Portable- economical softbox

[aymanmb]

can you recommend one for me that is foldable, easy to set up, and economical. I will use mainly to shoot portrait and may be small groups of like 4-6 people at max.

Thanks if you can also specify from where I can buy it in Toronto (I know that I can not seem to find cheap ones in henry's or Vistek).

Regards

[mchong75]

Westcott Apollo 28" softbox

[TMR Design]

I'd think twice about the Apollo. I had one and I have a list of gripes. I like Westcott and many of their products but there are serious design flaws in the Apollo softbox.

[Moonjo]

Originally Posted by TMR Design

I'd think twice about the Apollo. I had one and I have a list of gripes. I like Westcott and many of their products but there are serious design flaws in the Apollo softbox.

Can you rattle off the major flaws in your opinion? I'm watching the OneLight DVDs and as you know Zack uses both the 28" and the 50". During the DVD you do hear Zack say that one of limits of the Apollos is that they can't be tilted much.

Obviously having your flash enclosed inside the softbox also makes it a bit inconvenient to adjust power output as well.

Ooops. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but maybe if we list the flaws with the Apollo, the OP can make more of an informed decision.

[TMR Design]

Originally Posted by Moonjo

Can you rattle off the major flaws in your opinion? I'm watching the OneLight DVDs and as you know Zack uses both the 28" and the 50". During the DVD you do hear Zack say that one of limits of the Apollos is that they can't be tilted much.

Obviously having your flash enclosed inside the softbox also makes it a bit inconvenient to adjust power output as well.

Ooops. Don't mean to hijack the thread, but maybe if we list the flaws with the Apollo, the OP can make more of an informed decision.

Sure. Didn't mean to sound vague or just knocking the product.

If you notice, in the OneLight DVD Zack always has the Apollo pointing straight ahead at the subject. While there is nothing technically wrong with that it does present some limitations.

Another thing that I didn't like, and may or may not be an issue for others, is the fact that the light produced by the box is terribly uneven. Regardless of whether you have the 28" or 50" the flash head is so far above the center and no matter what you do or how you angle the flash head within the box you can't get even light.

I also didn't like that the flash and its controls are inside the box. Even if you have remote control over the power you have no way to see the controls or to check or change the flash head zoom setting. So, in order to check or change anything you have to rip open the velcro'd front diffusion panel and even though it's easy to say that's no big deal it does start to become a big deal every time you have to do that. If you're not using radio triggers then line of sight is an issue and that's not something yo want to rely on when the flash is in the box.

The front diffusion panel is recessed, which can be good, but you don't have the ability to bring the diffusion material to the front of the box for greater coverage. Directional light is cool but not always what you want, or at least not always what I want.

Having a softbox that opens like an umbrella is a great idea but when you assemble the box and place the flash on an umbrella adapter and mount it to the light stand you quickly see how off-center the flash head is positioned and that makes for VERY uneven light regardless of the fact that the flash is rear firing on to a reflective surface.

As inconvenient as it ma seem, I'd still rather assemble a standard softbox and have the flash firing forward through an opening or speed ring at the rear.

Small softboxes only take a minute to assemble so the argument that standard softboxes are not convenient or take too much time or energy to assemble don't hold water in my opinion. Of course, if budget allows there still isn't anything simpler or cooler than a Lastolite EZYbox.

[bobbyz]

Any particular reason for foldable one? Are you going to use with strobes or hot shoe flash?

[aymanmb]

Originally Posted by bobbyz

Any particular reason for foldable one? Are you going to use with strobes or hot shoe flash?

hot shoe flash

[amoergosum]

Hmmm....Zach Arias never mentioned anything about uneven light with the 50" softbox.

[Wilt]

Originally Posted by TMR Design

I'd think twice about the Apollo. I had one and I have a list of gripes. I like Westcott and many of their products but there are serious design flaws in the Apollo softbox.

The current 'Apollo' is quite different from the 'Apollo' that was available a decade ago. Current one is based on an umbrella frame. The older one was a conventional softbox design.

[TMR Design]

No he doesn't but he also doesn't talk about the properties of modifiers and doesn't talk about the lack of ability to tilt the box. If you notice he always has the box pointing straight at the subject.

If you look at the design you would understand that it's impossible to have even lighting with the flash head several inches over the top of the umbrella adapter.

His DVD's are lighting DVD's. Not explanations about evenness and falloff. He describes the Apollo as a large light source with soft light. That's true. He does not use the word EVEN or UNIFORM.

[TMR Design]

Originally Posted by Wilt

The current 'Apollo' is quite different from the 'Apollo' that was available a decade ago. Current one is based on an umbrella frame. The older one was a conventional softbox design.

I had one a few months ago. The design is quite flawed. Placement of the flash head is way above center and the zippers that close around the light stand riser do not give you much room to tilt the box. When you see these boxes in use they are always pointing straight ahead and not above and angled down. The 28" Apollo is even worse because the flash head is so close to the top of the box. Check one out if you get a chance Wilt. You'd see exactly what I'm talking about.

[Moonjo]

Originally Posted by TMR Design

I had one a few months ago. The design is quite flawed. Placement of the flash head is way above center and the zippers that close around the light stand riser do not give you much room to tilt the box. When you see these boxes in use they are always pointing straight ahead and not above and angled down. The 28" Apollo is even worse because the flash head is so close to the top of the box. Check one out if you get a chance Wilt. You'd see exactly what I'm talking about.

Curious. Do you think the Mars Lander would work/help with the Apollo?

[TMR Design]

Originally Posted by Moonjo

Curious. Do you think the Mars Lander would work/help with the Apollo?

When I had the Apollo I saw that the Lander would not work because it would have the flash heads very close to the back of the box. I was almost tempted to keep it and fabricate another custom bracket for it but I just wasn't in the mood and was bothered by the unevenness of the light. I took some readings at the front diffusion panel and it was ridiculously uneven )very hot at the top and the falloff to the bottom was out of control)and I just felt that something that's that out of whack right out of the box wasn't worth modifying or getting into a whole DIY-to-make-it-work thing.

Ultimately, a custom bracket would work and perhaps correct for the uneven lighting in both the 28" and 50" Apollo. I was very torn about keeping it and trying some experiments but I returned it figuring that if I ever wanted to fabricate a bracket and do those experiments I could at any time.

The other thing about the Apollo is the way the light stand comes up into the modifier. I don't know if you've ever seen the Apollo but it seems like such a great idea and then when you assemble it and realize that you can't angle it you see the glaring poor design. Someone just wasn't thinking and decided for us that we don't need to create an angle. If you point it straight forward (as Zack does in his DVD) then you're fine. If you want to raise it up above your subject and have it angled down at let's say 30 degrees, you can't do it. Again, you'd have to use some hardware or fabricate something so that the umbrella adapter and pivot point are outside the box and not up in the box.

[Moonjo]

So, with as little customization or modification, it sounds like the Softliter II might be the best choice as far as portable "softbox" goes...?

[TMR Design]

Originally Posted by Moonjo

So, with as little customization or modification, it sounds like the Softliter II might be the best choice as far as portable "softbox" goes...?

I haven't found a foldable softbox that can be used with Speedlight's that I liked other than the Softlighter. If it's out there I have yet to see it.

I like even light and want the ability to feather and work with falloff as I would with a modifier mounted to a studio strobe so for me, modifiers like the Apollo don't cut it.

I know many people own and use the Apollo and if they like it then that's cool. It's not for me to tell others what to like or what to look for in a modifier but I need more than the Apollo offers.