Softboxes and Boom Stands

[DisasterDan]

Okay got a few questions for y'all! Ive got 2 AB800's that ive been using for lighting. I normally just use 1 bare and 1 with a 64" shoot through PLM, but my friend recently suggested some softboxes and a boom stand. Now i took a look at some softboxes on Buff's website and they have some decent ones. Just before i go out and drop 250 bucks on light modifiers i want to make sure theres not something better i can get for the price. The big thing about the Buff ones are they are 'made' for my bees. All of the others ive been looking at are for speed lights and such. The boom stand i know nothing about. Saw some on Adorama like this one
420CSU Manfrotto Convertible Boom/Stand 420 - Steel w/Sand Bag (#3399) What do yall think? It will have an alienbee and possibly up to a 32X40 softbox.

 

[Derrel]

The stand looks, well, not that tip-resistant to me...I dunno...often times a boom stand is needed in order to position the stand far off to the side, and to bring a light OVER and to the CENTER of the shot...requiring both a sturdy stand AND a long, strong boom arm, capable of handling a pretty heavy counterweight, like this stand: 085BS Manfrotto Black Heavy Duty 3-Section Boom with 3071 Stand (#085B) I own two of these stands, one since 1986-well-made, and worth the money on an item that will last 30 years...

The one shown for $204 can handle only 11 pounds with the counter-weight included...that makes it a lightweight stand and boom, in my book...I dunno...just seems light-duty to me...

 

[table1349]

These work very nicely. Matthews Mini Max Boom B377701 B&H Photo Video

I didn't say they were cheap, just that they work very nicely.

 

[DisasterDan]

These work very nicely. Matthews Mini Max Boom B377701 B&H Photo Video

I didn't say they were cheap, just that they work very nicely.

Definetely out of my budget haha, but those look pretty darn sweet.

The stand looks, well, not that tip-resistant to me...I dunno...often times a boom stand is needed in order to position the stand far off to the side, and to bring a light OVER and to the CENTER of the shot...requiring both a sturdy stand AND a long, strong boom arm, capable of handling a pretty heavy counterweight, like this stand: 085BS Manfrotto Black Heavy Duty 3-Section Boom with 3071 Stand (#085B) I own two of these stands, one since 1986-well-made, and worth the money on an item that will last 30 years...

The one shown for $204 can handle only 11 pounds with the counter-weight included...that makes it a lightweight stand and boom, in my book...I dunno...just seems light-duty to me...

That does look like a better choice.

 

[Big Mike]

The big thing about the Buff ones are they are 'made' for my bees.

When talking about studio strobes and their accessories, it's all about the 'speed ring'. The speed ring is what attaches the accessory (softbox) to the light. These aren't universal...so you need to buy the right one for your lights. Of course, stuff from Paul Buff will have a speed ring to match your Bees. But you can buy other brands of softbox, as long as you can get it with an 'Alien Bee' speed ring.

I've heard a lot of talk about 'OEC Camera Accessories', they have an E-bay store and they do have AB compatible accessories. The prices look pretty good and I've heard that the quality is decent....not outstanding but not too crappy either.

As mentioned, a boom stand is really only needed when you need to place a light in a position over something, where you can just use a simple light stand. Don't cheap out. I bought a cheap one, it does hold an AB unit, but I don't really like using it around people, especially kids...as it feels like it would tip over very easily. I've since acquired a much better Manfrotto boom stand like the one Derrel mentioned...it's much better.

 

[Derrel]

The big thing about the Buff ones are they are 'made' for my bees.

When talking about studio strobes and their accessories, it's all about the 'speed ring'. The speed ring is what attaches the accessory (softbox) to the light. These aren't universal...so you need to buy the right one for your lights. Of course, stuff from Paul Buff will have a speed ring to match your Bees. But you can buy other brands of softbox, as long as you can get it with an 'Alien Bee' speed ring.

I've heard a lot of talk about 'OEC Camera Accessories', they have an E-bay store and they do have AB compatible accessories. The prices look pretty good and I've heard that the quality is decent....not outstanding but not too crappy either.

As mentioned, a boom stand is really only needed when you need to place a light in a position over something, where you can just use a simple light stand. Don't cheap out. I bought a cheap one, it does hold an AB unit, but I don't really like using it around people, especially kids...as it feels like it would tip over very easily. I've since acquired a much better Manfrotto boom stand like the one Derrel mentioned...it's much better.

I bought two OEC softboxes about three years ago...the prices were REALLY affordable. My other softboxes have been Photoflex models that cost $150-$189 back in 1990's dollars, with "real" fiberglass rods, unitized body designs, fire-resistant fabric, sewed seams, all that stuff...I had no idea what to expect from these Chinese-made cheapies...one had a removeable fabric grid with a recessed face, and the other had a recessed face. So, what did I receive? Well...one shipped with a HEAVY, rotating aluminum speed ring that DID NOT FIT the 3-lug pattern of my JTL monolight...would NOT FIT....I had to remove the mounting ring on the monolight and file off a bun ch of metal on all three lug holes, and ten I had to file off a bunch of metal on all three lugs on the speed ring, which made this about a 45 minute butcher job--just because some idiot in China did such a $h!++y job that he could not transfer simple dimensions from the "original equipment" he was counterfeiting, to the machine that was set up to machine the speed ring... three simple lugs...all placed WRONGLY around a circle...absolutely pathetic workmanship....like a junior high school kid had done the work...

The second softbox had a different speed ring...it fit better, but was pretty crappy compared with the Chimera speed rings that I have for Speedotron. So, I use it with a Chimera speedring for Speedo, and it works fine! The Chimera speed ring cost more than the softbox did, and is 25 years old...

The softboxes themselves were shallow, 24 inch by 24 inch rather small models I got as accent lights...the rods were simple steel rods...Velcro holds the rods in and the faces on...the construction is very simple and clever...the packaging is cardboard, made from recycled cardboard...the packaging is amazingly small...these Chinese-made softboxes are in NO WAY like a Photoflex or Chimera or Larson softbox....but you know what??? They do the job, and are really,really affordable!!!

 

[ghache]

I use autopoles and a wall mount boom that i mounted on the auto pole using some superclamp. that is so nice to work with, no ****in around with bags and large stands.

you can boom a hair light in 2 ft of space with that setup.

autopoels

Manfrotto 098B Wall Mounting Boom Arm, Black - 098B B&H Photo
Interfit Wall-Mounted Boom Arm INT309 B&H Photo Video

its sturdy and i can mount a flashhead + large softbox or beauty dish on it without any issue.

and they are cheaper than a regular boom setup.