Fotodiox EZ-Pro Deep Parabolic Softbox 48in (120cm) - Quick Collapsible Softbox with Balcar Speedring for Balcar and Flashpoint I Stobes

This product was advertised as fitting the Alien Bee/White Lightning style Balcar mount. It came assembled with the Bowens mount and had a separate Balcar mount in a bag. The Balcar mount does NOT fit the softbox, however. I compared it to another Balcar mount that I have and it is the same size. The softbox ring is not designed for the Balcar attachment. The Bowens mount is about 1/4” smaller and seats nicely in the ring. The Balcar mount does not, as it just sits on top. The screws are too short to fudge it and tighten down. No modification is going to make it fit. I need this for Alien Bees and White Lightnings, so unfortunately it’s going back. It is otherwise a seemingly nice and sturdy collapsible softbox.UPDATE: After reaching out to Fotodiox directly, they confirmed it was the wrong sized softbox ring opening. They sent a new softbox and Balcar mount, which worked as designed. I’ve upgraded the rating to 4 stars. The softbox is a little heavy and I think I need more durable stands to use with this set up.

I ordered this in a hurry for a job I have tomorrow (Monday) I only had a couple days notice to get this in. I am glad i opened it tonight. While I ordered it for Speedotron mount it still came as a bowens mount then included a different speed ring... okay, no biggie i've changed tons of those BUT...this speed ring was nearly 1/4" too big to fit the dang soft box! Luckily I had the tools and the know how to fix it myself as I don't have time to return it and get another before my shoot tomorrow!

Outstanding product a must buy if you need a softbox. After spending hours online looking for a softbox that didn't require the build time of a LEGO village to buildup messing with rods all over the place building something on location under stress like a parent putting together a kids bike the night before Christmas ask yourself WHY WHY ? before you can take your first image and pay an arm and a leg for it as well. I found this beauty on AMAZON This thing ROCKS Its the best, just place on the ground press down like an umbrela motion to open its locks in place and you're set thats it a 5 yr. old can do it , if it takes you longer than 5 seconds to set up you took to long already . Its was so simple i had to laugh my other softboxes i have with the old school collection of rods to set up just retired , i plan to buy more product from FOTODIOX EZ-PRO line these people have figured out how to put out a great product design as well as a price point we can live with to achieve our goals. I used this unit with a FLASHPOINT 360 and was blown away by how much light and control this softbox puts out , up next ill try it with my new FLASHPOINT XPLORER 600 I'm sure its going to take my photography to another level on my next session for sure. And get this its not that big stored away, on my first use i took it out with a light stand tied down to the tour pak on my Harley Road Glide to do a shoot , all my gear , the model and her gear yes life is good . Well don't sit there collecting dust in thought order this thing and get out and create those images you've been storing in your mind. Don't take pictures create images ..............

Okay y’all, I’m torn with my rating lol sooo one part of me says give it 5 stars because it’s super durable. But the other side says give it 3 for the company not simply explaining how to put it together. To save you time and muscle energy. If it’s not catching in the middle, loosen the pole in the middle a little and when you push down, TRY NOT TO HOLD DOWN THE RELEASE BUTTON TOO lol I didn’t realize that it was getting caught up on my hand when pressing it down and that was preventing it from catching :)

After reading some pretty good reviews about this "Quick Collapsible Softbox", I pulled the trigger and ordered the 48in version. you do have to assemble the bowens mount with a screwdriver(NO INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED), but that was simple enough. If you have troubles, there are youtube videos to show you how to assemble the mount. It also comes with a soft bag to transport the softbox when it is collapsed.So far so good. But now here lies the problem(with mine at least). Opening the softbox is supposed to be simple, by sliding a locking mechanism down a stem and it locks open. The amount of force you need to slide it down is a lot more than you think because of the resistance. Also, I felt I was going to break it at times because of the amount of force I had to apply. But the thing is, it WOULD NOT lock open, after struggling with it for a couple of days I have found that if I do a twisting motion at the very bottom it will lock open HALF THE TIME. It is almost like a workout trying to fight to get this open. I don't think I can trust this product on a shoot because of these reasons and WOULD NOT RECOMMEND this product to fellow shooters.I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS PRODUCT THOUGH.

I love this thing! I really want a Broncolor Para 88 but I can't afford the $3400 price tag. I have been using a beauty dish for most of my portrait work but I wanted to try something else. I use one of FotoDiox's beauty dish discs on the center rod to mimic the look of the Broncolor Para 88. I've only used this once so I still have some experimenting to figure out how to best use it. It's the easiest soft box I've ever had to set up and break down. I highly recommend this for anyone shooting portraits. If you want to shoot full length you will need a larger modifier as the falloff on this is abrupt. The only unknown is how it will hold up over time, thus I deducted 1 star. I will try to come back to this and update after I have had more experience with it.

First off, it's important to get the right size softbox for what you're trying to accomplish. The 36" size is great for everything for portrait to half body length shots. You can push it to 2/3 body length shots but beyond that the light fall off would be too noticable (switch to a 47"/48" or larger for full length shots). Also consider going larger if you have more than 1 person in your shot.This is the quick setup style, where the main softbox sets up like an umbrella. Fast and easy. There are lots that are either "rod by rod" (NOT recommended, unless you're leaving them assembled) or others where the rods are attached but you still pop them up one by one. This is MUCH faster."Deep" softboxes need a better light stand as the tend to have a lot of "off center" weight. It's not too bad on the 28" or 36" models, but becomes a serious issue on the 48" models. So keep that in mind.One of the advantages of "deep" softboxes is there's a lot more room for the spread out before the light hits the front diffusers. So if you have a light source that isn't as good at blasting the light all over (inside the softbox), such as an LED light or a speedlight, or a strobe with a more focused built-in reflector, the deep softboxes will still give you a very even light on the front diffuser surface. That's why softboxes that aren't deep, seem to work well with SOME types of light sources, but not so well with other (more narrow beamed) light sources.Hope that helps!

Very easy to set up and good build quality. There is a bit of light leak from the seams, but you get what you pay for. The big brands for a similar product are 3 times or more expensive than this one. So this Octa is a great buy for the price. Like I said the build quality is good so it should last for some time. One thing to consider is that any octa at this size is heavy and you need to make sure you have a heavy duty mount for your light stand. I had my this modifier on a plastic speedlight adapter and the handle connected to the stand completely bent, this is no fault of the modifier but should be a consideration when purchasing any larger modifier.

I have this set up on a Soani video lamp mounted on an autopole. Creates a great soft light from the lamp, perfect for livestreaming and studio-based vlogging.It was quick and easy to set up - can't comment on how easy it is to take down as mine is permanently set up.

Another great softbox from Fotodiox. Quick and easy setup for a sixteen-sided polygon. Great light with double diffusion.

Love this soft box! Beautiful light and great construction! Well worth the money spent!