D-lite elinchrom softbox

[oblivion]

I have had this set for a while now which are designed to be collapsed and set up to take anywhere. My actual soft boxes where I put the rods into the corners have split at the corners. I tried to strengthen the corners by stitching some fabric over each corner but the material its stitched to (the actual box) is so flimsy it keeps failing. It can't be just me this happens to so is there a solution to a more permanent fix? A replacement soft box is just as expensive as a new set and in all honesty I haven't used them loads and am worried a new purchase would only lead to the same problem.

 

[simonbarker]

If you want to repair it then think about reinforcing the corners fully, get a thick material you can wrap around the interior and exterior and then sew that together so it's taking the brunt of the strain. It should work as long as you use enough surface area, you may even find it stronger than the original but it won't look pretty and is a bit tedious to do.

I'm going to assume you've got a Portalite softbox (they have no internal diffuser), they're not very good beside being compact and if you replaced it with a new Rotalux softbox you'd find the design there similar but a bit tougher. As they collapse down and don't require the rods to be removed it tends to be the reflective foil peeling which is the first problem to kick in rather than the corner fabric tearing.

 

[HoppyUK]

I hate those basic softboxes that come with kits, just to keep the cost down. I have a couple of those Elinchroms and TBH I quite like them (not too big, and shallow depth) but I never take them apart! You think they're a PITA? Try a similar octobox!

The solution is an easy-up softbox, that pushes up (and down again LOL) just like an umbrella - takes seconds Lencarta Profold are good quality, or Bessel - both very good value Be warned though, something like a 100cm softbox is BIG compared to those 66x66cm Elinchroms. If space is tight, reflective umbrellas are much more space efficient and TBH in most portrait situations they're just as good - generally underrated these days.