Lightscoop is a smart low-tech device that creates soft, flattering light by redirecting your camera's built-in flash to a ceiling or wall. Don't let your convenient little built-in flash flash ruin your photos with evil red eye, ugly shadows, hot spots, bleached out faces, underexposed colors, and blurry movement that exist only in your photographs, not in the real world. Slip a Lightscoop on your camera and never miss out on another fabulous picture! Lightscoop creates soft, natural light and lets you capture the scene the way you see it.
Redirecting the small light from your camera's built-in flash to the ceiling creates a larger source of light that also comes from a natural direction (rather than from the middle of your forehead). Softer, more diffused light coming from a natural direction will instantly improve your photos. Professionals create soft, directional "window light' with strobes and umbrellas or light boxes. You can do the same by aiming your built-in flash and Lightscoop to a light-colored wall. Angle the Deluxe's mirror to aim toward the wall when shooting verticals OR horizontals. Plus, using the flash will stop blur from subject or camera movement.
So many creative options! You'll start to LOVE your built-in flash - and your friends will think you hired a pro!
Features:
- Color: Blue (fun effect mirror)
- Use with the pop-up flash on most dSLR models EXCEPT Sony
- Folds To fit in your pocket...
- Swivels To take vertically oriented photos..
- Change mirrors: Gold for portraits, or "Just for Fun" red, green. (sold separately)
USE THE LIGHTSCOOP IN THESE SITUATIONS
The Lightscoop works great in most home and office situations - rooms with light, neutral-colored ceilings no higher than 8-12 feet or walls no farther than 3-4 feet from the camera.
As when bouncing an external flash, the Lightscoop redirects light from a pop up flash to a ceiling or wall - so there MUST be a surface from which it can bounce. The Lightscoop will not bounce outside. As these comparisons show, neither will an EXTERNAL flash. Outside, there is nothing for the light to bounce from. The same is true in churches, gyms, rooms with cathedral ceilings.
Ceiling Bounce Rooms with light-colored ceilings no higher than 8-14 feet tall.
Wall Bounce Rooms with a light-colored wall no greater than 3-4 feet from camera.
HINT: When using a zoom lens with a variable aperture, leave the lens at its widest focal length. For example, if you have an 18-55mm zoom lens, stay at 18mm. If you zoom in, your aperture may change and no longer be at f2.8, f3.5 or f4.
How to use Professor Kobre's Lightscoop Deluxe:
First steps to bounce lighting with the pop-up flash on your Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic Lumix, Nikon, Canon, Fuji FinePix, or Sigma.
Protective film: The mirror is NOT scratched, though its protective film may be. Scratch the film with your fingernail to get started removing it.
GETTING STARTED
Bouncing a pop-up flash requires these settings to optimize the amount of light a scene receives.
SET UP YOUR CAMERA
- Metering Method: Spot Meter is a must for Nikons. Any method works with other brands.
- Camera Exposure Mode (not flash exposure): Manual (M).
- ISO: 800 or higher. Experiment.
- Widest lens aperture ? f/2.8, f/3.5, or f/4.0 depending on the lens.
- Shutter speed: 1/200 or higher. Experiment.
- Flash Exposure Compensation: plus 1 or plus 2. Experiment.
- Flash "on" (front curtain sync) - NOT red-eye reduction, slow sync, etc.
- Pop-up flash metering mode: TTL.
SOME CAMERA-SPECIFIC HELP
- Nikon: Set Flash Exposure Compensation by pressing the flash button and rotating the front dial to plus 1, (see manual). TTL is the factory default setting on Nikon. To confirm that TTL is still selected, view the Customs Setting Menu-Built-in Flash-TTL. Note: The Nikon D40 has a different means of accessing the controls than other Nikons.
- Canon: Be sure that your camera is in a mode that supports the built-in flash. If not, the flash will not fire with the Lightscoop in place. Check that the built-in flash has been enabled, located in some models' menu, under the setting "Flash control." Depending on the model, "Flash control" is under one of the wrench or camera icons in the Menu.Select "Flash control." Here, enable "Flash firing." Next, select "Built-in flash func. setting." Now you also can select plus 1 or plus 2 "Flash compensation" and "E-TTL."
- Pentax: Set Flash Exposure Compensation to plus 1 by turning the rear e-dial to set Flash Mode in the Fn menu (See your camera's user manual)
- Others: Set the Flash Exposure Compensation to plus 1 or, if available, plus 2. (See your camera's user manual).
For dSLR cameras with pop-up flashes
The dSLR cameras BELOW work with the Lightscoop Deluxe. We have found new models of these brands to fit as we have tested them.
- Canon 35mm dSLR cameras that have a pop-up flash. On some Canon models, it's necessary to slightly back the Lightscoop out of the hot shoe in order for the flash to fire.
- Fuji FinePix Pro Series
- Nikon 35mm dSLR cameras that have a pop-up flash.
- Olympus E420, E520, E3, E620
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2K, DMC-G3K, DMC-G5 (Lightscoop shoe fit is tight and does not slide completely into the hot shoe.)
- Pentax K-7, KX, K10D, K100D, K20D, K30, K5II, K-5II-S, K200D
- Sigma SD14 Series
