Seriously Guys? C'mon!

PhotoWrangler · Dec 12, 2011

$256 Lastolite Joe McNally 24'' White Ezybox Hotshoe - Ezybox Hotshoe

$38 CowboyStudio Photography Lighting | Studio Equipment | Studio Accessories

Seriously?

ghache · Dec 12, 2011

lol, I got 2 of these softbox from ebay. 1 24X24 and one 32X32 that i just got. i compared the 24X24 with the lastolite and quality wise, its the same freaking softbox and i am usre the light quality is the same.

Some people will say you get what you pay for, not really, These 40$ softbox are a WIN. i wouldn't NEVER pay 250 bucks for the lastolite one.

The round 42 inch reflector?. I have one photoflex and one lastolite that my friend left at my studio and i have a cheap one from ebay, guess what? they are the same.

480sparky · Dec 12, 2011

Porsche.

Kia.

Derrel · Dec 12, 2011

Left: $19 Cheap Chinese imitation Right $75 genuine Lastolite Umbrella Box.

Both fitted with identical speedotron MW3U (aka 'umbrella heads") flash heads firing at 200 watt-seconds.

They look "similar" in appearance, but the cheap Chinese knock-off has a severe hot-spot,
and edges with very rapid fall-off. Cheap Chinese made modifiers often use cheap fabrics
with UV enhancers, to make the fabric appear "white" to the human eye.

So...yeah...the imitation and the original give identical results? Right? I mean, who you gonna believe?

PhotoWrangler · Dec 12, 2011

ok, ok, ok. Derrell threw me under the bus. Thanks Derrell. My checkbook hates you.

MLeeK · Dec 12, 2011

Very interesting, Derrel. Thanks!

Robin Usagani · Dec 12, 2011

Hyundais and Kias are getting nicer and nicer though.

480sparky said:
Porsche.

Kia.

tirediron · Dec 12, 2011

ghache said:
...Some people will say you get what you pay for, not really...

Yes. Really!

As Derrel just demonstrated in his post, appearances can be (and often are) deceiving. If you don't pay for it, your work will.

Derrel · Dec 12, 2011

Well, somebody above said he is "sure the light quality is the same", and impugned the name and reputation of both Photoflex and Lastolite. MY EXPERIENCE is that the Chinese-made stuff has a different color temperature and different materials construction than the "name brand" stuff. Like the Lastolite Umbrella box, which I have personally been recommending since 2007; it has a "special" white diffusion material on the front of it...it is "thick-ish", and "semi-transparent"; the closest thing I could liken it to is frosted Plexiglas or "opal glass", which is/was used in slide duplicators and some enlagers, to create a very SMOOTH and EVEN diffusion of the light.

The cheap Chinese umbrella box, which I payed $19 for, used regular old shoot-through umbrella type material in the front, and it does NOT create an even diffusion of the light. As you can see, it has terrible edge fall-off, and a VERY "hot" center...also, the black fabric on the back--the Lastolite is a sort of rubberized-feeling, THICK cloth that allows ZERO light to come through, even when firing 800 to 1200 watt-seconds of flash through one light head....the Chinese umbrellas use "regular", black-dyed, woven fabric that is nowhere near opaque, and light comes out the back side...meaning that when two umbrellas are aimed toward the subjects, and the photographer is behind the umbrellas, on the black side, there is a LOT of spill light blasting toward the lens with the Chinese-made cheapies, and the Lastolites are light-proof,and are NOT flaring the lens... I myself recommend and use the Lastolite Umbrella Box 40 inch umbrellas with the 7mm diameter shafts. I stand behind the product's results. Its sewing sometimes needs a bit of assistance with the rib end-caps and an extra stitch or two, but the "quality" of the light is beautiful.

Chinese e-bay item versus Name-brand.... UFC 141...

pgriz · Dec 12, 2011

@Derrel: looking at your example, I’m wondering if the“focal length” of the umbrella has something to do with the pattern you are showing. The Lastolite umbrella shows an even pattern that one would expect if the flash was at the focal point of the umbrella’s curvature. The “Other” one either has a stronger curve than the Lastolite umbrella, or the flash head is further away from the umbrella’s focal point (actually, closer to the umbrella on the axis), or both. If my guess is correct, then the positioning of the flash or light at the correct location/position relative to the umbrella axis and curvature becomes very important.

You mayalso have solved a WB problem for me in that I never really considered the quality of “white” that I get from the bounced light from the umbrella. I was getting a slightly magenta cast in some shots but not others, using the same equipment. Now that you mention it, I am thinking that the magenta cast may have been happening when I used a specific umbrella. I’m going to test this theory, maybe even as early as tonight.

Buckster · Dec 12, 2011

Derrel said:
Left: $19 Cheap Chinese imitation Right $75 genuine Lastolite Umbrella Box.

Both fitted with identical speedotron MW3U (aka 'umbrella heads") flash heads firing at 200 watt-seconds.

They look "similar" in appearance, but the cheap Chinese knock-off has a severe hot-spot,
and edges with very rapid fall-off. Cheap Chinese made modifiers often use cheap fabrics
with UV enhancers, to make the fabric appear "white" to the human eye.

So...yeah...the imitation and the original give identical results? Right? I mean, who you gonna believe?

Seeing is definitely believing!

I'd love to see a similar comparison of the softbox in question.

Derrel · Dec 12, 2011

pgriz said:
@Derrel: looking at your example, I’m wondering if the“focal length” of the umbrella has something to do with the pattern you areshowing. The Lastolite umbrella shows aneven pattern that one would expect if the flash was at the focal point of the umbrella’scurvature. The “Other” one either has a stronger curvethan the Lastolite umbrella, or the flash head is further away from theumbrella’s focal point (actually, closer to the umbrella on the axis), orboth. If my guess is correct, then the positioningof the flash or light at the correct location/position relative to the umbrellaaxis and curvature becomes very important.

You mayalso have solved a WB problem for me in that I never really considered thequality of “white” that I get from the bounced light from the umbrella. I was getting a slightly magenta cast in someshots but not others, using the same equipment. Now that you mention it, I am thinking that the magenta cast may havebeen happening when I used a specific umbrella. I’m going to test this theory, maybe even as early as tonight.

The thing I've picked up from other people off the web is that the COLOR TEMPERATURE of a LOT of the Chinese, low-cost, no-name products is inconsistent with 1) different lots of the same product and 2) sometimes inconsistent/incompatible with other "name-brand" reflectors and modifiers. Meaning that mix-and-match between say, Photoflex and Brand XX may yield weird and impossible-to-correct WB problems.

As far as the "focal legnth" of the umbrella, or the curvature: the cheapie is set up with the flash head set along the umbrella shaft at the same distance as the Lastolite. On both, the front panel fabrics are "tight", and the flash head could not be pulled farther away, because the fabric was drum-tight...also, the curve of the two umbrellas is different...the Lastolite is a bit deeper, but it also has a VERY different backing...as I think is obvious, the cheapie umbrella on the left is not containing "all" of the light...a good deal of the light is going right through the back of the umbrella's semi-transparent fabric, and is being lost at the edges of the front diffusion panel. This is not an exhaustive test, but it does show some differences with the same watt-seconds and the same flash head models.

The Lastolite, on the other hand, has a 100 percent, light-containing black, coated fabric...light is NOT lost, but is scrambled/diffused well, and then it goes through a "thicker", "coated" type of diffusing material that is very different from the cheap, rip-stop nylon used in the $19 umbrella box face...the degree of specularity is also different. I'm not suggesting that the low-cost softbox ChristopeherCoy is a terrible modifier, compared against the $250 Lastolite JoeMcNally softbox, but I was just using a test shot I happen to have on hand that shows how there **can be** differences in the way apparently very similar products perform.

For me, the "name-brand" umbrellas and softboxes have been very good investments. But I will also admit that the lure of $25 and $38 and $59 e-Bay items is very strong, and I have bought three low-cost items, 2 softboxes and 1 beauty dish, and they have been good...when used ALONE. But the color temp of the soft boxes does not match my Photoflexes or my Lastolite stuff, so, they do not play well together. For me, at least. The way I see it, there is no way to pair a "warm" main light with "cool" fill light or hair light, and have it look right.

unpopular · Dec 12, 2011

My $30 brolly does render a bit bluish, though only slight.

I think these things are good for newbies who really don't want to invest a lot, like myself. I would feel very silly if I put $1200 into my kit only to discover I really don't enjoy studio photography that much.