Large Softbox Reviews

Gear, Still photography, Tech stuff, Thoughts

Shopping for a softbox? Below are three options for softboxes in the three-foot-wide range. All of these work well with small speedlite strobes, although some may require an adapter. To refine your portraiture, food, and other photography you’re probably going to want large softboxes sooner rather than later. What you’ll see below are three softboxes from leading brands, including Glow, Profoto, and Lastolite.

Glow ParaPop 38” Softbox $219.95

-Inner and outer diffusers, for a smooth, graduated modification of light
-Versatile, in that it works with both small flash and studio strobes with speed ring
-Quick setup and breakdown. With a squeeze of the hand, the rods collapse down for storage in the included bag
-2 lbs

Profoto RFi 3′ Octa Softbox $235.00

-Two diffusers
-Best for studio strobe use with Profoto branded strobes
-Optional space for a grid (light modifier)
–3.5 lbs

Lastolite Hotrod Octa Softbox $212.99

-Best for small flash “Strobist” photographers
-Two diffusers
-Velcro attachments to rods add leverage for those of you without huge muscles
-2.67 lbs

Eight Affordable Last Minute Gift Ideas for the Photographer in Your Life

Gear, iPhone, Still photography, Tech stuff, Thoughts

Did you procrastinate and are you ready to shell out for overnight shipping to impress that photographer on your list with a last minute, yet thoughtful, gift? Below are eight gifts that I recommend, ranging from $30 – $175.

Joby GripTight GorillaPod Stand for mobile devices – $25.46

Have a little class. Don’t gift a selfie stick 😉

Glow ParaPop 38″ Portable Softbox – $175.96

Versatile, lightweight, and sets up in a pinch.

Lowepro Tahoe BP 150 backpack – $69.95

Stellar deal for a camera backpack that carries a tablet.

Donate in their name to the Passion Projects Photo Grant

Mail a check to: SPJ Western Washington Passion Projects, PO Box 30111, Seattle, WA 98113.

Pring’s Photographer’s Miscellany book – $10

A fun little book that makes for the best photo nerd fodder.

Mastin Labs Lightroom editing presets – $119

Popular editing presets to mimic film looks of Ilford BW, Portra color, and Fuji color.

Fujifilm instax mini 70 instant film camera – $124.50

The smaller and more affordable version of my favorite instant camera, the instax 210.

AquaTech Oli Rain cape – $40

Get that shot underneath the waterfall and still stay dry!

Red Giant Shooter Suite 12.6 Review

Gear, Multimedia, Tech stuff, Thoughts, Video

Red Giant Shooter Suite, now available in version 12.6, is a suite of six plugins/programs that offer an array of video editing tools. I took it for a spin and will explain what’s in the package in case you are shopping around for tools like these. Here’s what you get for $299 ($149 for an academic license): PluralEyes, Offload, Denoiser II, Instant 4K, LUT Buddy, and Frames. Below is a quick breakdown of each of those.

PluralEyes 3.5

Red Giant PluralEyes is technically an entire program of its own, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility. It was the first Red Giant product that I had ever heard of and has always been a reliable solution for synching audio and video. It’s a classic. If you learned on Final Cut Pro 7, like I did, you probably learned to use PluralEyes when syncing your DSLR footage with the external audio that you recorded. PluralEyes has always been great and continues to be one of the best in the game. If you use Final Cut Pro X, as I do, you know that there is now a built-in audio sync feature. So for me, I don’t really need PluralEyes. Some FCPX users will still use PluralEyes because you can actually still sync inside PluralEyes and then export a sequence for use in FCPX, but I don’t really need to use that step. As far as compatibility goes for that sequence exporting feature, PluralEyes does work with the major video editing programs: FCP7, FCPX, Premiere, Avid, and Sony Vegas.

Above: A detail of the PluralEyes interface

LUT Buddy

Red Giant LUT Buddy will generate Look Up Tables for use in Adobe After Effects and Premiere. Essentially, Look Up Tables are little formulas for color that help you get your footage to look good in its final medium – which could be actual printed film, for instance. Let’s say you have color corrected your video project and it looks good on your calibrated monitor. Well, when you print it to actual film it may look different due to the color cast, contrast of the film, etc. It’s kind of like when you have a photo that looks good on your screen but when you print it out it’s too dark, etc. This is an age old problem for photographers. Anyways, LUT Buddy is popular industry tool for using LUTs.

Offload

Red Giant Offload pretty much works with every camera/memory card system out there, according to Red Giant. What it does is manage the import of your media. For me, this is the one inclusion in the Red Giant Shooter Suite that isn’t a must have. The program does verify the files and make sure that everything was transferred, which is kind of comforting. Sometimes I scroll through the finder on my Mac and look to see if everything made it, and might even check the size of the folder to make sure it’s correct, so I guess Offload would, er, offload some of the stress of making sure my precious media assets are safe and secure on my drives. You can also program it to create an automatic backup upon import.

Denoiser II

Red Giant Denoiser II might be the most aptly-named and straightforward tool in this collection. It, well, it denoises your footage. It’s a solid addition to your kit and can help with those clips shot at high ISOs that you’ll want to clean up without losing detail. Just like the noise reduction slider in Lightroom.

Instant 4K

Red Giant Instant 4K builds upon the older Instant HD, which made HD footage out of smaller resolution footage. Instant 4K makes high resolution out of HD and smaller resolution footage and is supposedly four times as fast as Instant HD was. Basically, the program has an algorithm that takes your footage, be it SD, HD, or whatever, and creates new pixels, adds sharpening, anti-aliasing, etc. to create new high resolution footage. You just pick whether you want to output your footage as 720p, 1080p, 2K, or 4K.

Frames

Red Giant Frames can de-interlace your interlaced footage to output as 24p. I believe this feature is built into Adobe Premiere, but Frames has added features for cropping and broadcast details, like NTSC, PAL, HD, etc.

I think this is a good package, and there is a significant savings in choosing the package deal; however, you can of course pick and choose from these six and select only the tools you want. Personally, I would skip Instant 4K, only because I would generally just shoot 4K if I needed 4K. Of course, it’s probably meant to help you in a pinch when you have a 4K project and maybe just one or two clips from an HD camera, but if that’s the case then I probably wouldn’t use the tool enough anyway. All in all, these are all fine products and I don’t see any red flags that I would want to pass on to my colleagues, so, happy editing and good luck.

Adorama Flashpoint AutoStand Review

Gear, Lighting, Tech stuff, Thoughts

Adorama has a new series of heavy duty, lightweight light stands that they call the AutoStand. They sent me one to try out and I’ll try to give you a good sense of what it’s like so you can decide if it’s right for you. They come in seven and nine foot heights. If you’re considering the Flashpoint AutoStand, review my thoughts and learn more about it at Adorama.com here.

The first thing you’ll be looking for, if you’re in the market for a Flashpoint product, is the low price. These are affordable products and that is usually the first selling point. So, if it’s so affordable, does this light stand hold up? Is it going to break after I throw it in and out of my car fifty times for a busy year of shooting? Well, it is indeed affordable at about $80 for a nine foot light stand. That is quite tall, and it does feel pretty sturdy, too.

It’s a light stand, so it’s a pretty basic piece of kit. You just want something that is going to be nice and tall, fold down small, and not break your back or your wallet. This is a solid alloy stand with just enough size to feel substantial. It’s not going to beat a Manfrotto or comparable stand that retails for more than twice as much; however, it is the real deal. It’s all metal, it opens and closes smoothly, and the plastic wing nuts clamp down just fine. Keep in mind, it is a pretty big stand. Not heavy, just nice and large. It folds down to 40″ but it’s not a tiny little cheap travel stand, if that’s what you’re looking for.

There’s really not much else to say. It’s a good product at an affordable price. They also throw in a little bag to sweeten the deal.

Photos: Adorama (top), David Ryder (middle, bottom)

Lowepro Echelon Bags Review

Gear, Tech stuff, Travel

Lowepro has produced classic, sensible bags that I’ve come to respect over the years. I have used a couple of their backpacks, with exceptional results. Their products have generally been geared toward folks who hike or are are looking for something rugged, but this month they launched the Echelon series, which is Lowepro’s first step into the luxury realm.

Photo courtesy of Lowepro

If you can get past the branding on the Lowepro website that’s a bit over the top, you’ll notice that the Echelon series isn’t over the top at all. In fact, it is a high-end series but quite sleek and understated. For that, I like it. The style suits my personality. Echelon bags are classy and feel reliable. Much like my personality? 🙂

Narcissism aside … you’ll like the bags and will feel professional using them. Too often while traveling and shooting, camera backpacks are practical but just don’t seem professional. Many shoulder or roller bags are also practical but don’t quite have much style. Echelon strikes a nice balance, being rooted in a company that makes very practical bags, yet has a desire to create something a little more high-end.

That said, you might not be one-upping your friends who store their Leicas in ONA messenger bags or Filson’s Magnum series bags but those bags are designed for a slightly different consumer. The Echelon has a sleek black finish, with brushed metal and a bit of black leather that creates a luxury look.

The Echelon Roller ($800) is not cheap, but it’s a solid piece of equipment that I can tell will last a long time. It’s big enough for two or three DSLRs and a bunch of lenses, and you could even put some clothes in there if you travel light. It’s a standard roller bag in many regards, but the leather details look good. After loading it with some heavy gear, the telescoping handle wiggles a little bit; we will have to see if that gets worse with time or if the handle is just designed to flex.

The Echelon Brief ($340) is my favorite of the three bags in the series. It doesn’t actually hold a camera, but there is room for lenses or other accessories if needed. It holds a 15-inch laptop, hard drives, etc. The Brief has a really nice, solid shell and is the coolest looking bag of the collection. The leather straps look really nice, especially paired with the brushed metal. The Brief easily attaches to the Roller for transport.

The Echelon Attaché ($420) is a really cool idea. It’s designed to be similar to an old school medical satchel, with a zippered top that opens wide for camera and laptop access. I do like the concept and the overall style, but I think it needs just a bit more leather, or similar material, on the top portion of the bag. The handles also need a bit more leather. Lowepro made just the top half of the handles leather and I think that hurts the design (whereas the Brief has fully leather handles that really look nice). Otherwise, it’s a sleek, modern bag in a style that you don’t see very often. You’ll stand out and look good using this doctor’s-style bag. It fits a tablet or 13-inch laptop, with plenty of room for camera bodies and accessories. The Attaché easily attaches to the Roller for transport.

All Echelon bags come with TSA-approved locks and removable rain covers, which are nice additions. If you buy all three bags together, the package is $1,300.

Red Giant Magic Bullet Suite 12.0 Review

Gear, Tech stuff, Thoughts, Video

Red Giant just dropped an update to its ever-popular Magic Bullet Suite, which includes Magic Bullet Looks 3.0, Magic Bullet Colorista III, Magic Bullet Mojo 2.0, and Magic Bullet Cosmo 2.0.

(Above image credit: Red Giant – Magic Bullet Looks screenshot)

If you’re not already familiar with Magic Bullet Suite, it is a set of tools for color correction, finishing, etc. for filmmakers. It’s a robust addition to what you might find built in to your video editing software, such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro.

I generally use Final Cut Pro X and I’ve found that it has some nice basic color and finishing tools, but Magic Bullet Suite 12.0 can really take your visuals to the next level.

Here are some pros and cons of Magic Bullet Suite 12.0; review them and see if the $799 is really worth it to you:

Pros:

Versatility: It’s compatible with Premiere, After Effects, and FCPX
The tools are robust: Change someone’s shirt color!
Tools are available from within your editing software: You don’t need to launch anything else

Cons

The price tag is a bit high for independent shops like my own
The tools vary from application to application, as they say: “All of the tools work in Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects and more – but it varies by host application.”

(Above image credit: Red Giant – Magic Bullet Mojo screenshot)

All in all, Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Suite 12.0 is definitely a top notch collection of tools. You really can’t go wrong, if you can afford it 🙂 It does seem silly to run $799 Magic Bullet with my $299 Final Cut Pro X, but that is what filmmaking has come to these days, and you do indeed get what you pay for when it comes to Magic Bullet. Wait, what does that mean about the low price of FCPX … ? That’s a topic for another blog post …

Polaroid Cube Review

Gear, Multimedia, Still photography, Video

The Polaroid Cube is an amazingly affordable little video camera that is going to capture a lot of potential GoPro consumers. It is essentially a stripped down GoPro with the basic features you need: 1080 HD video capture and 6MP still photos. You can also put it in an underwater case or use the built-in magnet to attach the Polaroid Cube to metal objects. Other accessories are available, too.

At $99, the camera makes a lot of sense when compared to GoPro models ranging in price from $130-500. Coincidentally, GoPro has just released a new comparable camera, the entry-level HERO, that hits that lower-end $130 price point … Have a look at this Polaroid Cube review and decide for yourself what fits you.

Polaroid Cube Review: The Basics

The Polaroid Cube is a little cube with a lens, and not much else. This is great, in my opinion, because it keeps filmmaking fun, easy, and accessible. That’s the point of a camera in this market; if you want something more professional for, say, an interview, you probably already own a DSLR or something better.

Here’s what you get: A tiny, 1.4″ cube of a camera that weights 0.1 pounds. It’s got 32GB of internal memory and a slot for a microSD card. It records sound, but that might not be as important to you as the video quality. The video looks a little better than a GoPro does, from what I’ve seen, but the still photos aren’t going to be as good.

The pros: It’s tiny, light, and easy.

The cons: The Polaroid Cube only comes with a magnet mount, so you’re going to have to bust out the gaffer tape or buy accessories to mount this thing on a tripod or anything non-metallic.

Polaroid Cube vs GoPro HERO

(Above: GoPro’s entry-level HERO camera)

So, what do you want to buy? You’re getting essentially the same thing with both cameras. When it’s Polaroid Cube vs GoPro HERO, I recommend the Polaroid Cube. They are both basic, useful HD video cameras. If you want something that can shoot in 4K or has remote capabilities via wifi and mobile apps, then go for a higher-end GoPro, but if you’re staying in the entry-level range, stick with the Polaroid Cube. Review them for yourself though, and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Domke Metro Messenger Camera Bag Review

Gear, Tech stuff, Thoughts

Photojournalist Jim Domke designed the first Domke camera bag in 1975 while he was on staff at The Philadelphia Inquirer. The bags haven’t changed much over the years (for good reason) except for the new Next Generation line that just launched. I had a chance to try out the Domke Metro Messenger and I’ll tell you a little bit about it in case you’re considering this or similar bags.

The first thing you’ll notice is that this is a really sexy bag. Credit to Domke for creating this military green color and using the RuggedWear material. The RuggedWear is a waxed and oiled cotton material that looks a little like leather but seems to be more durable and weatherproof. It’s not waterproof, but I’d be comfortable spending a day with this bag while shooting here in the Seattle rain.

The metal clasps on the bag look great and feel like they will last forever. I’m a bit disappointed about the plastic clasps that attach to the shoulder strap and I’m not sure why they chose to go that route. Perhaps the plastic was a lot lighter than metal.

The interior is a perfect size for me, as it fits two DSLR camera bodies with space for lenses, a flash and plenty more (read: snacks). It comes with moveable dividers and customizable pouches, which is pretty standard nowadays, but still awesome. My 15″ Macbook Pro fits perfectly in the “tablet” sleeve, which I think would even fit a 17″ laptop without issue.

The bag weighs in at 5.25 pounds, which isn’t light. I absolutely love the 2.2 pound Tenba Messenger bag, which was given to me at the Eddie Adams Workshop in 2008 (read: humblebrag) and is still my workhorse. The two bags are very similar in design, except … the Domke bag is way cooler. It’s going to weigh more but it has a much more classic, and classy, look. And don’t get me wrong: It is still extremely practical and built for working professionals.

All in all, I do really love this bag. My guess is that Domke wasn’t worried about the competing Tenba, Think Tank, or LowePro messenger bags, because Domke sells a ton of bags and has nothing to worry about. What I think the designers wanted to do was compete with the Filson line of bags co-designed by Magnum photographersDavid Alan Harvey and Steve McCurry. Those guys are awesome, and Filson is awesome, and they are making pretty cool bags with a similar look. But, if I am going to shlep my gear around the city all day on assignment, I would probably lean toward a Domke bag.

Hopefully this review was helpful, and just let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for reading.

Bag reviewed: Domke Metro Messenger in RuggedWear Military (also available in RuggedWear Black and Cordura Black)
MSRP: $499.99
More info on the Domke Next Generation bag line: http://tiffen.com/products.html?tablename=domkenextgen

TrackX Review For Final Cut Pro / SliceX Review For Final Cut Pro

Gear, Multimedia, Tech stuff, Thoughts, Video

(Can you spot where an object was removed in the frame grab above? And no, I would never use this for a documentary project, but it could be useful otherwise!)

The creators of TrackX and SliceX recently sent me copies for review, and they seem like quite useful products. Developed by Mocha, the TrackX/SliceX combo of plugins for Final Cut Pro X offer some great effects without ever having to leave FCPX. The bundle runs $149 or $99 each. Normally, to achieve some of these tricks, you might have to open another program like After Effects, which also happens to require a subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud. With this TrackX review and SliceX review, you can learn a bit from my experience testing the two products out and see if they are right for you.

SliceX Review

First off, SliceX has a lot of features, which is nice. In the video below, you can see a little demo of the Object Remover function. In the first clip, try to see if you can notice anything missing. The removed object will return later in the clip.

SliceX tools include: Blur Shape Mask, Color Correct Shape Mask, Depth of Field Shape Mask, Object Remover, Pixelate Shape Mask, Shape Mask Layer, Skinfix Shape Mask, and Vignette Shape Mask.

The tools in this plugin are quite easy to use, as it only took me about two minutes to install the plugin and start removing objects with the Object Remover function. They probably aren’t going to be as robust as After Effects and other competing stand-alone visual effects programs, but they are still nice and worth the $99 price of SliceX. I’m pretty excited to use some of these tools in upcoming and current video projects. I had a great time learning how to use Slice X; review it for yourself though and let me know if you think it’s right for you.

(Below: The SliceX Official Tutorial)

TrackX Review

TrackX is pretty awesome and straight forward. I’ve been wanting to do this for some time, and now I have a simple plugin that lets me track text to a moving object in the frame. It’s great.

Another effect that I’ll mention in this TrackX review is that, using the same technology, you can track a video clip to the surface of a screen. Imagine you have a computer screen or an iPad in one of your clips, and you want to make it look like a certain clip is playing on that screen. TrackX makes it easy to add any clip onto that screen. See below for an example in a video provided by the TrackX creators:

All in all, I have to say that these plugins are a good deal at $149 as a bundle. They accomplish very targeted goals, which means that a more robust stand-alone program might be a better choice for general visual effects creation; however, for a couple of quick solutions, TrackX and SliceX work great for quickly elevating your productions to a high level.

Flashpoint 180 Monolight Review

Gear, Lighting, My work, photojournalism, Published work, Seattle, Still photography

The Flashpoint 180 Monolight Kit, manufactured by Adorama, is a nice lightweight and affordable monolight for on-location shooting. I tested it out on a recent portrait shoot for Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv and was pleasantly surprised. Hopefully this Flashpoint 180 Monolight review can help you decide if this is a piece of gear that will work for you.

Above: Henrik Rasmussen photographed for Dagens Næringsliv using the Flashpoint 180 Monolight Kit

The Flashpoint 180 Monolight Kit currently retails for about $200 at Adorama.com, including shipping. It comes with everything you need to go out and shoot right away, and is compatible with Bowens-mount accessories should you find the urge to slap on a beauty dish or some other light modifier. The kit does actually come with a small umbrella, though, which is nice. The kit comes with a small bag containing the monolight, reflector, battery with belt clip and charger, flash sync cord, umbrella, and a little grip that screws into the bottom of the monolight if you want to handhold it. The kit does not come with a standard light stand, so keep that in mind if you want to use one.

My first impression was that the kit is really easy to use. I set it up quickly and after some tests, was ready to use the light on an actual assignment.

Henrik was a great subject and the shoot was going well before I walked through a door and dropped the Flashpoint 180’s battery pack. It is made of plastic, so it is lightweight, but I was sure that it would be broken after hitting the concrete floor. I was pretty surprised to see the pack was fine, and also relieved that I could still use it for the rest of the shoot. So keep in mind, this is an affordable piece of gear, but it can actually handle some of the rough treatment that sometimes comes with using gear on-location.

After making a few portraits indoors at the offices of Marel, where Henrik is president, we went outdoors to get a different look and check out the performance of this Flashpoint 180 Monolight in the sun. Even diffused by an umbrella, the light was just fine for producing enough power to knock down the ambient light outside by about one full stop. The dial on the back of the light allows for a variation of up to five stops, too, and it was quick and easy to adjust.

All in all I’d say the Flashpoint 180 Monolight Kit is offers a great value. The one thing I’d like to see is a longer battery power cord so that it is easier to set the monolight on the ground if I’m not using it as a handheld light. It has a built-in belt clip and it seems that this light was designed to only be handheld, because the battery’s power cord is hardly long enough to reach from the ground to the top of a light stand, should I choose to use one. That said, the monolight was nice to use and I hope this Flashpoint 180 Monolight review helps you out. Thanks for reading.

3Pod Tripod Review | Adorama 3Pod P4CFH tripod

Gear, Still photography, Tech stuff

Adorama recently announced its new line of in-house tripods, which they are calling the 3Pod by Flashpoint tripod series, and today I had a chance to try out the 3Pod P4CFH 8X Carbon Fiber 4 Section FlatFold Tripod with the 3Pod H2 BallHead. I have to say I’m really impressed with what they’ve come up with. See below for my 3Pod tripod review and find out if this is the right piece of gear for you.

The 3Pod P4CFH retails for about $225 right now on Adorama.com and the 3Pod H2 BallHead retails for about $70 on Adorama.com.

The 3Pod by Flashpoint tripod series offers products for pros or beginners, video or photo shooters, and studio or traveling folks. I like this specific piece of kit, the 3Pod P4CFH tripod, for a few reasons: it folds flat, it is very light, and it can become a monopod as well.

It was hard for me at first to understand what they meant by “folds flat,” but imagine this: the three legs of the tripod, when folded down and collapsed, lay side by side in a line instead of in a triangular cluster like most tripods. This makes packing for travel much easier with the 3Pod P4CFH tripod.

The 3Pod P4CFH tripod goes down to 13″ and extends to an impressive 65.5″.

It comes in a slick little case. How about that?

This is what comes inside. How often does your ballhead come in a velvet case?? Velvet.

A close up of the 3Pod H2 BallHead. Its movements are smooth and feels solidly built.

The 3Pod P4CFH tripod is extremely flat and small when fully collapsed. Here it is next to a banana for scale. It’s a big banana too, FYI.

The center leg of the 3Pod P4CFH tripod detaches to become a monopod. Very handy for traveling in case you want to save space.

The 3Pod P4CFH comes with a two-section extending center column, which is removable. This is one part of the design that didn’t blow me away. I generally like tripods with center columns that collapse in the tripod, below the mounting plate, but that would not be possible given the “flat folding” design of the 3Pod P4CFH tripod.

The quick release adjustments on the tripod legs are easy to use and they feel reliable.

The carbon fiber construction makes the tripod light, but sturdy. You can also see here how the 3Pod P4CFH tripod folds flat.

Thanks for reading this 3Pod P4CFH tripod review and I hope it was helpful.

Glow 71″ Grand Softbox Review

Gear, Lighting, Still photography, Tech stuff, Thoughts

Is the Glow 71″ Grand Softbox on your Christmas list? Should it be? Did you get a smaller softbox for Hanukkah and want to upgrade? Read this Grand Softbox review and learn if it’s the right product for you.

(Disclaimer: Adorama recently sent me the 71″ Grand Softbox for review.)

The Grand Softbox currently retails for about $350.

My right soccer boot illuminated by the Glow 71″ Grand Softbox. The light produced is beautiful and comes with very subtle, soft shadows.

First off, this thing is huge. I can normally test products without issue in my living room, but this was a tight squeeze! The size is great though because the light is very soft, without losing efficiency from your strobe.

My second impression: it’s a little tough to assemble for the first time. Granted, I didn’t look for instructions (as usual), and I ended up breaking one of the 16 metal rods because I began putting together the softbox incorrectly. Oops!

You’ll notice that the speedring in the center has 16 holes, which means there will be a lot of tension from all angles when every rod is inserted. This does create a strong, sturdy final product.

I tried to insert the rods beginning at the top and moving clockwise until they were all in. Do not do this, as it creates too much tension on one side. With a little foresight, and following the obviously labeled numbers on the speedring, you can insert the rods across from each other, instead of clockwise around the speedring, if that makes sense. The first four looked like a plus sign when they were all in, with the tension evenly distributed around the Grand Softbox. This will prevent you from breaking anything!

Now we are rolling and ready to shoot. You’ll notice the reinforced velcro closures, which are a nice touch for securing the end of each rod.

Just to add an element of scale, you can see how large this Glow 71″ Grand Softbox is compared to my Canon 5D mark II.

The Glow series of products by Flashpoint is proving to be a consistently reliable and quality resource for professional photographers. I had some trouble with the initial set up today, but overall, this Glow 71″ Grand Softbox Review is a positive one. I would recommend the Grand Softbox and I will continue to use it for portraits and product shoots.

The Grand Softbox can be used without the white diffuser/baffle in order to get more of a crisp look, since the light will reflect off the silver lining of the Grand Softbox. With the diffuser, the light more resembles a large soft window, which I really like.

It ships with a bag for everything to neatly fit into once folded and taken down. If you want something versatile, efficient, and large for your studio strobes, the Grand Softbox is a great choice.

A bear wearing a reindeer costume thanks you for reading this Glow 71″ Grand Softbox Review. Happy holidays.

Seattle Photographer David Ryder

(425) 681-4959 | Seattle, WA | david@ryderpictures.com

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