Any feedback on this 43" Octagonal Apollo Orb ?
Thanks

I typed "Apollo Orb" in the search bar and found this thread

First, I don't own one so take this with a grain of salt. It provides a nice light and a round catch light. But apparently they are pretty fragile and can break pretty easily. I have a Apollo Medium which is smaller, but perhaps built a little better because I don't see as many people complaining about the build quality of the Medium.

If I was in the market for a flash compatible softbox right now, I would probably go with the Westcott Apollo 50" softbox. It is normally $250, but on sale right now for $169. So it is a little more expensive than the orb, but a real bargain at that price. It is much bigger than the Orb, and the build quality is much higher apparently.

Downsides to the 50" - no grid is available from Westcott, square catchlights, large size (think a 50" TV, but a little bigger and square). But the upside is that it provides a nice light and is large enough to do full length portraits or group shots.

sic0048 wrote: ...If I was in the market for a flash compatible softbox right now, I would probably go with the Westcott Apollo 50" softbox. It is normally $250, but on sale right now for $169.

I'm so glad I didn't order one earlier; I've got some extra cash coming today that's not allocated, plus it's on sale, so win/win for me.

sic0048 wrote: ...Downsides to the 50" ...square catchlights...

Square catchlights aren't a big deal to me (and in fact sometimes they're what I want), but if I absolutely needed round catchlights and only had a square soft box available I would just make a square mask with a round opening for the front of the box.

I did just that for my 28" Apollo before I got a 20" dish, and it worked well.

It sucks outside, indoor its ok, very fragile ribs, 28" its a lot better.

I read that mechanically it's a piece of crap

The light from it is awesome. The construction as others have said is lacking. I would also recommend the 50" Apollo softbox.

Here are a few example pics of the light in use: