Are there any tricks to make a pop-up flash suck less in low light?

Question

I'm taking a lot of low-light indoor shots of moving subjects. I hate a the default flip-up flashes of most moderns DSLRs (in my case, a Canon 60D), but this is typically a point and shoot situation (so, no external flash or setups).

Are there any tricks to make the flash less stark/harsh and contrasty, in the settings or by using some external trick?

Answer

I'm going to say no. MikeW's advice on using a high ISO and longer shutter is good, and you can do little bounce card and diffuser gimmicks, but the absolute difference these make just isn't enough — the built-in flash still will suck.

Most importantly, these gimmicks and other tricks and techniques run against one of your fundamental requirements: no setup. You're going to have a thing to fiddle with, and something to worry about. In many situations it'd be less hassle to do something which will make a big, positive difference: use a hotshoe flash, or use a wireless-TTL flash off-camera triggered by the built-in flash. For the latter, you can put your flash somewhere convenient and out of the way in the room (on a bookcase, say, pointed at the ceiling). This is some setup, but not really very involved. I do it all the time for pictures of my family.

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