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do-it-yourself compact camera flash deflector
How it's made?
It is my wife's plastic compact powder case with mirror. I made a hole in the cover opposing the mirror to hang the deflector on the camera (I used a red hot nail to make the hole). If the light reflected by mirror and ceiling is not uniform enough even with soft flash, I cover it (the mirror) with a small piece of paper or a piece of matt aluminium, which dissipates the light even more.
Does it work?
Yes, for black and white book pages or pages with light colors (even glossy). For pages in dark colors, the camera will cast a barely visible (but annoying - if you are a perfectionist) reflection of itself on the original paper page in the v-cradle (the camera faces the original page at 90 degrees). That's why I usually obscure the camera with large black paperboard, which of course prevents the use of camera flash, and I stay with my proven overhead lamp (which is 45 degrees to the original book page and 45 degrees to the camera lens).
The advantage of compact flash is portability. You can use it anywhere together with a tripod and my "quick and dirty" portable cardboard v-cradle (see my earlier posts).
Cost: a gift to your lady, a Dior powder case perhaps?
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