I bought the Origami to fill in some of the shadows I got when using bounce flash, mostly at wedding receptions and other events. I had considered Gary Fong's Lightsphere but I liked that the Origami was smaller and would fold flat. It gives you wonderful soft light on your subject, the amount of which you can control with the top flap. I usually folded the flap down; I felt it sent too much light forward otherwise. The mounting system is great as well; you don't have to adhere any velcro to your flash, and the strap gets nice and tight for a secure fit.
However, after four months of use, my Origami literally came apart at the seams. I pulled it out of my bag one day and bent over the side flaps to mount it on my camera, and they snapped off. It was a slightly chilly day (45 degrees, not arctic cold), so maybe the temperature made the plastic brittle, but the Origami should be more resilient than this. I stored it flat in my camera bag when it wasn't on my flash, so it didn't see any abuse. It was pretty frustrating, though a little Scotch tape fixed it enough that I could finish the wedding that day.
It's hard to put a number on this review. When it worked, it was a wonderful diffuser. Definitely five stars. It shouldn't have broken after four months, though, and I won't be getting another one. Thirty dollars is a bit much for what's essentially a disposable product.
Buy Gary Fong Origami Flash Diffusion System!
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