Alien Bees Foldable Softbox

[o._wagner]

I am going to be purchasing a light set and see that AB's now has foldable

softboxes. Anyone out there have one yet and are they more convenient to have?

[Charles_Webster]

Anything has to be more convenient than AB's non-foldable softbox. I'm waiting to hear feedback before ordering one myself.

 

<Chas>

[anthony_r]

I don't have one, but am interested. I've not gotten one from them due to what I've heard

about the set-up of the original ones. I need to get a few things from them soon. I've added

one to my shopping cart. Just can't bring myself to check out just yet.

[Matt Laur]

I'm also interested in hearing, since I'll be adding another of their strobes to the mix, and it's a good time to get a better price on the light modifyting goodies. That being said, I DID buy one of their normal softboxes (the large size), and while the first time I set it up it took me a few minutes to get the concept right, it has since become something that, really, only takes me a couple of minutes, tops. It takes MUCH more time to set up a stand, boom, power, sandbags, mount the light and all the rest... so, the savings of a minute or two probably doesn't really matter unless you're in a very fast-moving multiple-set-up/tear-down cycle in the field.

 

My other thought: from what I can see about the fold-up variety, the rods stay captive to the speedring. In some ways, that may leave you with something that's actually MORE bulky to move around than the completely knocked-down flavor. Strikes me as more of a pros/cons issue than the fold-up being substantially better in all cases. The really fast-moving folks are probably more likely to use brolly box solutions anyway, wouldn't they? Anyhow, I really haven't found myself unhappy with the non-folding flavor... honestly, I could have set it up faster than I could type these two paragraphs (and I'm fast on the keyboard!).

[beauh44]

I'm with Matt. They're a bit tricky to set up the first time, but after you've done it once or twice, their "regular" softboxes aren't bad at all. Unfortunately I've not tried the new ones so I can't give 'em a thumbs up or down.

[pje]

When I purchased my ABs a few years ago, I didn't bother with their kit. I bought the

Photofelx Balca/White Lightning speed rings, then was able to use any of their softboxes.

These collapse quite easily and fit into a compact carrying bag. Using the Photoflex speed

ring provided me with many more softbox options.