# Speedlight octobox anyone?



## ghache (May 9, 2013)

Hi,

Question for destination wedding photographers.

I have a few destination (Mexico, Dominican Republic and jamaica) wedding booked next winter and i am preparing some gear for the trip.

I have received this yesterday and i was wondering if anyone ever used it? though.

I am trying to get something really light to travel with.

i will be testing it this week to see what kind of light i can get from it but i think this is what i will be bringing for the trip, along with a bunch of speedlights, 2-3 stands and a bunch of reflectors. 

i was just curious if any of you used these folding octobox.







mine came with a soft cloth diffuser. its 80cm. 

why did i choose this? my gear will be inside the box so if its raining, i can still use it without worrying about the flash being wet
fold like an umbrella, light and will take little space.


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## Geaux (May 9, 2013)

Just bought a 24x36 softbox umbrella like this.  Haven't traveled with it yet but I like it so far.

only issue I can see, is having to go into box to change flash settings and angling it downwards


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## Buckster (May 9, 2013)

Disclaimer: I am not a wedding photographer, destination or otherwise.

However, I have one and really like the light it puts out, plus of course the convenience of how easy it is to set up and break down, which is a giant plus in my book.

Addressing the points Geaux brought up:

The velcro-joined diffuser is easy to open and close to allow for adjustments to the settings on the speedlight(s) while dialing it/them in, as long as the speedlights are mounted so that the controls are facing you when you crack it open.  Once you know your power settings as they relate to flash to subject distances, it's nothing to recreate them from shoot to shoot without having to dial in a thing.  You can even write them on a little piece of paper and tape it to the inside somewhere for easy reference later.  

Derrel shared a really nice trick a while back of using a pre-measured string that's attached to the stand - you hand the end of the string to the subject and then move the light back to the length of the string, and you're then easily dialed in every time at the same power level.  You just need to make the string the first time you've got your flash to subject distance and power settings dialed in the way you like them.  You could easily incorporate more than one even, with different lengths/strengths written on tags attached to each string.

I use one of these Laser Distance Measurement tools instead, so models don't need to hold a string for me to get an accurate flash to subject measurement, and it works great.  Comes off as a lot more professional as well.  Just don't measure to their eyeballs - lasers are dangerous!!!!

If you need to angle it downward, it basically takes a boom.  I've seen folks on the internet use things like the Manfrotto Magic Arm to do it.  I have one myself, and use it for all kinds of stuff, but haven't given it a try with the Apollo yet, though it's clear from the photos and vids I've seen that it works fine.  Magic Arm is great for lots of things and well worth having.  If you have one or can get one, that's a great solution.  If not (it's kind of expensive for some folks), there are DIY solutions on the net for tilting the Apollo if you look for them.


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## Mike_E (May 10, 2013)

Get two of these  Impact Umbrella Bracket 3117 B&H Photo Video  and a couple of lengths of 5/8 O.D. gas pipe about 8" and 18".

Put the first bracket on the stand and then the 18" pipe to that then the next bracket and then the short pipe and then the Apollo bracket with umbrella and flash.

Good to go for around $50.

If you're worried about the brackets holding up get the Manfrotto's for around $35 each.


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## ghache (May 10, 2013)

I will be shooting 3 Vivitar 285HV in there. i made a bracket with aluminium so i can mount 3 flash. more power, shorter recycle time. 

as for the umbrella brackets, this is what use so that wont be a problem. I was using 24X24 softboxes but they were in rough shape.


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## Geaux (May 10, 2013)

Phottix Multi Boom 16" Bracket for Umbrella Softboxes  Cheaper option over the manfrotto. Phottix Multi Boom


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