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Archive 2009 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?
  
 
carbotex
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p.3 #1 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Oh well, I thought I could save a few bucks with getting just the SB.

Anyway, do you find changing the settings on the Speedlite to be rather difficult or maybe even PITA when using the Apollo since the flash is inside the SB?
Dec 03, 2009 at 04:30 AM
Sid Ceaser
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p.3 #2 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Nope, I've never had an issue of frustration changing the power settings. The whole front is velcro. It tears up, you change it, and place it back down. Rather simple. Easy Peasy.

And, yeah, its weird that the cheapest price for the Apollo is the one that comes with the bracket. I'm guessing its a pricing fluke that they haven't addressed or care about. I suppose you could try to find one on ebay, but $119 is a FANTASTIC price for the box and well worth it.
Dec 03, 2009 at 12:20 PM
photobear
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p.3 #3 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


How do you tip an Apollo down?

Dec 03, 2009 at 02:23 PM
Sid Ceaser
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p.3 #4 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


It needs a little encouragement, but pushing up a little on the bottom quadrant of the softbox gives you a little leeway.
Dec 03, 2009 at 02:31 PM
carbotex
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p.3 #5 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


What does Bogen Umbrella bracket give you compared to the kit bracket? Can you tilt up and down with Bogen's?

Dec 03, 2009 at 02:55 PM
RDKirk
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p.3 #6 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


carbotex wrote:
What does Bogen Umbrella bracket give you compared to the kit bracket? Can you tilt up and down with Bogen's?

Stiffness. Real, solid, genuine, no-nonsense, non-drooping, not-going-anywhere, all-metal stiffness.


Dec 03, 2009 at 08:36 PM
carbotex
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p.3 #7 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


I wish my wife could tell me that ...

I just placed an order from bhphotovideo. Thank you all for the info.

Dec 04, 2009 at 12:26 AM
Sid Ceaser
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p.3 #8 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Ha ha ha.

and the Bogen bends, whereas the pack-in does not.

PLUS, Apollo's make GREAT Halloween costumes. . .



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Dec 04, 2009 at 03:55 AM
Dawei Ye
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p.3 #9 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


What I hate about the apollo is the front white panel looks like a oversized hankerchief or something...you'd think they could have used a material that doesn't crease so easily

Good light quality, but I don't think the white panel really makes much of a difference - just evens up the catchlights a bit by removing some of the segmentation

Dec 04, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Mstic
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p.3 #10 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Has anybody tried one of these softboxes?

http://cgi.ebay.com/50X50-Flash-Light-Speedlight-Photo-Studio-Softbox-Kit_W0QQitemZ170416098932QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item27ad974e74

Dec 07, 2009 at 05:45 PM
 



Jim Quinn
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p.3 #11 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


HI,

Good thread! Two questions:

* Is it possible to fire a Canon or Nikon speedlight in an Apollo using ETTL? I would be surprised if it did, but I'd guess that if it works at all, the flash body would need to be facing the front diffuser panel with the lighthead facing the back.
* When you're using speedlights, would fitting them with a StoFen Omnibounce dome (or similar) give you a more even spread into the reflector, or would it make much difference?

Jim Quinn

Dec 07, 2009 at 09:14 PM
David Holmes
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p.3 #12 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Jim Quinn wrote:
HI,

Good thread! Two questions:

* Is it possible to fire a Canon or Nikon speedlight in an Apollo using ETTL? I would be surprised if it did, but I'd guess that if it works at all, the flash body would need to be facing the front diffuser panel with the lighthead facing the back.
* When you're using speedlights, would fitting them with a StoFen Omnibounce dome (or similar) give you a more even spread into the reflector, or would it make much difference?

Jim Quinn

I've fired my Nikon speedlights in an Apollo via an SU-800 when testing, but I'm not sure how reliable that scenario is.

I think the dome would just eat power, not add much to the spread of light inside the Apollo. Somebody else will probably respond with a more authoritative answer.

Dec 08, 2009 at 12:39 AM
MX727
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p.3 #13 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Thanks for the good pictures of the setups. I was trying to figure out what the differences were between the 28" Apollo and the Speedlite kit. It appears, they are the exact same, except they include the mount with the Speedlite kit. What's funny about that is they list the Speedlite kit for $20 less on the Westcott site.

Jan 10, 2010 at 12:33 AM
photoCycle
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p.3 #14 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Anyone using the SB800 with the 50" Softbox ? How is the light coverage with the larger softbox?

Jan 10, 2010 at 12:48 AM
RobertLynn
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p.3 #15 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


photoCycle wrote:
Anyone using the SB800 with the 50" Softbox ? How is the light coverage with the larger softbox?

580EXII (pretty much same thing), and it does well.

Better than you would think it would, but not quite as nice nice as a 120J (or something similar) or an AB400/800/1600.

Jan 10, 2010 at 01:19 AM
Sid Ceaser
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p.3 #16 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


photoCycle wrote:
Anyone using the SB800 with the 50" Softbox ? How is the light coverage with the larger softbox?

Its fine; nice and even coverage:



This image is copyrighted by the owner




Shooting outside at sundown with a Vivitar 285 inside the 50"



This image is copyrighted by the owner



Flickr


And someone asked eariler about if these work with Nikon's CLS infrared, and they do. I held a meetup a while back and I was the only Canon shooter; everyone else was shooting Nikon. We put an SB800 inside and Nikon shooters had no problem using these softbox with the CLS. They had no issues with exposure.

Jan 10, 2010 at 01:32 AM
MTBtrials
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p.3 #17 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?



I am looking into the 50" model.

Someone mentioned the fact that it is hard to make it tilt properly...

What is the one pictured, and is that the extent of it's tilt-ability?


Sid Ceaser wrote:


This image is copyrighted by the owner
Jan 10, 2010 at 05:23 AM
RobertLynn
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p.3 #18 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


That's the 28, and I wonder if they had to cut the zipper, or just not close the zipper to get that much tilt.

Or maybe the angle seems exaggerated to me, but that's about as absolutely much tile as you can get with it.

That's why I want a boom arm too! Not only could I get the stupid stand out of the way, but I could use the boom arm's angle to "cheat" more angle out of the big softie!

Jan 10, 2010 at 05:48 AM
brett maxwell
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p.3 #19 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


Now if you use a hot pink AB in there, does it give the light a color cast?
Jan 10, 2010 at 08:59 AM
Sid Ceaser
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p.3 #20 · Westcott Apollo type of Umbrella Softbox?


MTBtrials wrote:

I am looking into the 50" model.

Someone mentioned the fact that it is hard to make it tilt properly...

What is the one pictured, and is that the extent of it's tilt-ability?


Sid Ceaser wrote:


This image is copyrighted by the owner








This was achieved by slightly pushing up the bottom of the softbox so I could tilt it a little more. So, the bottom part of the softbox isn't a perfect horizontal line, but has a slight curve upward. Doesn't do anything to how the light is put out. The bottom of the zipper was also unclosed to allow for the tilt, thats why in the reflection you can see a little hotspot underneath the sofbox, and why the light stand legs are illuminated.

A way to circumvent to get more tilt is to have two umbrella brackets mounted inside the softbox. So you'd have: lightstand > umbrella bracket > metal spigot > umbrella adapter > spigot/flash. This gives you what you need for almost a complete tilt.

With the 50", I'd say boom-arm it. I've never tried to tilt that, as its pretty big, and the bottom of the box is too large to push upwards to get any tilt-ability.
Jan 10, 2010 at 01:05 PM
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