DIY Flash Diffuser for Fuji Film Waterproof case

Its the diving season again and I will be heading for a short dive trip at Pulau Tioman from Tuesday and will be back on Thursday. Its been almost 5 months since my last dive at Thailand and I really need a refresher dive and also a short escape from Singapore. Thanks Corin for organizing the weekday trip. Its better to go during the weekday as there are less divers around to scare away the sea creatures.

Yet again, I will be the sole underwater photographer for this trip. After losing the flash diffuser for the Fuji Film waterproof case 2 years ago, most of the macro pictures taken looks like this....

As you can see, the zoom port of the waterproof case causes the flash light to cast an ugly shadow at the corner of the pictures. Furthermore the macro shot was over flood with flash light. The sad news was the parts for the waterproof case were out of production and I am resigned to the fate of living with the horrible shadows. One solution is to buy an underwater external strobe light but the whole set will cost $800++, too expensive for a novice like me.

I had decided to DIY the Flash Diffuser using an old milk container, velcro, superglue, Aluminum foil and scotch tapes.

This picture shows the waterproof case missing a flash diffuser at the top right corners. The protruding zoom port is the culprit for numerous shadows from some of my underwater pictures.

Shown above, a DIY flash diffuser cut of in the proper shapes from an old milk container. The velcro strips are glued to the diffuser using Superglue. Velcro strips are used to secure the flash diffuser to the camera.

I decided to stick aluminum foil around the side of the flash diffuser to focus the flash light through the front of the flash diffuser. It was an idea recommended by another flash diffuser DIY website but I doubt it makes a difference. Anyway, no harm trying.

My final creation mounted to the waterproof case. It could had been more visually appealing but it achieve what it suppose to do as shown in the test shot below.

All that is left now is to test the waterproof case underwater and I pray the DIY flash diffuser will not fall apart underwater. Special thanks to Garfield for the super long term loan of the camera and waterproof case.