waka Flash Diffuser Light Softbox, [2 Pack] Speedlight Softbox Collapsible with Storage Pouch – 8″ Octagon Softbox + 8″x6″ for Canon, Yongnuo and Nikon Speedlight

In the world of photography, I consider this a consumable item, meaning I have a tendency to leave them behind on shoots or lose them all together somewhere. I’ve been through a bunch of these, the hard covers, and other brands. So, for the price, they work, and I’ll keep losing them and buying more. They fit decently on my Godox V860-II and it takes a little fidgeting to get them on when on the camera. One thing I don’t like is they have permanent creases in the material from packing and storing in the bags they come in. Probably more of a personal preference than anything, but I like to have them further away from the flash head so that the end that fits over the flash doesn’t go all the way down to the pivot point. When I do that, they sort of collapse on themselves. I suppose it’s just a minor annoyance than anything. As far as the product, seems made well, should last until I lose it, and does what it’s supposed to do. I guess I just wish that there was more interior ‘structure’ to keep it from folding down when in use.

Pros:
* Both diffusers are very lightweight and hold their shape reasonably well
* Long enough to allow a wide-angle flash to illuminate the entire surface of the diffuser
* Each comes with its own zipper pouch for storage. The pouch shapes are different so you can tell them apart.
* The octagonal diffuser will make a more pleasing highlight shape reflected in eyes
* Small enough to use on a handheld camera-mounted flash
* Large enough to more evenly light close subjects
* Efficient (Very little light is lost in the diffuser.)

Cons:
* The removable internal diffuser panel doesn’t do much. I took a photo of the diffuser in a mirror through an ND16 filter with my Canon 580EX flash with the internal diffuser panel in place. The automatic zoom in this flash directed all of the light into a small spot in the center of the octagon with little light around the edges. Removing the internal diffuser panel and flipping down the “wide panel” diffuser built into my flash solved the problem completely and illuminated the whole octagon.
* When using a wide-angle lens (28 mm full frame) the center of the frame is brighter and the edges are darker than the same exposure without the diffuser. This is may be a result of the reflectors inside the diffuser and less-than-perfect diffuser fabric.

Practical considerations not specific to this product:
* The diffuser may interfere with flash features like autofocus assist beams and master/slave communication. This will vary depending on the flash. Just keep that in mind when using it. The octagonal diffuser extends further down and will be more of an obstruction than the rectangular diffuser.
* These give you more even lighting and softer shadows up close, but for more distant subjects you may want a larger diffuser. (And a flash separated from the camera.)
* I noticed a different product’s ad has fake example photos. If you can see a reflection in a person’s eyes, you should be able to see the shape of the diffuser only in the photo taken with a diffuser. If the “with diffuser” and “without diffuser” examples have the same eye highlights, then they have the same light source and any difference in lighting is probably due to editing in Photoshop, etc.

Overall, I’ll give this product 5 stars at the two for $15 price point. These are not professional quality, but in the right circumstances they can be effective.

I tried these light mini boxes in an event this past week, It looked like it could stop my close-up shots from being too bright on the subject. I haven’t reviewed all my pics yet but it seems to spread the light better than in most occasions overexposed faces. Although my flash is a good quality Godox with ETTL it’s okay to take a flash picture directly on the person when on the go or when you have tall ceilings to bounce the light.

If you want to start a holy war among photographers, just bring up the topic of light modifiers and then watch the fray unfold. Everyone has their favorites and some are very passionate. Purists will always be here to remind us that nothing matches the light from a high-powered strobe in a 7-foot flash umbrella. Having lived the tragic comedies that result from carrying softboxes and umbrellas outdoors to grab portraits, only to see them fall over in slight breezes (sandbags be damned!), I can attest that it’s very often not practical to have studio style lighting on location and especially outdoors when you have no assistant. If you’re posing people for a planned shoot, with sufficient time, and everyone is in the mindset to get great results, then yes bring your real studio gear and get stunning results. But if you’re on location, trying to get the best pictures you can, of people who don’t want to wait for you to unfold a wagon’s worth of gear, these little modifiers are great!

They go onto the flash head easily and stay fairly secure, although I have taken to using a thick rubber band for extra tension. For fill light when shooting portraits or candid shots at reasonably close distances, they work extremely well. In a studio as your primary or only light? Not so much, but that’s not a function of the product so much as the small size — any diffuser this small will under-perform in a studio. But for keeping your flash mounted to the hotshoe, you can’t get much bigger than this before you’re interfering with your own lens.

If you want to, you can detach the light and hold it off to the side, or have an assistant (or innocent bystander!) hold it for you and still get good results. If you’re going through the trouble of setting up any sort of light stand for off-camera work, then you’re probably prepared and I’d recommend having a larger (24″ maybe) beauty dish or some other small modifier handy.

In summary, when it comes to modifiers for on-camera speed lights, there’s really not that much you can do! You can spend big bucks on magnetic systems and futuristic looking translucent bulbs, or you can just buy these cheap things and get pretty much the same result. Tiny nuances pale in comparison to the benefits of simply moving your flash off to the side and sticking it into a beauty dish anyways.

works great glad i got them

I like the ease of use and the results are not bad. Easy to travel with and store

Does exactly what you expect. Easy to install, no complaints

These are both quite fantastic for macro photography. They slip into a small bag easily and either one attaches to your speed lite quickly. Get these, then go get pictures of tiny things! (Photo taken with this diffuser)