How to use Professor Kobré’s Lightscoop®

First steps to bounce lighting with the pop-up flash on your Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic Lumix, Nikon, Canon, Fuji FinePix, Sigma, or Sony 35mm DSLR

GETTING STARTED

Bouncing a pop-up flash with the Lightscoop® requires the most power these little units can produce. The following settings are designed get the maximum light output when bouncing the pop-up flash.

See our troubleshooting page if your pictures are too dark. For more background, see Frequently Asked Questions.

SET UP YOUR CAMERA

  1. Remove the protective film from the mirror. You may have to scratch the film with your fingernail to get started.
  2. Turn on the camera.
  3. On Nikons, set the Exposure Metering pattern of the camera to Spot Meter. This is essential on Nikons. On all others, center-weight average, evaluative, etc., will work.
  4. Set the camera to operate on Manual exposure mode (M) [NOT Manual Focus].
  5. Set the ISO to 800. (With a Nikon D90 or D700, increasing the ISO to 1600 or 3200 allows zooming lenses to longer focal lengths & gives great results.)
  6. Select the widest lens aperture — f2.8, f3.5, or f4.0 depending on your lens.
  7. Set the camera’s shutter speed to 1/200th or 1/160.
  8. Select Flash “on” (front curtain sync) — NO red-eye reduction, slow sync, etc.
  9. Select Flash Exposure Compensation (also called Flash Adjustment on Panasonic Lumix) to +1, +2, or +3 depending on your camera and the situation. Do NOT change your camera’s exposure compensation, which is a different setting.
  10. Select TTL (through-the-lens) metering for your flash.

    11. Step 1 imageSlip the Lightscoop over the flash in its pop up position.

    Step 2 imageSlide the foot of the Lightscoop into the camera’s hot shoe.

    Step 3 imageThe internal flash and the electronics in your Nikon, Canon, Pentax, Fuji FinePix Pro, Olympus, Sigma, or Sony, aided by the Lightscoop's reflector, will do the rest.

Some camera-specific help:

Nikon: Set Flash Exposure Compensation by pressing the flash button and rotating the front dial to +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, so the Nikon video tutorial will not be of help to you. If you need detailed instructions on setting up your D40, check out our D40-specific page.

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 +1 or +2 "Flash compensation" and "E-TTL."

Pentax: Set Flash Exposure Compensation to +1 by turning the rear e-dial to set Flash Mode in the Fn menu (See your camera's user manual)

Sony: Set Flash Exposure Compensation to +1 or more by pressing the Menu button on back of camera to bring up the menu on the LCD screen. In section with Camera icon, select Flash Control. Set flash control to Pre-flash TTL. Do not use ADI.

Others: Set the Flash Exposure Compensation to +1 or, if available, +2. (See your camera's user manual).

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.

Horizontal Photos Rooms with light-colored ceilings no higher than 8-14 feet tall.

Vertical Photos Rooms with a light-colored wall no greater than 3-4 feet from camera.
HINT: If you are 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.

NIKON ALTERNATIVE Most Nikons have an option for using the pop-up flash on MANUAL, instead of TTL. This setting on the Nikons can push a bit more light from the pop-up flash. The option is in the FULL settings, not SIMPLE.

  1. Turn on the camera.
  2. Press the Menu button on the camera>Custom Menu Setting>Select Wrench Icon>CSM/SetUp Menu>Full>Press OK.
  3. Return to Custom Setting Menu>Select Pencil icon>Built-in Flash>Manual>Full Power>Press OK.
  4. Follow steps 3-8, above.