CowboyStudio 9-Inch Portable Quick Setup Speedlite Softbox with Velcro Strap for Nikon Canon Flash Light (Black)

I regularly use small, inexpensive soft boxes on speedlites when traveling, usually for off camera flash, as I find they noticeably improve the resulting picture when shooting portraits from up close.For years I have used very simple ones that tend to not hold well together and break easily but are otherwise downright cheap to buy ($10 or less), very light and can fit in any pocket of any bag.Except for travel portrait I also use them for macro photography where stacked-up macro rings eat so much light that you can't really consider going without some additional lighting.The problem with them in addition to their flimsiness is the lack of double buffering resulting in a somewhat uneven lighting pattern, especially visible when shooting macro, and their size really too small for portrait.This 9-inch softbox solves these two problems: double buffering produces a very even light field and 9 inches is bigger yet still a manageable size when doing macro or for travel.The quality of the fabric seems right; the interior is very reflective and the results match my expectations for the price and design.The lips on the side do a decent job at controlling light spillage and restricting illumination to where you want it.Now it is not perfect.It folds to a manageable flat form that can be stored away in a pouch, but the folding is pretty stressful on the frame which is made of a springy wire of a gauge more suitable for soft boxes twice or thrice the size, resulting in a required folding effort too high for the size of the softbox. This results in deformations of the size of the frame on the inner fold once folded, and my questioning of how many folding/unfolding it will withstand.So far maybe 20 and it works just fine.Another sticking point is the way the speedlite is attached to it. Its head is to be stuck in the hole at the back of the soft-box, which features an elastic ring of fabric for light tightness (works very reasonably) and two pairs of velcro straps to attach at the back of the head. This means that your speedlite must be folded in the classic "cobra" position, or the straps would slip; and it also means that the actual angle of the soft box on the flash is somewhat haphazard.This is not necessarily a drama considering you have double-buffering to avoid hot spots on the front buffer, but if you add to that the impetus to rotate the head 90 degrees to a side to expose the sensor used for remote triggering the speedlite (canonistas will know what I mean) it can become somewhat flimsy.Then of course it remains a small soft box - this is fine for travel portrait or macro but it remains utterly inadequate for your usual fashion shoot.All in all for the price a good acquisition. It will not take good pictures for you but if you know what you are doing it should help you a lot.

I had purchased a Fotodiox rectangular softbox, and while I'm a Fotodiox fan, their 9" box flopped over and blocked a lot of my light. When I saw this product, which looks like a smaller version of my 24"X24" softboxes I knew I had the answer. Now that it has arrived, I'm not disappointed. I use the softbox attached to my speedlight on a flash bracket which places the entire assembly high above my camera. When shooting up close (2-4 ft.) the softbox creates soft, smooth shadow transitions. It isn't a large softbox of course, so when you back up a bit, reducing the effective size of the light, the shadows become more defined quickly. Usually, I use this along with a 24"X24" softbox or a 43" umbrella on a pole and held by a VAL as a main light and my small 9" softbox on my flash bracket as fill. This is a great two light event setup and gives me a ton of options and flexibility.The opening in the 9" softbox fits snuggly on my YN 565 EX flash (virtually the same size as a Canon 580 EX) and the two sets of wide velcro straps won't let go anytime soon. One thing I discovered right away in regards to mounting my flash inside the unit is to not strap the flash into the softbox firmly. Doing so causes the flash to point to the bottom of the softbox. Letting the straps have a little play will keep the flash head pointed forward and still keep the softbox from falling off.Four stars? This thing isn't going to fall apart on me...especially since I'll never fold it back up and put it back into it's case. But the stitching could be a little better. Still...for $15? It's a very useful modifier.

I bought these softboxs so that I could do some quick little food photography setups without have the big softboxes in the kitchen. They set up fairly easily and produce a nice light...especially when I place them close to the subject and turn down the intensity of the flash. The reason that I only gave them 4 stars instead of 5 is because they have a tendency to fall off of the flash when I have the flash above the subject, pointed down. I need to work on resolving this problem. I like them much better than a similar product by fotodiox. The fotodiox product does not stay open and will collapse when attached to the flash. These do not have that problem at all.

Serves it's purpose. Seems sturdy enough but I have to struggle to get it on my flash because the opening is round and my flash is rectangular. Once it's on it stays on well. It takes a little moving back and forth to get it square because you store it folded up. The velcro is really strong, I have to be careful when I'm wearing a sweater that it doesn't get caught on the velcro! For the money I think it does a good job. I'm only a beginner photographer so I don't know enough about proper lighting to say whether this is great, but for me it was a good purchase.

I just purchased this softbox and think it is a decent product. In fact I have the comparable photodiox (8x12") product and this product is much better.. at least the idea is.It does a great job diffusing and softening the flash and is reasonably small when folded.It holds on nicely to the flash although mounting it can be a little cumbersome. Also folding it back into the pouch is a little tricky. However, unfortunately it came with a popped open seam at one side.At that price I am not surprised that there are quality problems which is too bad. The idea is great and it does the job better than other products . I would be willing to pay a little more if the quality was improved.