Guys, I suppose you get what you pay for with regards softboxes but who can you recommend that is reasonable in price but still gives great color rendition etc etc, the size I'm thinking of is around the 150cm (5ft), not sure on rectangular or ocatagon shape as yet but would appreciate your input, I will be in the the USA for two weeks soon so can order online & have it shipped to my buddy's house cheers
superblue wrote:
...with regards softboxes ...who can you recommend that is reasonable in price ...the size I'm thinking of is around the 150cm (5ft)...
Hey Brian, I'm only going to be shooting at my home, I can squeeze 3/4 length shots in of a family of four, but space is limited I'm afraid, I have 2 small 180ws lights mounted with two 60x60cm sofboxes, I want to get a 400ws light & a larger softbox, we have a couple of suppliers here in the UK who are pretty reasonable with decent feedback, they are Bessel & Smick, their 120 x 80cm sofboxes are around the $100 mark. It's about a good qualatiy of light really.
Thanks Deezie............being new to studio stuff I was wondering, is there a huge difference in light boxes? by that I mean the quality of the light they give?
This is my "go to" modifier for portraits, the 52-inch Photek Illuminata. Check it out here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/185548-REG/Photek_R_3052_Illuminata_II_Octagonal_Light.html
superblue wrote:
...is there a huge difference in light boxes? by that I mean the quality of the light they give?
The biggest factor affecting the quality of light from soft boxes is the size of the box: the larger the source, the softer the light.
Another factor is the evenness of the light across the face of the front panel, and that can be affected by the shape of the box, the type of light mounted in it, etc.
Finally, there's the color of the light; most soft boxes are pretty neutral, at least when new, but I've seen some cheaper ones that yellowed pretty quickly and a few that looked too blue due to brighteners in the fabric.
If you stick with well-known brands none of them should be problematic with regard to quality of light; the main differences will be in quality of construction, with the more expensive ones generally being more long-lived and/or easier to set up.
superblue wrote:
...with regards softboxes ...who can you recommend that is reasonable in price ...the size I'm thinking of is around the 150cm (5ft)...
Any of the newer umbrellas like the Buff PLM with a diffusion panel or the Westcott 7' para-shaped umbrella with a diffusion panel works very similar to a octa style softbox. Pretty reasonable too. Thy all mimic the Softlighter but the Softlighter is almost legendary.
I watched part of a video with Joel Grimes (sports and fashion photographer) using a 5ft octa and a 7' Westcott white umbrellas with diffuser and his results clearly showed how the $99 Westcott worked very well and very much like his octa box. I use the Westcott silver with diffusion panel and while its sort of big, it works well.
There are a lot of cheaper umbrella style/softbox modifiers out now. I'm not a Westcott fanboy but happened to notice their Rapid Box softboxs which fold and work like umbrellas, I think they are new. Seems you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a new modifier most every day.....
for years we used a Photek Softlighter as main light source in studio. Moved up to Larsons some time ago - but for the money the Photek is a better value... can be used w/pack heads/monolights/speedlights. Still use the Photek alot for location work, as the Larsons are rigid...
cheers