60" octabox keeps slipping downwards on my boom.

I just bought a new 60" octabox for my new honeybadger interfit light. When I put it on my c-stand boom. The light is to top heavy to stay at the angle I'd like it to be. Trying to aim towards a white backdrop to get a pure white background behind a subject, but again the box is too heavy and angles more down at the ground.

 

Any ideas on how to fix this. New boom light or like a dyi hack to make it where it would keep slipping.

 

Thanks!

Just off the top of my head - sounds as if the control locking the angle needs assistance (not familiar with this equipment). Have you thought of putting a sprung washer on the (presumable) bolt that goes through the clamp ? Got this on my Benbo tripod, works a treat.

Can you put a counterweight on the other end of the boom, bag of sand of something?

Counterweight and make sure when you are the arm aimed so as the arm falls it actually tightens the joint. You should be able to google using a cstand correctly on YouTube for basic grip operations for a better visualization

That's a lot of weight unless you are using a serious boom. There has over the last bunch of years been a plethora of cheap stands and boom arms showing up on the market. A good boom will have a movable counter weight on the opposite side from the flash and box. You may be able to add a counterweight as suggested above.

Counterweight and make sure when you are the arm aimed so as the arm falls it actually tightens the joint. You should be able to google using a cstand correctly on YouTube for basic grip operations for a better visualization

 

Holy moly!! even I can't understand what I said. Sorry about that

 

Make sure the angle of the boom arm is in the direction that when it falls with gravity it actually helps tighten the joint. In other words the boom is pointing to the right, the knob tightens clock wise if the boom falls it is actually tightening the knob. Hope this makes sense, my writing skills suck!

 

Of course you could always mount it on a cross bar supported by two c-stands

There's no need to use a large softbox as a background light. There are no shadows to soften. French-flags or a grid would suffice. A softbox adds a lot of weight, and it takes a heavy-duty boom to handle more than 2-3 pounds, even with a counterweight. A medium duty stand with a 1-1/8" spigot receiver would constitute a minimum requirement for use with a boom. You need a heavy duty adapter too, preferably a slotted sector for setting the angle, not a hub bolt.

What exactly are you using as a boom? The Hollywood arms are not booms for strobes by the way. You can’t lock down your strobe on a smooth cylinder of steel at the angle you are trying to do. It will always slip. You need a flat surface on one side at the end. Some 5/8” pins have a flat side which will keep your light from slipping when boomed out at 90degees.

I have to agree with Ed Ingold. A 60" octabox to light a BG seems like total overkill, and a smaller softbox placed a bit further away would most likely have the same effect.

 

If the BG demands such a wide pool of light, maybe two lights are needed? Or a stripbox used horizontally? Either would likely put less strain on a boom, or pair of booms.