California Sunbounce

MR do little wrote in post #10265319
You seem to not understand how the skylite is buildt, if you did you would realize that unlike the CSB the skylite is rigid frame what wont flex due to windy conditions.

They are actually better better buildt then CSB, they are however not as easy to handhold.

Well thank you for clearing that up. I did not understand this since I've never held one or seen one. Robert also answered this above for me.

Just have to bump this thread.

I would like to hear if CxThree got his Sunbounce and how he likes it.
I'm thinking bout getting the CSB Micro Mini too, but it worries me a bit that several dislike the fabric. I'm a one man band right now, so I can't reply on an assistant and the flash/reflector combo in one hand is very appealing.

After a bunch of thought, I decided to pass on the sunbounce. I still think its a good product, but I was concerned about how much I would actually use it.

I have the sunbounce mini 3x4' and its perfect size. The micro-mini I find is too small for doing full body shots.

I dunno what youve been doing with your sunbounce, (Im assuming you actually have one to comment like this) but my mini is still going after 2 years, with absolutely no peeling, flaking or inconsistencies. I use it every weekend, and its been trodden on etc. I leave the polls inside the fabric and even having the crossbeams stuffed inside the slingbag hap-hazadly its minty.

There are actually many people that aren't thrilled with the material and it's not just one person or an internet rumor.

I owned the 3' x 4' for a short time and I thought the material was no better or different than the material on my Photoflex collapsible reflectors.

There were signs of peeling and flaking right out of the box.

I was very unimpressed. Perhaps I just got one that was defective but it didn't leave me with a very good taste in my mouth about California Sunbounce.

I don't own CSB but I've rented CSB plenty and own a fair bit of Lastolite gear, and I'm with jdear.

I love the sturdiness and durability of CSB (there's a reason it's very popular with rental houses, other than marketing for rental).

I don't know if the build quality is worth the price premium compared to Lastolite (don't get me wrong, Lastolite's build quality is very good, imo) but I prefer the handling of CSB on location by far. I'll be investing into CSB in the near future.

I'm also a fan of CSB gear. Works very well for us. Could lastolite do the job? Sure. But CSB frames make it worthwhile IMO.

I use the Micro Mini silver side constantly as my fill when doing indoor portraits/head shots, I leave it on a stand within reach and with the top swivel loose so I can pan it on and off and reach for the stand to move it. I use this all the time when I'm shooting with the 74" octabank around to the side to get some deeper shadows and then fill back in with the sunbounce. I do the same when using the Mola Euro 33.5" BD as well and occasionally with the smaller Demi 22". I bought the Micro Mini, 3x4 and 4x6 thinking that I probably was wasting my money on the Micro mini but it's turned out to be the one I use the most. I'm thinking of getting the zebra fabric for shooting outside on overcast days.

I have the opportunity to use a 4' x 6' later this week. I'll see whether I think the material is any better or different than the one I had.

I have a csb white/zilver and couldn't be more happy. I don't understand that there are people that do not like the fabric of the csb, damn what do those guys want

As I said, it wasn't that I was unhappy with the fabric. I was unhappy because it was peeling and flaking. For the price that shouldn't be the case. If others just don't like the fabric then that's a different story.

I have read about the fabric not being the best elsewhere so Rob might have something. Could it be a bad production run or an early version of the product, that have been updated?

They actually suggest that you can run the fabric through the washing machine which will cause it to flake a little and give you a softer silver, I haven't had the need yet. You can damage the surface, I've noticed a little area that got rubbed on one of mine but the light they give is what I'm after and I love the way they go together and are so incredibly light. I'm a fan.