BEST Canon Speedlite Accessory
to Diffuse Your Flash

Diffusion Panel
Best Accessory

Use a white wall or ceiling! That's the best way to diffuse the light from your Speedlite, but good walls and ceilings aren't always available. There are many shooting situations where you're going to want to know how to diffuse the light from your Canon Speedlite with an accessory.

This post will explore the best options. First let's look at the two choices of how to get diffused light with your Speedlight. Both will give you a softer light on your subject with more pleasing shadows.

Let's start with diffusion. If you're tired of getting harsh shadows, dark photos, red-eye reflections, and unflattering portrait lighting, consider adding a simple diffusing accessory to your Canon Speedlite. 

1. bounce diffusion for your Speedlite

My Lumiquest Flash Diffuser

There are hundreds of different ways you can add a light bouncing accessory to your Speedlite. Here are a few facts about Speedlite Diffusers.

1. Some will diffuse with your Speedlite in its normal position. Some will work with your flash aimed upward, like the one I'm using in this photograph.
2. The larger the surface area the more the light will scatter and the softer the shadows will be.
3. There are cheap ones and expensive ones.
4. Diffusers will reduce the percentage of light from your Speedlite that strikes your subject compared to using the Speedlite directly aimed at your subject with no diffusion.

There are do-it-yourself options that you can use in a pinch. Generally, the ones you buy work a little bit better. Don't forget there are other good Speedlite Accessories that will help you improve the photographs you get with your Speedlite.

Strengths of the folding FLASH Bounce diffuser

1. PRICE. They are very affordable - it's really a joke how much they cost. You have a small risk when it comes to buying one and trying it out.
2. SOFTENING. It will diffuse the light and reduce the sharp-edged look of a speedlite, particularly with close objects.
3. TRANSPORT. It can be folded up and slipped into a pocket, a purse, or small camera bag.
4. SIMPLICITY. You don't need a bracket to raise the speedlite flash higher above the camera in order to use the soft box.

Weaknesses of this Canon Accessory

1. OUTPUT. It will reduce the light output of the flash and may limit the distance your flash reaches.
2. DURABILITY. The aren't made out of high-end material like titanium, but treat them gently and you won't have any breakage issues.
3. EFFECTIVENESS. The soft-box diffused lighting effect that this accessory will produce on distant subjects has a limited effectiveness because it is also not a big light source.

2. Transmission Diffusion

Add-ons to your flash unit that diffuse the light by having it pass through a translucent material of some kind are not as effective as bouncing light. Don't get me wrong here, they do have an effect on the quality of light that strikes your subject, but the effect is minimal unless there is some light bouncing going on at the same time.

Snap-on Speedlite Diffuser

I smile on the inside when I see these snap-on type of diffusers being used by photographers when they're outside. You'll get the best quality of light by using one of the larger soft boxes that wrap around your Speedlite.

Softer light comes from larger soft boxes

Diffusing your flash scatters and softens the harsh shadows that come from using your speedlite directly aimed at your subject. This type of light modifier works with any Canon EOS or Rebel camera that will work with any Canon Speedlite.

Accessories should be judged on how well they perform the intended task, how long they last, and how much they cost. The foldable diffusers will soften the harshness that comes along with direct flash from a speedlite and it easily fits in your pocket.

Not so Good Canon Speedlite Accessory

The little snap-on type of diffusers are usually not as good at softening the light significantly enough for you to notice as dramatic a difference as the softbox style.

They do scatter the light and are much better than the straight built-in flash that pops up on your camera. If there are nearby ceilings or walls you will get some additional fill light bouncing back into the scene.

They do not enlarge the size of the light source when used on a Canon speedlite, but they are real cheap to buy and easy to use and play around with.

This video does a great job of showing you the difference between using no diffusion, using a pop-on diffuser, and using bounce flash.

final thoughts on speedlite accessories

I'm guilty of buying a few hyped-up, fancy flash accessories in the past that I ended up not using very much. The newest ones in the market place are better designed and easier to use. The best lighting accessory for your Canon flash gun depends a lot on your subject and the conditions you're shooting in.

They're fun to play around with and don't cost much. I encourage you to dive in by reading the reviews on Amazon. That's where you find the most reviews in one place. Stay away from the ones that don't have too many reviews. You're better off reading the ones that have at least a few dozen buyers giving feedback.

Have a blast. Shoot a Canon.

Bruce Lovelace is the publisher of Canon Camera Geek. Read more about him on the About Page. He also publishes how to articles and camera gear reviews at the Photography Tips website.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram  and Flickr.   Join the tribe of followers on YouTube. Bruce also runs photo workshops and provides 1 on 1 digital photography coaching.

Canon Geek on Google My Business

This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, at no cost to you.


KEH: WHERE I BUY CANON GEAR
"I've found that the condition of the used equipment from KEH is excellent and a whole lot cheaper than buying new" - Bruce, the Canon Camera Geek

ALTERNATIVE FLASH DIFFUSERS:

Universal Cloud
Speedlite Flash Diffuser

Hot Shoe for
Canon Speedlite

It's both the technique and the tools that photographers use that make the difference.

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