Umbrella or softbox

[dataz722]

I am going to be putting in an order today and I don't know if I should get the Lumiquest SoftBox III or an umbrella? Which do you think would get more use? In the future I will get which ever one I don't get today but I just don't have the money for both right now.

 

[SpeedTrap]

It really depends on what you are lighting.
An umbrella will give you something that is light weight, versitile and can pack down quite small.
A softbox will give you softer light, more options for light control and a higher quality of light but at a loss of power.

I would go with the soft box, but only if you are getting a large one, 30 or 40 Inch minimum

 

[Dwig]

The big difference:

Umbrellas are small & compact when collapsed and thus easy to carry

Softboxes are enclosed so that no stray light "rattles" around the room out of control thus you can control the lighting better with a softbox when working indoors in normal household size rooms.

Other differences involve whether the umbrella is silver or diffuse white, shape (square, hex, octagon) of either, and size.

 

[inTempus]

The softbox he's talking about is for a speedlite and it's only 8x9" I believe. The umbrella will probably give a more defused light than such a small softbox... if that's the type of light he's looking for.

 

[CxThree]

If I was only going to use one, it would be a convertible umbrella so I could bounce or shoot through it to get the light soft and close to the subject. If you have neither, go with a convertible umbrella first then add a softbox later.

If you are unsure of what I am talking about, convertible umbrellas have a black outer lining that can be removed so you can shoot through the white interior material.

 

[IgsEMT]

w/o reading other's reply... if you can, get both. Both will give you great portraiture results but both have limitations, unfortunately.