Gary Fong Puffer Flash Diffuser Review

 
Gary Fong has announced a flash diffuser called the Gary Fong Micro Four Thirds Puffer Pop-Up Flash Diffuser. It has a plastic frame that slides into the Olympus Pen and Panasonic Lumix GF Micro Four Thirds camera hot shoe and places a white plastic diffuser in front of the flash. Besides diffusing light from the flash, it also redirects it towards the center. I’ve had one for a few weeks already and had a chance to do a bit of testing with the Olympus E-PL2 Pen Micro Four Thirds camera.

Since flash diffusers are most commonly used to soften harsh flash for portraits, I started by shooting comparison portraits with the Puffer. I shot both with and without the Puffer at exactly the same settings. Take a look at the samples below and see if you can tell the difference. If they look almost the same to you, don’t feel bad. The difference is very subtle. If you look closely you can see that the photos I took with the Puffer (images on the right) aren’t quite as washed out and have a bit more skin detail and slightly more pronounced shadows. Basically, they look more natural even though I used the flash. It’s not a dramatic difference but the Puffer definitely softens the flash and makes a more flattering portrait.

Photos on the left were taken without the Puffer. Photos on the right were taken with the same camera settings and the Gary Fong Puffer.

 
I was hoping for something a little more dramatic than what I saw with my portrait tests, though. So I shot some wine and vinegar bottles I keep next to the stove for cooking. These should produce some serious flash reflections, right? Wrong. The bottle tests showed less difference than the portraits. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to differentiate between the with and the without Puffer bottle photos.

Left: bare flash. Right: taken with the Gary Fong Puffer flash diffuser.

 
All of the test photos above were shot in Aperture Priority mode with the flash forced on and I didn’t compensate at all between the undiffused flash and the Puffer photos. I love the idea of a simple hot shoe mount pop-up flash diffuser and the Puffer does make direct on-camera flash portraits look better. I’m not sure that it’s enough of an improvement to justify the expense, though. On the other hand, at just $22, it’s not what I’d call a risky investment.

 
The Gary Fong Micro Four Thirds Puffer Pop-Up Flash Diffuser is scheduled to be available on May 16th for US $21.95. Gary Fong also makes a Puffer for digital SLRs with built-in pop-up flashes. For more details, you can read the official press release:

Gary Fong Micro Four Thirds Puffer Press Release >>

 
Related Content:
All Gary Fong Product User Reviews
All Flash & Lighting Equipment User Reviews
More Flash & Lighting News & Articles
Gary Fong Inc. Web Site