Non-PCB stripboxes for ABs?

I like Paul Buff products but the PCB stripbox is too short (36") for full-length work. Has anyone found or can recommend a longer (60"+) stripbox that fits the Bees? Collapsible would be nice but good build quality is probably more important. Thanks.

I like my Chimera's....

Cheaper then Chimeras, longer then ABs, would be Visicos that you can find on Ebay.

I have one Visico so far, and for the money its pretty good, not great, but pretty decent.

I think the largest i saw was 40cm (16") x 140cm (55"), haven't gotten one yet though, so i can't comment.

I remember seeing a 2m one at some point, but i can't seem to find em anymore.

There are many things I like about Chimera...
One of the most important things for me was when I made the investment was that I could get replacement parts. If something gives out they are in the states and will make repairs if needed. Besides just the replacement parts they have front diffusers you can purchase in 1/4, 1/2 and full stop panels. They also have scrim panels, color correcting panels.... You name it! I think the largest strip they make is over 80" tall. On top of it all the factory is based in the USA.

If you are looking for "quality" you will not find a better company IMO.

Thanks for both the replies so far. Guess it comes back to the perennial decision: pay more and get quality and service you can depend on, or go cheap and get what you pay for. Why'd I have to pick such an expensive hobby?

Photoflex has halfdome2 medium - $170

The large Chimera Super Pro strip box is really nice. The extra money for the Super Pro over the Pro II is really worth it. The Pro II feels cheap in comparison.

Csae wrote in post #11165948
Cheaper then Chimeras, longer then ABs, would be Visicos that you can find on Ebay.

I have one Visico so far, and for the money its pretty good, not great, but pretty decent.

I think the largest i saw was 40cm (16") x 140cm (55"), haven't gotten one yet though, so i can't comment.

I remember seeing a 2m one at some point, but i can't seem to find em anymore.

I agree with this post and I own two. The only regret was not getting the slightly smaller one that comes with the grid. I would recommend that one.

BTW, I'm all for Chimeras. I've owned two SBs before and it's just top-notch in every aspect. The Easton fiberglass rods were so easy to work with and made sure the shape was perfect every time. But if you want to go cheap, you'll never find the Chimera-like qualities.

I'm still not ready to replace my strip boxes but I have every intention of getting the Chimera strips. I've seen them and I've worked with them and when it comes to materials and build with grids of various degrees of control and barn doors, there just isn't a better choice, in my opinion.

I've owned cheap strips and I know why they're cheap.

I know, I know.. we can go on and on complaining about the price of grids but the fact of the matter is simple. If we want grids we have to pay a premium for them, and if we want quality modifiers we have to pay for them as well.

From everything I can see, the best combination of modifier and grid availability is from Chimera. Sadly, Elinchrom just can't touch any of the grid guys. Strip boxes are used so much with grids that it's rather silly to make small and mid sized strips without a grid. I would have gotten the Elinchrom 20" x 51" strip long ago but the lack of a grid is a problem. I'd love to use it as a narrow softbox but when I need a strip I always need it gridded.

My vote goes to Chimera.

I'll throw in a vote for Larson Enterprises. Good quality, good modifiers.

http://creativelight.c​om/

Can anyone recommend a stripbox for speedlight?

As long as you have a bracket or method of attaching your Speedlight to a speed ring then you can use any strip box you like. No one strip box is going to better than another. The key is to orient the flash head vertically inside the strip and use a flash head zoom setting that lets the flash fill the box.

yuriyo923 wrote in post #11410045
Can anyone recommend a stripbox for speedlight?

I doubt that a Speedlite can fill a longer stripbox evenly. The reason is that most softboxes are really designed for studio flash units with "naked" flash tubes inside. Thus, the light goes in all directions from the flash tube.

All Speedlites have a reflector behind the flash tube and you cannot remove it to emulate a "naked" studio flash unit.

I've done it Skip. It works just as well as filling a softbox. If the flash head and strip are oriented the same way and you use ~24mm as the zoom setting on the flash it does work quite well.