Your favorite OCF modifier...

If you want the most versatile, I'd grab a couple of convertible umbrellas.


That's what I've been thinking about trying. Something like the Westcott - Light Modifiers - Apollo Orb Speedlite Kit

I don't recommend the orb.. it as very limited range of motion when trying to point it lower... if you are trying to adjust where it points. It won't go past a certain limit until the outside frame hits the lightstand! There was a thread here the other day about it... I think Paigew?
 
Not Derrel, but yes to both.. the lastolite and the softlighter / PBL copies will work with any thing that will fit into that sock / hole.

check out the videos Manfrotto Lighting Ltd, Manufacturer of Umbrella Boxes and Studio Equipment.


If the speedlight doesn't go inside the umbrella, how does it work? Is the sock part long enough to slip over the flash?

Watch the videos at the bottom of the link... The diffuser is zippered... to allow almost anything in... if you mean the lastolite.

The others? Yes.. sock will fit almost anything too...
 
Yes, Ron, Tirediron and cgipson are correct. The Steve Kaeser $29 umbrella boxes are made pretty well, and have an easy-to-use zipper + drawstring closure system that allows almost any sized flash head or speedlight to fit right. Just buy an umbrella mounting bracket that has some kind of cold-shoe foot on top, and you can mount the speedlight on top, slide the umbrella shaft into the hole, and use the zipper and drawstring on the Steve Kaeser umbrella box to make a decent fit. You can put the speedlight ALL the way inside, OR leave the back of the speedlight out and just cinch the drawstring tight around it, so the controls are still visible.

Here's the Steve Kaeser umbrella box, the $29 model, in a couple of iPhone snaps for you, Ron. Shown with a Vivitar 285HV left "out" $IMG_4032 copy-2.jpg and then shown with the same 285HV fully "inside" $IMG_4030 copy-2.jpg
 
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Thanks for the visual Derrel.

Yeah, sure. The "sock" part on the Steve Kaeser umbrella box has a zipper and a drawstring. I just place a Stanley steel tape on there, and the top-to-bottom dimension is 10.5 inches with the zipper open, and the left-to-right is about 10 inches wide, so it can accept pretty good-sized reflectors. I have used the Lastolite Umbrella Boxes and the Steve Kaeser imitations with lights as large as the Speedottron Brown Line M90 flash head, which has about an 8.5 inch diameter reflector and is roughly 5x bigger than an entire speedlight.
 
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Found the link to the post where Paige was having problems with the Apollo orb she had... http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/lighting-hardware/340874-softbox.html



Well this kinda changes things a little.



You will notice he does not show how one angles the light modifier, once that monstrosity has been put toghther. And that flimsy plastic connector on TWO umbrella shafts. OMG...that oughtta last about 10 seconds in a breeze...

And again,shooting the strobe in, from the SIDE? Just simply "wow"...as in "wow, what a half-baked solution". How does one tilt the box's face downward when the strobe is mounted side-saddle? Studio flash units only tilt Up and down, and with the studio strobe mounted side-saddle...the "tilt" axis on the strobe will only raise or lower the light in an arc...how will the forward angling be achieved.

OMG...what a ridiculous concept. again--notice, the video is designed to allay concerns, but all it does is STOPS, right at a critical point...notice that he does not even show how the setup works...it's shown in a static placement. Makes me want to take the lord's name in vain and add a couple expletives... How about a demo? Oh, wait...there's not 10 seconds we can spare to show the hoops you'll be forced to actually jump through to ADJUST the light's placement...trust me, trust me, this is a solution.

LMFAO.

The whole idea that the light stand MUST go through the bottom of an umbrella box is just...plain nonsense. The Westcott company has some good products, but the FUNDAMENTAL idea underlying this thing is a loser. With a monolight INSIDE of the umbrella box, to adjust the power levels one needs to...rip off the diffusing panel to access the flash. Again, WHY does the light stand shaft need to go inside of the light modifier? This is just about the only product in the entire industry that has a pivot point located INSIDE OF the light modifier...
 
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My favorite OCF modifier is the one that gets me the light I want for what I am shooting at the time. Modifiers are tools. The various tools each have their good points and bad points, strengths and weaknesses. If you are serious about this you will end up with a collection of modifiers that suit the various needs you have.
 
OMG...what a ridiculous concept. again--notice, the video is designed to allay concerns, but all it does is STOPS, right at a critical point...notice that he does not even show how the setup works...it's show in a static placement. Makes me want to take the lord's name in vain and add a couple expletives....

Agreed! A silly solution to a bad design flaw!
 
Agreed! A silly solution to a bad design flaw!


Well, to be fair, its only a design flaw if you're using it on a strictly vertical stand. If it were on a boom it would be perfect.

Umm,sorry, but no, it is FAR from perfect....the whole doggone LIGHT goes INSIDE the modifier??????????????

Sorry, but that's far from a "perfect" solutiuon. With a fan-cooled flash head, where does all the hot air go to??? Oh, wait...


The idea of having "slits" in the box, through which the light stand or boom arm much "reach", and then placing the tilt-head's lock/un-lock control inside the modifier, and placing the entire flash head and controls inside the box leading to overheating with anything except low-powered or convection-cooled flash units...and then, to adjust the flash head, or its power, one needs to partially disassemble the lighting set-up? This thing has pain-in-the-A$$ written alllll over it in the real world.

This design was made to allow a quick set-up rectangular box for people who cannot figure out how to put 4 rods into 4 holes to assemble a softbox. Again, the simplest solution is usually the best, and having a light modifier that has the tilt location, the pivot point at the BACK, or at the "outside" of one edge is the normal paradigm....this product creates more problems than it solves.
 
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