Looking for a very big, but well priced octabox

Chris Primadona

Chris Primadona

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I'm starting to feel the limitations of my current (small) softbox setup and want a softer light. I like the idea of the octabox but most of the units I have seen are rather expensive. Is there a good, very large unit I should be looking into? I will probably buy a single flash head to go with it, as mine would be too underpowered so the system isn't too importaint.
 
I really like the idea of those folding ones, but I was hoping for something a bit bigger (Maybe about 5 foot across min?)

Would actually like 6 foot, prices seem a bit steep though. Seems a softbox would be the cheaper option :(
 
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There are plenty of cheap ones around but, like most things, you get what you pay for...

The cheap ones that I've seen often don't do a good job of diffusing the light evenly, they're a nightmare to put up/take down and won't last long if you put them up and take them down too often.

Add in the fact that mostly they have honeycombs that are totally useless.

The Lencarta 150cm ProFold softboxis probably exactly what you want, and is available to fit nearly all makes of flash head - but unfortunately you have to pay to get those features, performance and build quality.
 
Garry Edwards said:
There are plenty of cheap ones around but, like most things, you get what you pay for...

The cheap ones that I've seen often don't do a good job of diffusing the light evenly, they're a nightmare to put up/take down and won't last long if you put them up and take them down too often.

Add in the fact that mostly they have honeycombs that are totally useless.

The Lencarta 150cm ProFold softboxis probably exactly what you want, and is available to fit nearly all makes of flash head - but unfortunately you have to pay to get those features, performance and build quality.
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Thats not actually a bad price, cheers!
 
I will probably put an order in for the 150cm Profold Folding Octa Softbox next week. I just need to figure out what head to buy with it. I was thinking about the Interfit INT442 Stellar X 1000 watt Head or the Lencarta ElitePro 600. Do you think the extra power from the Interfit will be nice for such a big box, or will the 600 be enough to keep me going?
 
Is that 150cm size around the back (the black part), or across the front (the white part)?
 
Chris Primadona said:
I will probably put an order in for the 150cm Profold Folding Octa Softbox next week. I just need to figure out what head to buy with it. I was thinking about the Interfit INT442 Stellar X 1000 watt Head or the Lencarta ElitePro 600. Do you think the extra power from the Interfit will be nice for such a big box, or will the 600 be enough to keep me going?
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Unless you're shooting on 5" x 4" film there's no real point in having more than 600 Ws - The Lencarta ElitePro 600 has a guide number of 232 (ft) with the standard reflector, and even with that massive 150cm octa softbox, you'll still get f/10 at a distance of 10' - and that's at 100 ISO. If you need a smaller aperture than that, just increase the ISO a bit. I don't know how much actual flash energy the Stella 1000 head has, but you may well find that it's about the same or even less - stored energy and actual flash energy are a long way from being the same thing...

Is that 150cm size around the back (the black part), or across the front (the white part)?
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It's the diagonal of the outer diffuser. Please see here
SPECIFICATIONS
In box:
Weight 2.83kg
Length 983mm
Height 178mm
Depth 195mm

Assembled:
Weight 2.06kg
Diagonal 150cm
Width 131cm
Height 131cm
Approx Depth 68cm
Click to expand...
 
Unless you're shooting on 5" x 4" film there's no real point in having more than 600 Ws
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Or outside, or lighting a large group or space, or need to have the light a way away for some reason, or want really deep focus, or or or...

But out of those two, I think I would still go for the lencarta.
 
itsdavedotnet said:
Or outside, or lighting a large group or space, or need to have the light a way away for some reason, or want really deep focus, or or or...

But out of those two, I think I would still go for the lencarta.
Click to expand...

You're right of course, and I've shot in factories sometimes when 2 x 6,000j and 4 x 2,400j flash units have only just been enough, but I was really talking about normal studio photography.

Thing is, modern DSLR cameras that work well at ISO settings of over 100 have almost replaced the need for really powerful flashes - go back a few years and it was very different.
 
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