Lightbulbs touch softbox surface. OK or not?

[adamas]

Hey there, guys!

I bought a simple softbox setup, nothing fancy (~200 eur / ~255 usd) but I have an issue, at least I think I do. The problem is that out of 5 lightbulbs 2 (to the left and right) are touching the surface of the softbox. Here's how it looks:

• Pic 1: Dropbox - IMG_5581 - Copy.JPG
• Pic 2: Dropbox - IMG_5582 - Copy.JPG
  So as you can see the lighbulbs touch the surface/"walls" of the softbox

And those are the lighbulbs: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wu+QE0yIL._SL1500_.jpg
And this is the whole item in question: Eine neue Foto-Räder Mesen Professionelle 2X Fünf E27: Amazon.de: Kamera

I mean, I'm fairly sure that I assembled the softboxes correctly. So what I'm trying to understand and decide now is whether this "touching" is fine/no problem OR if this is a problem - then I'll send it all back. Frankly-speaking I have no idea if this is OK or not.

I did contact the company/seller of the item, but I'm not sure how soon I get an answer, that's one. And two, of course there's a high chance they say "Sure, it's fine/no problem/etc" when in actuality it might be. So I wanted an "independent" advice.

So, good people, anyone would be so very kind to help me out on this one? Any advice or pointers would be much appreciated! :]

 

[Derrel]

From the photos it looks like the softbox can be assembled either "tall", or "wide", and that if the box is assembled in the "tall" orientation, as shown in all the photos, that the top and bottom bulbs will NOT touch the sides. Again, the photos are not conclusive, but it looks to me that you might not have assembled the box in the "tall" orientation.

How hot are the ballasts in the fluorescent bulbs? Are they really,really hot to the touch? Do you understand what I am saying about the softbox assembly?

 

[adamas]

Hey there, Derrel!
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply, appreciate it a whole lot.

Regarding the tall/wide situation. When I assemble it tall - lighbulbs touch left and right sides, when I try it in wide - lighbulbs touch upper and lower sides. So either way something's getting touched. It seems to be constructed that way, BUT to me that doesn't automatically mean it's OK. Maybe it was simply designed in a sloppy way.

As for the temperature, I tried running the bulbs for a while, and they seem just a little warm. I can put a finger on them and leave it there comfortably for a while. In any case, I definitely would not call them hot. But what I'm not sure about is this: let's say "hot" bulbs would damage the softbox for sure (or right away even), but does it mean that warm is still OK? Because if warm would also damage it but simply over time (either leaving it on for hours, or damage from continuous use), that's a no-no as well.

So my "issue" here is exactly temperature-related. Because if touching of softbox sides means the softbox itself will get burned/damaged over time, I think I'm better off just sending it back and that's it. If not (e.g. maybe the reflective material is not temperatures-sensitive) - I might stick with it. In any case I need to decide pretty quickly in order to be able to return it in time (Amazon has the usual 30 days return policy).

Any more/other advice or pointers?