Just came across the Creative Light line on the B&H website. Looks like they have decent stock and am wondering if others have any experiences to add to the comments here?
rscheffler wrote:
Just came across the Creative Light line on the B&H website. Looks like they have decent stock and am wondering if others have any experiences to add to the comments here?
Ron
Yes I have used Creative Light softboxes for almost one month now and I am not very happy with them. God willing, I will be reviewing them soon.
I just got a CL strip box with grid for Christmas. I've only used it for a few shoots, but the build quality is excellent and the light quality is nice.
are the profoto , creative light speedrings interchangeable? so far my small system is profoto only, but tempting to try them out.
(edit)
Also do you think their fabric grids will fit the same size profoto softboxes? Any other grid options for profoto softboxes. The cost for the profoto softboxes doesn't bother me nearly as much as the cost for the grids. I just can't understand why they should cost so much.
I got this response from them on interchanging speedrings between profoto and their brand.
"Officially the boxes and rings will not interchange. However, there may be a few Profoto softboxes that happen to fit a Creative Light ring and vice-versa, but it is best to keep the brands matched with each other so no extra stress is put on any of the rods in an effort to make them fit."
I'm still curious if anyone has compared the quality side by side with profoto. They look very similar and there are some very positive reviews on bhphoto.
Just as an update I took the plunge and ordered a CL speedring, CL 1x4 Strip Box and the 5' Octa. Unfortunately the 5' Octa didn't arrive due to some UPS goof up, but I have the Strip Box.
I'm a relatively new photographer so I wouldn't take this as a review, but here are my first impressions in comparison to my 3x4 Profoto Softbox.
*The creative light has a much heavier duty storage case, but has an annoying velcro seal that catches on the softbox velco. The Profoto case is thinner but has a much nicer drawstring.
*The Speedrings are very similar but not exactly the same as far as positioning of the holes. The CL speedring is very slightly larger and very slightly heavier. I do like the cleaner design of the Profoto speedring, but the CL one is half the price. Build quality seems equal.
*The rods are different. The Profoto rod is an even width piece of metal. The CL has very thick metal on the speedring end and some sort of fiberglass or coated metal the rest of the way. I did struggle to get the CL assembled and disassembled but I think I have figured how to do it now.
*The softbox material is of high quality of the CL, but it is significantly thinner than on the Profoto. Both have a silver liner, but the CL has a different simpler textured silver than the Profoto. I feel like the CL fabric will develop wrinkles easier than the Profoto.
*The diffuser fabrics seem of equal quality. The snaps for the inner diffuser seem a little more "snappy" on the Profoto.
*The piece of softbox fabric that holsters then end of the rods is double reinforced on the Profoto, but not on the CL. I have no idea if the CL is "good enough", but I have seen some Chimera softboxes with gaffer tape being used to patch up holes from the rods.
The general design of the softboxes are very very similar. I know the rumor is that Profoto has some role in the CL softboxes and I can believe it. It is almost like they told an engineer to design a new softbox with slightly lower material cost. I can't find any parts that are exactly the same between the two softboxes though.
Overall, I think I am happy with my CL purchase. The Profoto is better quality but at a higher price. I'm hoping to find some CL grids in stock soon as those are much cheaper than the Profoto equivalents. The Softbox outer edge velcro looks roughly the same so I would imagine you could use CL Grids on a Profoto Softbox.
Ryan Pream wrote:
are the profoto , creative light speedrings interchangeable? so far my small system is profoto only, but tempting to try them out.
(edit)
Also do you think their fabric grids will fit the same size profoto softboxes? Any other grid options for profoto softboxes. The cost for the profoto softboxes doesn't bother me nearly as much as the cost for the grids. I just can't understand why they should cost so much.
