Fake Gary Fong Lightspheres are being sold on Amazon – Watch Gary call them out on video
Feb 11, 2020
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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The Gary Fong Lightsphere has been a staple of wedding and event photography for years. And no matter how much some photographers wish they would just disappear, they insist on persevering. It seems demand for them is pretty high, too, as counterfeit Lightspheres, along with full Gary Fong branding are not only being made but even sold on Amazon.
Gary Fong himself bought one of the fakes from Amazon in order to make a video calling out these counterfeit products and showing the differences between the originals and the fakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3cOY0CCGic
The immediate sign that you’ve received the fake is the packaging – which is simply produced from a bad scan of the original of the artwork on the original box. You can see that the two example portraits differ dramatically in contrast and brightness compared to the originals.
But when you open the box, the differences become immediately apparent. For a start, the dome itself that goes onto the end of the unit doesn’t even fit and just falls out, and while it is still using a translucent white material, it’s much more opaque than the genuine article, which eats up a lot of light. This is something that Gary specifically avoided and says he carefully formulated the material used in his products to avoid this opacity and make them as clear as possible.
And if the box didn’t give it away already, these aren’t just clones, these are pretending to be the real thing, right down to having Gary’s website printed on the velcro strap which holds the Lightsphere onto your speedlight.
“Fulfilled by Amazon” doesn’t mean that you will necessarily get the real thing – as evidenced by the number of fake memory cards still often sold on sites like Amazon – just that the 3rd party seller you’re buying from is using Amazon’s order-fulfilment services. According to Consumerist…
Part of the problem is with Amazon’s inventory system, critics say. Third-party sellers sign up to shill stuff through Amazon’s order-fulfillment services. All those products often get pooled together by bar code, regardless of whether they come from the brands themselves or other distributors. That way, Amazon can grab whichever product that’s ordered at the nearest warehouse to the customer.
This means that if the fake packaging shows a duplicate of a genuine barcode, it’s just thrown into Amazon’s inventory, regardless of the source of the product. And this is something that is completely out of the hands of those manufacturing the products – which is extremely frustrating to folks like Gary.
It’s also something that the 3rd party sellers (except the one putting fakes in Amazon’s inventory) will have little or no control over, either, because when they’re all lumped together in the warehouse and Amazon just ships from the nearest one to the customer, those stores really have no idea whose inventory the item that ships to their customer will come from.
If you believe you have received a fake product from Amazon, regardless of whether it’s a Gary Fong Lightsphere or not, Amazon will take them back. Amazon’s A-to-z Guarantee covers this. So, contact them.
[via PetaPixel]
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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31 responses to “Fake Gary Fong Lightspheres are being sold on Amazon – Watch Gary call them out on video”
The original is aslo a cheap “Made in China” product, made from a material that got a very pronounced yellowish tint while the dome remained white… Bought it 4-5 years a go, used just a couple of times and since then just sist in a camera bag i dont use, so is not the UV that aged the material…
Had a fake one bought 10 or so years ago. I knew it was fake since it was priced accordingly.
A friend had the real one. It was basically same crap. Diference was mines cost 1/3rd.
Put in the trash last year after being inside a case and never used again for the past 5-6 years.
thats what happens when you have your product produced in China
“The Gary Fong Lightsphere has been a staple among wedding and events photographers for years”
In my 12 years as a “serious” photographer, I’ve only met one person with one that didn’t think it was overpriced and unspectacular.
I’ve met plenty. Needless to say, I didn’t continue talking to any of them for very long. ;)
“Fong dongs”
Shut the F up Gary… No one wants your overpriced shit to make shitty pictures
Wow, after seeing this and now knowing the difference, every one I have ever come across in person so far has actually been a fake. Not one of them was real. I’ve seen so many other photographers out there shoot with these over the years…ever one of them was a counterfeit.
Use tupperwear for same effect.
One of the most overpriced things on the market for what you get.
Fongs lightsphere is a totally new and different product. Oh my foul it is cheapy chinatrash.
Many times at conferences I’ve seen $2500-4000 rigs hooked up to the $2.78 Gary Fong milk jug bought at a corner store or grocery store
That chinese made lightsphere is infected with corona virus!
Ron Dee goes well with limes disease?
The cheap off brands (like Top One) work really well. For the original, you are mostly paying for the name.
You over charge, you get what’s coming to you…
The best of this article is the comments though. Absolutely no one seems to support Gary F???
Better buy a flashdisc than those aweful cups that not even give that great looking image as its not even enlarge the light source that much anyways.
Don’t buy this garbage anyway. Worst modifier ever. Pure waste.
If it’s too good to be true…?
I use a real GF for real estate photography. It does what I need it to do. And was free because it came with a used SB910 off Ebay.
Even the original is fake ?
Same useless crap.
I use a modified onion holder stuffed with tissue with density based on need. $1.25 FTW
That’s what you get for selling an overpriced tuppaware
Both suck so buy the fake one
I would like to get my money back.
Amazon is a corrupt company that promotes piracy.
I’ve got one of these that’s sat in a closet for 10 years
My photographer friend use to rave about her Gary Fong
Another reason to go the DIY route.
LOL….. True, some of the DIY ones look a bit funky, but I’m sure they work as well.
So what is it?….Everyone talks about Chinese junk, but both packages say “Made in the USA”. So is the AUTHENTIC Gary Fong made in the USA?.