My absolutely unscientific comparison . . .

. . . between the large softbox included in the Elinchrom D-Lite 4 kit and the Lastolite Umbrella Box.

Build Quality

Neither can brag too much on build quality, but the Elinchrom boxes are superior (in the way that a 1981 Chevy Cavalier is "superior" to a 1979 Yugo). When the Lastolite bag is opened, the smell of dime store beach ball hits you, and it feels and looks cheap as well. The second time I opened the umbrella, one of the tips came off. I was able to put it back on, but it will never be on securely.

Ease of Use

The Lastolite hands down. The Elinchrom boxes are a strain to put together. I used curse words I didn't even know I knew putting the boxes together. If you can use an Umbrella, you can use the Lastolites (if you can't use an umbrella, you probably shouldn't have photography as a hobby!). You do have to pull the white diffuser towards the head of the D-Lite and then zip it around the light which can be a bit tricky, but nothing like putting those @%#**% boxes together! Also, when you put the umbrella shaft through the head, you have to force it a bit more than you might be comfortable doing.

Results

I tried to control the test as much as possible. Both shots were taken with the same exposure (/4.5@1/200 (INVALID EMAIL), ISO 100) and at the same distance. Both the model (my daughter) and I thought that the light was much brighter with the umbrella, but they metered out the same. The only PP'ing I did was a bit of healing stamp and a bit of a crop. That's it.

This is with the Elinchrom softbox:

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Thanks for the comparison. The first photo's a stop less exposed than the first, until you get the brightness right you won't be able to judge color. It does look slightly bluer though. Make sure you set both to 5500K.

Lights and modifiers can both affect the color balance. This is sometimes important to be aware of if you're mixing brands and types, but otherwise it shouldn't be an issue if you're following proper white balance procedures with a good reference target.

tim wrote in post #5609812
Thanks for the comparison. The first photo's a stop less exposed than the first, until you get the brightness right you won't be able to judge color. It does look slightly bluer though. Make sure you set both to 5500K.

The camera was set to AWB on both shots.

tim wrote in post #5609812
Thanks for the comparison. The first photo's a stop less exposed than the first, until you get the brightness right you won't be able to judge color. It does look slightly bluer though. Make sure you set both to 5500K.

Am I seeing the photos backwards? I see the box photo first and the umbrella photo second. I seem to have noticed this before, but this post reminded me of this issue.

It would make all the sense in the world that you are getting less light out of the umbrella box since you are getting no direct light on the face of it. I also understand the box that comes with the D-Lite kits has no internal diffuser, which would also soak up some light, but since it isn't there, makes the box brighter.

irishman wrote in post #5610295
The camera was set to AWB on both shots.

If you shot RAW set the WB to 5500. If you shot JPG use a warming filter in PS. In future set the WB to flash on the camera before you start. AWB isn't that great unless you can fix in RAW later.