After a huge octa & stand&bracket

Mp4

Mp4

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Hi all,

I'm after

I have been looking to get an Octabox to use with for now a (600EX RT) Canon.

Any UK?

The choices are too many and i'm at a loss specially for the UK brands I mainly use Lastolite stuff.
& ofc always admire the Elenchrom brand.

To use for.
Portrait shoots (Bride & groom etc) & Baby portraits I plan to use it for.
I will upgrade to a dedicated strobe this year (Jinbea probably)

Stand/boom/bracket
I also need a stand (boom type - but not really needed as of yet) which i can use to direct to go overhead

& prefiably one that can take a 175 Octa

Also need a bracket for the 600EX RT too :D & a futureproof bracket!

I've looked at...


At the moment looking at the Paul C Buff

http://www.paulcbuff.com/fob60.php


but ofc from the USA £135 (not inc shipping)


And C - Stand ( Avenger) again £135 ish (not inc shipping)

http://www.adorama.com/AEA2033FCBK.html?utm_source=rflaid912974
 
The problem will be that If you're planning something to use for a speedlight to fill, you'll want something the speedlight mounts inside and points into the rear of, it's doable, they're inexpensive but tend to not be brilliant quality and your light won't have much oomph. Like this. Or this

A proper Octa designed for a studio light can be used with the right bracket, but a speedlight won't really fill it with light properly, you really need a bare bulb to fill it.

If you really want decent quality without spending the earth, then Lencarta, Bessell or Essential Photo all have what you need Octas and light stands. Not all equal in quality, but they'll all work for you IMHO.
 
Cross posted with Mike :)

I'll also add, why Jinbei?
When it comes to bang for buck the Godox AD600 (also available from Essential photo under their own brand) would be the favourite, similar cost to a Jinbei, but better built and better specified.
 
Mp4 said:
Hi all,

I'm after

I have been looking to get an Octabox to use with for now a (600EX RT) Canon.

Any UK?

The choices are too many and i'm at a loss specially for the UK brands I mainly use Lastolite stuff.
& ofc always admire the Elenchrom brand.

To use for.
Portrait shoots (Bride & groom etc) & Baby portraits I plan to use it for.
I will upgrade to a dedicated strobe this year (Jinbea probably)

Stand/boom/bracket
I also need a stand (boom type - but not really needed as of yet) which i can use to direct to go overhead

& prefiably one that can take a 175 Octa

Also need a bracket for the 600EX RT too :D & a futureproof bracket!

I've looked at...


At the moment looking at the Paul C Buff

http://www.paulcbuff.com/fob60.php


but ofc from the USA £135 (not inc shipping)


And C - Stand ( Avenger) again £135 ish (not inc shipping)

http://www.adorama.com/AEA2033FCBK.html?utm_source=rflaid912974
Click to expand...

Do you really need a 175 Octa? And really with a speedlite?
I've used a 5ft (or 6ft, I can't remember) shoot through umbrella with either 2 or 3 speedlites on max power and it's ok but slow to recycle, a fiddle to set up and doesn't give especially even coverage. A softbox may be more even but will probably lose another stop or two.

And that's a very big octa to put on a boom. Talk to @Garry Edwards .. but that kind of size and weight is borderline for some parallelogram booms.
When I've wanted to do similar I've used a scrim frame which can be rotated to an overhead horizontal position and put a smaller softbox or bare head on a boom arm above it. IME Boom arms are scary.

If all you've got is a speedlite and you want a vast overhead softbox then can't you just bounce off the ceiling and flag the light so no direct light hits your subject? Perhaps fire through a shoot-through umbrella first if you need more even coverage.
 
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juggler said:
Just looked this thing up.. http://www.theflashcentre.com/calif...mplete.html?category_id=0&search_string=scrim
.. £700 once you've included clamps, stands & VAT

I don't suppose Lencarta are planning to make a more reasonably priced equivalent?
Click to expand...
Kupo do do a cheaper 8x8 than that, but they are still pricey to buy, though pretty cheap to rent, and you need two overhead stands - around £250 min each - to mount it, plus a whole load of sandbags. I love big frames to bits, but they do take a while and a couple of people to build, mount and secure - and as Garry says, the biggest use is in places with lovely sunshine to regulate and use as a nice soft key...
To give you an idea of the scale, this is an 8x8 on a thankfully very still day... (also the combo stands it's on weigh 20kg each, and those are *very* heavy shot bags)

wOX5jUs.jpg

A cheaper and smaller option is the frames that Lastolite and California Sunbounce (£couple hundred) and Calumet (like £60) do.

To answer OP's question - 175cm is *very big* for an octa. Like... can't use it in most rooms big.
a 175cm octa you won't get the spread from a speedlight to actually fill it.
For versatility, especially in a wedding situation, I'd suggest something a bit smaller - the elinchrom rotalux 135 is rather widely regarded as 'best in class' and is very quick to set up - always good at weddings, fits within tighter ceilings, and is a smaller sail to try to stop blowing away when outside.

As for a boom, with a big octa you can often get away without a boom if it doesn't matter that you're dead centrally below it, and for the extra set up, weight and time required to set up a boom I'd suggest that you avoid wherever possible. There's a few options available at various price points. The Arri D600 is a very good boom though you'll need to put a Drop Pin on the end of it with an octa that size, or it will rotate on the spigot.
 
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Well all of my plans have gone out the window due to my pc blowing up since i wrote this post :D all monies spent buying another pc.
 
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