bit of innovation there...

A bit of nit picking: From your last two images, the flash coverage for the pix with the bounce device appears to be uneven; more concentrated to the top part of the image.

Btw, you've Popular there in Russia too?

ChinShiong · 30th July 2003

Anyways, I shall play around with this setup, and hopefully I'll get better results. Think I need a proper bounce card for a start !

Newman · 30th July 2003

Try crumpling the aluminium to give it an uneven surface so that the light is bounced off in different directions rather than at a particular spot. This should give you a better spread of light.
And u can either move the model further from the wall or use a table lamp with a white light as a sort of subsitute studio lamp which will give you a more predictable shadow cast for u to adjust.

megaweb · 30th July 2003

creative and innovative piece of work

well done

30th July 2003

Excellent creativity! But the flash output is very uneven judging from your 2ndshot... could be the tiny flash from your digicam is not powerful enuff? Looks underexposed. But don't give up! Keep trying!

ChinShiong · 30th July 2003

Thanks for all the inputs and encouragement. I'm in the process of changing the reflector into a mirror and changing the material of the bounce card to plastic, A5 size. Will post more test pics when I'm done, hopefully yielding satisfactory results !

ChinShiong · 31st July 2003

I've decided to change some of the materials used in the setup. First off, I've changed the bounce card material to an A5 sized corrugated white plastic (available from Popular bookstore):

I've also used a A5 sized silver card (also available from Popular) to test which is better.

I've also changed the reflector to that of a mirror. This mirror is cut to size from one of those cutie mirrors from shops like Mini Toons. Btw, you can cut a mirror by scratching a line on it using a sharp screwdriver or something similar. Just apply slight force on the edges with a fulcrum underneath the scratched line and the mirror will easily break into 2.

ChinShiong · 31st July 2003

I've also changed the arrangement of the clips. Good thing about these clips is they are customisable:

Some rubber strips on the clip to increase their grip:

Since I now have a clip near the flash, I thought of doing a tissue paper holder, to act as a make-shift diffuser. I used plastic from the earlier bounce card:

And a pic of the setup with the diffuser in place:

ChinShiong · 31st July 2003

These pics are taken in my storeroom where it is pitch dark. All pics are taken with AF locked, F14, 1/500 sec

Direct flash:

Subsequent pictures on the right have their levels tweaked with a constant value. No other editing (except resizing) is done.

With diffuser:

With reflector (mirror) only, bouncing the flash off the ceiling:

Using the silver bounce card:

Using the white plastic bounce card:

ChinShiong · 31st July 2003

Seems that the white bounce card gave a slightly brighter pic.

Total cost of setup: $13.79

2 x Clips = $6.00 (From Popular)
White corrugated plastic = $3.09 (From Popular)
Mirror = $1.50 (From Mini Toons)
Plastic lunch box = $0.50
Rubber strips = $2.70

IMHO, this is a cheaper alternative than slave flashes for digicam, but at the expense of having to compensate with slower shutter speed. Not sure if the clips will work with other digicams, but if you're an A40 user on a budget, why not give it a try ?

ChinShiong · 31st July 2003

Pic of the final bounce card setup:

ChinShiong · 31st July 2003

Some test shots:

Please feel free to give comments and suggestions.

leotitude79 · 31st July 2003

Nice job and innovative idea. The flowers pic is nice in the sense that it is properly exposed. I also have the same problem when I fix on my adapter.

Good Work!!!!!!

SuperRaY · 1st August 2003

My DIY Bounce Flash I posted eariler

basically it work on the same design, the flash onli have a range of 2m using the bounce flash. this is gd onli for taking marco pictures

ChinShiong · 1st August 2003

Now I'm think of replacing the clips with a customised acrylic structure, since the former is a bit flimsy. But I can only lay my hands on acrylic that's only 2mm thick

Anyway, it's back to the drawing board and see what I can come up with...

SuperRaY · 1st August 2003

i'm using a 10mm acrylic, now i have a new version under construction.

30th July 2003	#1
ChinShiong Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Russia Posts: 229	DIY bounce flash attachment I'm using an A40, and as many may know, the use of flash with the lens adapter on will result in a darker corner at the lower right hand side of the photo. Inspired by this thread, I decided to make something similar. I went around shopping and found this: This costs $3 at Popular bookstore. Out of the box: I decided to use aluminum foil and some plastic to make a "reflector". Plastic came from this disposable lunch box:

30th July 2003	#2
ChinShiong Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Russia Posts: 229	With the plastic, I made a "reflector", secured to the camera using velcro strips. And the "bounce card", with is also plastic wrapped in aluminum foil: I think I've made this card a little bit too small (810 cm), but I shall come to that later. And the resulting setup: I thought of attaching the clip to the camera body, but to do that would require a lot of effort to prise open the clip to the maximum. So happens that the rubber flip covering the A/V out and DC adaptor ports are on the same side of the flash, so I attached the clip to that rubber flip. There are 2 raised "bumps" on the flip, and that helps to secure the clip to the rubber flip well. Last edited by ChinShiong; 30th July 2003 at 01:09 AM.*

30th July 2003	#4
ChinShiong Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Russia Posts: 229	Results... Shot without flash for comparison: Shot with DIY bounce flash attachment: So what do you guys think ?

30th July 2003	#8
megaweb Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: East Posts: 8,125	creative and innovative piece of work well done __________________ See my Photo Gallery at the Clubsnap \| Pbase

31st July 2003	#11
ChinShiong Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Russia Posts: 229	Updates.. with a bit of modification I've decided to change some of the materials used in the setup. First off, I've changed the bounce card material to an A5 sized corrugated white plastic (available from Popular bookstore): I've also used a A5 sized silver card (also available from Popular) to test which is better. I've also changed the reflector to that of a mirror. This mirror is cut to size from one of those cutie mirrors from shops like Mini Toons. Btw, you can cut a mirror by scratching a line on it using a sharp screwdriver or something similar. Just apply slight force on the edges with a fulcrum underneath the scratched line and the mirror will easily break into 2.

30th July 2003	#3
jOhO Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 6,465	wah...

30th July 2003	#5
tert Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Melbourne Posts: 373	Nice bit of innovation there... A bit of nit picking: From your last two images, the flash coverage for the pix with the bounce device appears to be uneven; more concentrated to the top part of the image. Btw, you've Popular there in Russia too?

30th July 2003	#7
Newman Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: TBC Posts: 954	Try crumpling the aluminium to give it an uneven surface so that the light is bounced off in different directions rather than at a particular spot. This should give you a better spread of light. And u can either move the model further from the wall or use a table lamp with a white light as a sort of subsitute studio lamp which will give you a more predictable shadow cast for u to adjust.

30th July 2003	#9
psyche Guests Posts: n/a	Excellent creativity! But the flash output is very uneven judging from your 2ndshot... could be the tiny flash from your digicam is not powerful enuff? Looks underexposed. But don't give up! Keep trying!

31st July 2003	#13
ChinShiong Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Russia Posts: 229	Results... These pics are taken in my storeroom where it is pitch dark. All pics are taken with AF locked, F14, 1/500 sec Direct flash: Subsequent pictures on the right have their levels tweaked with a constant value. No other editing (except resizing) is done. With diffuser: With reflector (mirror) only, bouncing the flash off the ceiling: Using the silver bounce card: Using the white plastic bounce card:

31st July 2003	#16
ChinShiong Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Russia Posts: 229	Some test shots: Please feel free to give comments and suggestions.

31st July 2003	#17
leotitude79 Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 135	Nice job and innovative idea. The flowers pic is nice in the sense that it is properly exposed. I also have the same problem when I fix on my adapter. Good Work!!!!!!

1st August 2003	#18
SuperRaY Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 342	My DIY Bounce Flash I posted eariler basically it work on the same design, the flash onli have a range of 2m using the bounce flash. this is gd onli for taking marco pictures