Travel Softbox

jacob12_1993

jacob12_1993

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Jacob
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I am looking for a small softbox around the 40cm size to use for portraits when I am travelling. I want something that will fit in the top of my rucksack and not be too cumbersome. Currently I use a Honl Traveler8 but it is just not big enough for what I need, I looked at the bigger 16 version but reviews are terrible. At the moment the contenders are:

1 - Lastolite Ezybox 38cm (Good reviews, doesn't seem to pack down very small)

2 - Photoflex Litedome XS (Packs down tiny, very expensive in the UK)

3 - Knock off 40cm from a well know auction site. (Cheap, questionable build quality, not very small pack size)

Has anybody used any of these?
 
I have a 40cm softbox from the 'bay (cotswold photo if I remember correctly) and the quality is excellent at less than half the price of an equivalent branded product. I certainly wouldn't bother with lastolite et al.

It packs down to a fairly small package, say 10" x 8" x 2" thick including the bracket and ball head, so not tiny, but also not massive.
 
Aledafis said:
I have a 40cm softbox from the 'bay (cotswold photo if I remember correctly) and the quality is excellent at less than half the price of an equivalent branded product. I certainly wouldn't bother with lastolite et al.

It packs down to a fairly small package, say 10" x 8" x 2" thick including the bracket and ball head, so not tiny, but also not massive.
Click to expand...

Sounds good, did yours come with the inner baffle too or just an outer one?
 
The knock offs pack down a fair bit smaller than the Lastolites. However, the metal has quite a strong spring to it. You'll really want to cinch it down inside a pack to make best use of space.

I have a really old Lastolite and the metal is looser. It doesn't fold as small but I can get it into an outside pocket on an F-stop backpack so it seems to take less space.

As an alternative - these fold really small for packing http://www.speedlightprokit.co.uk/No.6.html (but I've never used one).
 
I recommend this 48cm octabox. Really super light from it, and packs down very small. Nice catchlight too, being roundish instead of an ugly square/rectangle. It's ideal for what you want.

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And here's a brief writeup I did on it.
 
Aledafis said:
I have a 40cm softbox from the 'bay (cotswold photo if I remember correctly) and the quality is excellent at less than half the price of an equivalent branded product. I certainly wouldn't bother with lastolite et al.

It packs down to a fairly small package, say 10" x 8" x 2" thick including the bracket and ball head, so not tiny, but also not massive.
Click to expand...

McShug said:
Is the one in the classifieds to big???
Click to expand...

Yeah really was looking for 15-25" max, thanks for the heads up though
 
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