Gary Fong Lightsphere

I was at the Henry's Photographic and Digital Imaging Show in Toronto yesterday. I was surprised but delighted that Gary Fong was there, promoting his Gary Fong Lightsphere and his new book, The Accidental Millionaire: something... -- I think that is what it is called. Since I heard about his Lightsphere and always wondered if it is any good. His demonstration of the Lightsphere was quite captivating. There is always a big crowd around his booth and his presentation on Wedding Photography drew huge crowds. I went away thinking.

I got back home and started searching on the web for a Do-It-Yourself kit. I found this website: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Gary-Fong-Lightsphere/

I knew I have somewhere in the house or in my car or translucent hard plastic I could use and mold into the DIY version of the Lightsphere. I found it in my car.

Based on the instructions from the website, I built this DIY Lightsphere. Instead of using velcro (as the instructions specified), I applied some Instant Krazy Glue to bind the ends together so the whole thing keeps its shape. My DIY-Lightsphere fits nicely over my SB-800. It is no where as good as the Gary Fong Lightsphere, but it will do.

The results were good. This DIY-Lightsphere does diffuse the light although I am not sure if it works as well as Gary Fong's.

Now, I got curious. I had built a bounce card out of foam before, so I had to test this DIY-Lightsphere and my bounce card. As it turns out, inside my room, there is virtually no difference I could see.

Would a Lightsphere make a bigger difference in a big hall with high ceiling? I don't know although it would make sense it would.