Softbox question

Softbox ... I see some have a white interior and some a silver interior.

Which is most common or preferred, and does it matter if it will be used indoor vs outdoors ?

silver interior because it reflects more towards the front

unlike umbrellas, reflective surface does not make such a difference in appearance of lighting, due to the diffusive front panel.

Wilt wrote in post #19230215
unlike umbrellas, reflective surface does not make such a difference in appearance of lighting, due to the diffusive front panel.

Silver is nice when the front (outer) diffuser is removed. Nice to have options like that IMO.

ImageMaker... wrote in post #19230242
Silver is nice when the front (outer) diffuser is removed. Nice to have options like that IMO.

Indeed. But these days so many use softboxes to house speedlights, that typically are aimed forward thru the opeing at the back of the softbox (not aimed back toward the silver surface), and the front panel is not removeable, particularly in the bargain softbox.

So, back to OP, silver vs. white: in a softbox typically made for speedlight, with opening at the rear for placing the speedlight, the silver will reflect forward a tiny bit more light -- which reflects off the front panel and bounces back into the softbox to bounce forward again. Otherwise it matters not the color of the inner softbox, when using speedlight in softbox.

I'll probably try one with a silver interior.

I may get a mono light at some point but for now, I have 3 speed lights and a 3 mount bracket.

Yongnuo setup with triggers and they work well. What I don't like is it takes 20 batteries if I
setup all three. (enoloop recharge)

Wondering if there is a bracket made that would allow me to use one receiver to control all 3 speed lights,
like the hot shoes would be connected some way ?

lacogada wrote in post #19230297
I'll probably try one with a silver interior.

I may get a mono light at some point but for now, I have 3 speed lights and a 3 mount bracket.

Yongnuo setup with triggers and they work well. What I don't like is it takes 20 batteries if I
setup all three. (enoloop recharge)

Wondering if there is a bracket made that would allow me to use one receiver to control all 3 speed lights,
like the hot shoes would be connected some way ?

A consideration for the future:
If you intend to use a monolight or powerpack head inside a softbox with a halogen modelling light, there will be considerable heat buildup inside the softbox from the constant modelling light. That makes it especially advisible to have a cooling fan in the head/monolight, especially the monolight whose heat sensitive electronics are all inside the softbox trapping the heat.

Wilt wrote in post #19230417
A consideration for the future:
If you intend to use a monolight or powerpack head inside a softbox with a halogen modelling light, there will be considerable heat buildup inside the softbox from the constant modelling light. That makes it especially advisible to have a cooling fan in the head/monolight, especially the monolight whose heat sensitive electronics are all inside the softbox trapping the heat.

I loosen a bit of Velcro on the softbox above the strobe to help with circulation. Even though mine have cooling fans. It still helps keep the electronics cooler.

Good points people ... thanks for the info.

The Westcott Apollo line of soft boxes are designed to have the Speedlite shoot backwards into the Silver lining and then through the White diffusion panel, eliminating the hot spot.

Wilt wrote in post #19230417
A consideration for the future:
If you intend to use a monolight or powerpack head inside a softbox with a halogen modelling light, there will be considerable heat buildup inside the softbox from the constant modelling light. That makes it especially advisible to have a cooling fan in the head/monolight, especially the monolight whose heat sensitive electronics are all inside the softbox trapping the heat.

I haven't run into ligh that had a modeling lamp bright enough to be useful in a softbox that didn't have an internal fan.

Nick5 wrote in post #19230524
The Westcott Apollo line of soft boxes are designed to have the Speedlite shoot backwards into the Silver lining and then through the White diffusion panel, eliminating the hot spot.

I have used a 50-inch Apollo JS for more than a decade. I like them a lot. Very fast to set up. Nice square catchlight mimicking a window indoors.

RDKirk wrote in post #19230529
I haven't run into ligh that had a modeling lamp bright enough to be useful in a softbox that didn't have an internal fan.

Always exceptions can be encountered...I can tell you that I have 500 w/s Dynalite heads that do not have a fan, yet do have a 250W modelling light. The Dynalite 2000 w/s heads with same 250W modelling light do have a built in fan. I do not use the fanless heads in softboxes with modelling lights on constantly, only for intermittent use while positioning the head to initially light the subject and then turned off.

Wilt wrote in post #19230593
Always exceptions can be encountered...I can tell you that I have 500 w/s Dynalite heads that do not have a fan, yet do have a 250W modelling light. The Dynalite 2000 w/s heads with same 250W modelling light do have a built in fan. I do not use the fanless heads in softboxes with modelling lights on constantly, only for intermittent use while positioning the head to initially light the subject and then turned off.

I haven't run into Dynalite. I've heard of them, haven't actually laid eyes upon one.

Aren't they out of business now?

RDKirk wrote in post #19230665
I haven't run into Dynalite. I've heard of them, haven't actually laid eyes upon one.

Aren't they out of business now?

Dynalite shut down in 2020, after 50 years of being in business, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The photography market abandoned pack+heads design, shrank the pro monorail lines, and went to Chinese bargain speedlights and pseudo-pro looking monolights. Dynalite was very popular among sports photographer. Petapixel said:

"Though (CEO Peter) Poremba blames 'the current decline in the photography market,' the reality might lie closer to “the current rise of affordable monolights” from companies like Godox/Flashpoint. The market is more crowded than ever, and DynaLite’s most successful and lucrative niche—arena sports photography—has been shrinking as the low-light capabilities of high-speed sports cameras has steadily improved."

The name continues via an unrelated company based in Australia, a lighting and automation control system, and in 2009 that company was bought by Philips to become Philips-Dynalite.

In their day, they were generally smaller and lighter than equivalent power units from other companies, and put out more light. In a comparison test by Chimera the softbox company, the Dynalites put out +1EV more light than many of its competitors' products