kaiyen Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hi all, I've been looking to get a couple of umbrella softboxes (you know - fire into anumbrella, but it's got a softbox baffle diffuser before the light gets out for asofter light. I think the Photek Softliter is the one I've been eyeing from BH,etc. Ebay has these: http://tinyurl.com/27l73l that I'm considering. Seem to do the right thing. Anyone tried them? I'llprobably get a set (hey, it's a 2 pack!) to try out regardless, but if anyonehas tried them, let me know. thanks, allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshroot Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Funny, I was thinking of getting a couple umbrellas off of ebay as well. I have beaten mine all to heck. I'm going to guess that at $15/2, they aren't the highest quality. But then again, they are cheap and will probably work well enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiyen Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Of course, the shipping is where they get you. it's really $35 for 2. The Photek Softliter, though, is $50 for 1, and the Apollo units, which are similar (umbrellas, basically, with a diffusion panel), are even more. So... I'll probably pick up a couple. My umbrellas will last me a bit longer for now, but having something that will have a bit more diffusion would be nice now and then. allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshroot Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Yeah, that's just the old trick to keep ebay from getting their cut. Fees are only calculated on the actual price of the item, not on shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_schoedel Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 For purchases across borders it also keeps the tax man from getting his cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilkka Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 These things can be bought for retail in China for slightly less than $10 a piece so the price seems right, at least when not considering the cost of shipping. I have seen units where the curved part of the umbrella is translucent and the rear part into which the light is fitted is black on the outside and silver inside. This makes it work more like normal softbox with the light pointing towards the subject. Not sure how the pictured contraption would work in practice. Softbox loses some light and this puts it further away from the subject and the flash head is also right in the middle of it as well blocking some light and most likely causing some strange looking shadows or catchlights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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