jerryph
03-30-2009, 04:17 PM
I've been looking at softboxes for the last, oh... perhaps a year. Testing and playing and pricing out all kinds and I even was fortunate enough to play with Profoto softboxes so I got a good feel for top of the line equipment as well as mid and lower end setups.
About 3 months ago, I made my choice and started the saving process that is now familiar to me. In between then and recently I picked up the DVDs from Zack Arias (highly recommended, BTW!), and was pleasantly surprised to note that his choice of softboxes in the DVDs and mine were identical!
Last Friday I picked them up but unfortunately I don't have the time to put them through their paces. In the meantime, though, don't think that I could control myself and not pull out the 28" Apollo and 50" Apollo softboxes made for battery powered flashes (from BH Photo) and test them out and do a few pics with a single SB-800 flash and a pair of Pocket Wizards.
First off, kudos to B&H. Their site said the 50" was not in stock and an expected delivery date of 3-4 weeks is what it was... both came within 5 days!
A single battery operated flash inside a 28 and 50 inch softboxes... a few months ago, if someone had asked me about the possible effectiveness of such a mismatch (small flash, huge softbox), I would say nay, cannot be very effective... but, wow, was I ever pleasantly wrong!
Starting with the 50 inch Apollo, my settings were ISO 200, 1/2 power on a Nikon SB-800, subject to softbox distance of 8 feet and I was getting perfect exposures at F/5.6 (center of softbox was about 5 feet off the ground, pointing lightly downwards). A quick measurement also showed that this softbox was properly lighting an area of about 16 feet wide by 10 feet tall!
I am a stickler for keeping the flash power around 1/4 power for fast recycle times and extended battery life... so I lowered the power to 1/4 power, upped the ISO to 800 on my D700 and increased aperture to F/8 and tested it... not surprisingly, a near perfect exposure as per the histogram (minor flashing blown highlights, nothing worth writing home about).
Next, out came the 28" Apollo. No surprise that the same settings gave me the same perfect exposures as the 50 inch softbox. What this smaller softbox gave me, though, was a more precise control in a smaller area. This smaller softbox I initially thought was going to limit me to 1/2 and maybe if I was lucky, 3/4 length portraits, but I was again wrong. The 28" softbox had no issues giving me proper coverage for full body length shots.
Using my Sekonic meter, I did some fast tests. With the 28" softbox at a distance from subject of 8 feet gave me an area width of 8 feet horizontally and 7 feet vertically where the light was all within a 1/2 stop everywhere in that area!
Incredible. I am used to the way umbrellas work and their very finicky, curved edge, fast light drop off from the edges and greater lighting differences as you come to the edges... and this latitude was not what I thought a softbox was supposed to be able to do!
The 28 inch is a great size and very usable in tighter/smaller rooms and basements and is *perfect* for 1-3 people portraits (as many as 6 people *if* you position them really tight... lol) from head to full body. Placed very close to the subject like for a head or bust shot, it will deliver incredibly diffused light that just wraps the around the subject beautifully.
The 50 inch softbox... advance warning... it is HUGE. It is my "Big Mama" as Arias appropriately called it. Installing it, it is easy to bump into standard height ceilings, walls, the family dog, the next door neighbor (lol), whatever is close if you are not careful. But what got me every time was the fact that it gave me PERFECT even coverage from corner to corner with a battery powered flash. :eek:
The 28" Apollo:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3390341317_dbfc2acd70.jpg
The 50" Apollo:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3618/3390341371_8c2f4d545d.jpg
Note the fact that there are NO hotspots on either the 28 or 50 inch pictures. Now, understand that these shots were made with a single SB-800 flash inside there with the power level set to 1/4!
I saved the best for last.
These umbrellas as mentioned are made to work with battery powered (low power) speedlights. I am not sure about he 28" softbox, but the 50" softbox *is* large enough to accommodate full sized high power studio strobes and as per the specifications can handle an easy 1000 W/s without issues (for comparison, a standard speedlight puts out about 50-80 W/s and a higher end flash like a Nikon SB-800 can hit up to 125 W/s).
The "piece de resistance"... they also fold away just like an umbrella! Unlike a standard softbox, I can have this spread out and ready to place on a lightstand by the count of "one thousand one". Disassembly is no harder than packing away an umbrella either. Fold the sofbox by pressing a small button that releases it, folding it closed and twisting it just like you would any other umbrella. Done!
This makes them VERY portable and fast to setup and break down.
So, does all this praise mean that I am packing away my umbrellas for good? No. Umbrellas do things that softboxes cannot and the reverse is true too. They are tools that help me get the shot based on my needs. Knowing how each works and when to use either gives me greater leverage and both belong in my equipment bag.
The only downside that I can speak of is that these items are a little overpriced for what they are, but I could not find a more affordable or more versatile solution anywhere short of a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) project, and even then the results would never be as nice or as well made as these products.
These softboxes are a great tool, one that know I will enjoy for many years. :)
More pics of the two softboxes are HERE (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerryph/3390341371/in/set-72157616082023828/), if you are interested in seeing them from various angles.
About 3 months ago, I made my choice and started the saving process that is now familiar to me. In between then and recently I picked up the DVDs from Zack Arias (highly recommended, BTW!), and was pleasantly surprised to note that his choice of softboxes in the DVDs and mine were identical!
Last Friday I picked them up but unfortunately I don't have the time to put them through their paces. In the meantime, though, don't think that I could control myself and not pull out the 28" Apollo and 50" Apollo softboxes made for battery powered flashes (from BH Photo) and test them out and do a few pics with a single SB-800 flash and a pair of Pocket Wizards.
First off, kudos to B&H. Their site said the 50" was not in stock and an expected delivery date of 3-4 weeks is what it was... both came within 5 days!
A single battery operated flash inside a 28 and 50 inch softboxes... a few months ago, if someone had asked me about the possible effectiveness of such a mismatch (small flash, huge softbox), I would say nay, cannot be very effective... but, wow, was I ever pleasantly wrong!
Starting with the 50 inch Apollo, my settings were ISO 200, 1/2 power on a Nikon SB-800, subject to softbox distance of 8 feet and I was getting perfect exposures at F/5.6 (center of softbox was about 5 feet off the ground, pointing lightly downwards). A quick measurement also showed that this softbox was properly lighting an area of about 16 feet wide by 10 feet tall!
I am a stickler for keeping the flash power around 1/4 power for fast recycle times and extended battery life... so I lowered the power to 1/4 power, upped the ISO to 800 on my D700 and increased aperture to F/8 and tested it... not surprisingly, a near perfect exposure as per the histogram (minor flashing blown highlights, nothing worth writing home about).
Next, out came the 28" Apollo. No surprise that the same settings gave me the same perfect exposures as the 50 inch softbox. What this smaller softbox gave me, though, was a more precise control in a smaller area. This smaller softbox I initially thought was going to limit me to 1/2 and maybe if I was lucky, 3/4 length portraits, but I was again wrong. The 28" softbox had no issues giving me proper coverage for full body length shots.
Using my Sekonic meter, I did some fast tests. With the 28" softbox at a distance from subject of 8 feet gave me an area width of 8 feet horizontally and 7 feet vertically where the light was all within a 1/2 stop everywhere in that area!
Incredible. I am used to the way umbrellas work and their very finicky, curved edge, fast light drop off from the edges and greater lighting differences as you come to the edges... and this latitude was not what I thought a softbox was supposed to be able to do!
The 28 inch is a great size and very usable in tighter/smaller rooms and basements and is *perfect* for 1-3 people portraits (as many as 6 people *if* you position them really tight... lol) from head to full body. Placed very close to the subject like for a head or bust shot, it will deliver incredibly diffused light that just wraps the around the subject beautifully.
The 50 inch softbox... advance warning... it is HUGE. It is my "Big Mama" as Arias appropriately called it. Installing it, it is easy to bump into standard height ceilings, walls, the family dog, the next door neighbor (lol), whatever is close if you are not careful. But what got me every time was the fact that it gave me PERFECT even coverage from corner to corner with a battery powered flash. :eek:
The 28" Apollo:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3390341317_dbfc2acd70.jpg
The 50" Apollo:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3618/3390341371_8c2f4d545d.jpg
Note the fact that there are NO hotspots on either the 28 or 50 inch pictures. Now, understand that these shots were made with a single SB-800 flash inside there with the power level set to 1/4!
I saved the best for last.
These umbrellas as mentioned are made to work with battery powered (low power) speedlights. I am not sure about he 28" softbox, but the 50" softbox *is* large enough to accommodate full sized high power studio strobes and as per the specifications can handle an easy 1000 W/s without issues (for comparison, a standard speedlight puts out about 50-80 W/s and a higher end flash like a Nikon SB-800 can hit up to 125 W/s).
The "piece de resistance"... they also fold away just like an umbrella! Unlike a standard softbox, I can have this spread out and ready to place on a lightstand by the count of "one thousand one". Disassembly is no harder than packing away an umbrella either. Fold the sofbox by pressing a small button that releases it, folding it closed and twisting it just like you would any other umbrella. Done!
This makes them VERY portable and fast to setup and break down.
So, does all this praise mean that I am packing away my umbrellas for good? No. Umbrellas do things that softboxes cannot and the reverse is true too. They are tools that help me get the shot based on my needs. Knowing how each works and when to use either gives me greater leverage and both belong in my equipment bag.
The only downside that I can speak of is that these items are a little overpriced for what they are, but I could not find a more affordable or more versatile solution anywhere short of a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) project, and even then the results would never be as nice or as well made as these products.
These softboxes are a great tool, one that know I will enjoy for many years. :)
More pics of the two softboxes are HERE (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerryph/3390341371/in/set-72157616082023828/), if you are interested in seeing them from various angles.