Godox Softboxes, what the secret for dismantling them

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Paul-H

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Hi all.

Hopefully someone will be able to help with this.

I have a couple of the Godox 60x90 soft boxes with Bowens S mounts, getting them together is easy enough, but stripping them down after a shoot is a different matter, what's the secret, all I have managed to do is either bent the stay rods or rip the material on the box, there must be a knack to it like the old Lastolite backgrounds but unlike them I can't figure out if there is a correct way, or does everyone struggle with them.

Thanks for any help with this.

Paul
 
It’s not easy we leave ours assembled. I’m curious to know the secret too!
 
They're all a nightmare to disassemble IMO (not a problem if you can just leave them assembled, of course). That's why I sold all by Bowens softboxes ages ago and replaced them with some easy open umbrella-types instead.
 
Depends on which specific version you're talking about but I'd start with opening the rear Velcro latches to loosen the tension slightly, if you were able to get them closed then it shouldn't be too bad with them open.

On really annoying (badly made) softboxes one of the easiest ways I found was to brace the corner with my foot leaving my arms and hands free to pry the rod out, it sounds incredibly dumb but it worked more often than not. I don't generally bother with 'generic' style softboxes like that anymore though, the last thing anyone wants to do at the end of a session is wrestle with a crappy softbox.

A well designed softbox shouldn't be too hard to disassemble but if those you're using are so much trouble I'd recommend just getting rid of them, there's plenty of cheap and easy to use alternatives (easy open designs etc).
 
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The answer, sadly, is brute force and ignorance. Godox make a mixture of good and bad products and IMO all of their softboxes are badly designed and badly made from inadequate materials. If you want this softbox to last for a reasonable period of time, leave it assembled.

And, when it drops to bits and you need to replace it, buy a better one, which will in any event produce better results.
 
When I bought mine a few years ago (along with a couple of 35 x 160s), I couldn't believe how difficult they'd made the task of assembling them. There's nothing difficult about tensioning systems after all, but built to the price as they are who could argue?

I had to disassemble them when I moved a little over a year ago and amazed myself by not destroying them. I just reversed the order of assembly as Carey suggested, but it was very difficult not to damage them.

Since then I've only bought the 'umbrella' style ones - a 120 and a 160. It is (as Garry advised) my intention to replace the smaller ones eventually, but ATM the old ones just stay assembled.
 
Thanks for the replies, had I known these were going to be so difficult to dismantle I would have gone for a different type.

Been trying to figure out a easier way to strip them down after a shoot and think I have found a solution, I found if when assemble them I don't run the tension stays through the loops halfway up the sides it was much easier to pull them out of the flash mount and much less likely to damage anything.

Paul
 
My octagonals, I leave together and hanging on wall hooks in the studio when not using them. I tried to collapse them, once. The square/rectangle versions are spring wire framed, so they fold, not-so easily but better, and fit into included bags, so these get to travel for for any field work. I have several sizes. I do prefer the catchlights from the octagonals over the square/rectangular, so tend to use the octagonal more for the studio portrait shots.

Charley
 
Hi Paul - like most people, I've replaced most of my traditional softboxes with umbrella types, however if your traditional box is anything like the odd traditional ones I still have, one of the corners should have a Velcro strap rather than a sewn up pocket. The idea is when assembling it, you fit the other three corners first, and then, with the 4th corner with the strap, open, you fit the speedring end of the final rod, push in into and through the open pocket and then pull the velcro strap over it to tension the whole thing. To dismantle it, just pull the strap open and it will more or less collapse. For Octaboxes, half of the pockets should be Velco, the other half sewn.
 
Paul-H said:
stripping them down after a shoot is a different matter, what's the secret
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Opening up all the Velcro flaps at the speed ring end of the softbox helps to release some of the tension in the rods

On my old Lencarta softbox the metal rods poked large holes in the Velcro fabric at the corners. rendering the softbox useless. This prompted the upgrade to
Godox umbrella type softbox.
 
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Paul-H said:
Hi all.

Hopefully someone will be able to help with this.

I have a couple of the Godox 60x90 soft boxes with Bowens S mounts, getting them together is easy enough, but stripping them down after a shoot is a different matter, what's the secret, all I have managed to do is either bent the stay rods or rip the material on the box, there must be a knack to it like the old Lastolite backgrounds but unlike them I can't figure out if there is a correct way, or does everyone struggle with them.

Thanks for any help with this.

Paul
Click to expand...
Have a browse on YouTube :)
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Can't complain about my godox s mount softboxes unlike Lencarta stands
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Do you have a problem with them? I have a couple of C stands from them very robust in my opinion :)

adAtUl2.jpg


Not sure if they still do these -I have had mine a year or 2


Les :)
 
Lez325 said:
Do you have a problem with them? I have a couple of C stands from them very robust in my opinion :)

adAtUl2.jpg


Not sure if they still do these -I have had mine a year or 2


Les :)
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They massively dropped QC if you fancy getting another one
 
LongLensPhotography said:
They massively dropped QC if you fancy getting another one
Click to expand...


I have no need of any more lighting equipment and what I have all came from Lencarta Stands- lamps and soft-boxes, may I ask what you actually bought, that you are so unhappy with ?


Les
 
I'll add my two-pennyworth to this . . ..
@LongLensPhotography posted a negative comment here https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/lencarta-stands.732447/ and I replied, offering to take the matter up with Lencarta. He sent me a PM with the details, which I immediately emailed to Harry (the MD at Lencarta) who is a personal friend, and we then discussed it in detail over the phone. Obviously, with a very large number of both orders and staff, Harry didn't have any personal knowledge of this order but he said that he would find out and deal with it. Whether he did so personally or whether he delegated it to a member of staff, I don't know.

I don't know what happened after that, partly because I'd done all that I could and partly because the GDP Regulations prevent Lencarta from passing on personal data.

Guessing here, and it is purely a guess:
1. Amazon despatched the wrong stand
or
2. The customer ordered the wrong stand
or
3. The stand was faulty

Any of these are possible, because everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

All that I DO know is that there has been no quality drop in these stands, they are exactly the same now as when Lencarta introduced them. I've always had a personal interest in these stands, because I played a large part in their design.
 
Garry Edwards said:
I'll add my two-pennyworth to this . . ..
@LongLensPhotography posted a negative comment here https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/lencarta-stands.732447/ and I replied, offering to take the matter up with Lencarta. He sent me a PM with the details, which I immediately emailed to Harry (the MD at Lencarta) who is a personal friend, and we then discussed it in detail over the phone. Obviously, with a very large number of both orders and staff, Harry didn't have any personal knowledge of this order but he said that he would find out and deal with it. Whether he did so personally or whether he delegated it to a member of staff, I don't know.

I don't know what happened after that, partly because I'd done all that I could and partly because the GDP Regulations prevent Lencarta from passing on personal data.

Guessing here, and it is purely a guess:
1. Amazon despatched the wrong stand
or
2. The customer ordered the wrong stand
or
3. The stand was faulty

Any of these are possible, because everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

All that I DO know is that there has been no quality drop in these stands, they are exactly the same now as when Lencarta introduced them. I've always had a personal interest in these stands, because I played a large part in their design.
Click to expand...
Without any intention of dragging Garry into the matter with Lencarta, absolutely nothing happened as far as I am concerned. Radio silence.

If you want a video showing terrible Chinese workmanship of the new stands ordered correctly (I am not stupid!) Compared to old then fair play. My such video skills are poor but hey that the excuse to improve. I lost any confidence in this middlemen company after being let down twice. I'd rather buy from China direct or use respectable manufacturers like manfrotto
 
Garry Edwards said:
All that I DO know is that there has been no quality drop in these stands, they are exactly the same now as when Lencarta introduced them. I've always had a personal interest in these stands, because I played a large part in their design.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, I bought the low level one a couple of weeks ago and it's excellent. Larger diameter than usual column, a matt finish, removable pin, and the best part for me: the clamps go from fully loose to fully tight in half a turn.
 
Yes, that IS is one of the unique, Lencarta light stands

And yes, it does seem to be the first faulty one that I've come across.

So, instead of complaining on here, why not just send it back to them for repair or replacement?

It's easy, just go to https://www.lencarta.com/repair-centre
 
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