Reviews
Depending on the photo portfolio, a more than good addition to the classic softbox
Received in a slightly thicker, monochrome and otherwise neutral cardboard.
This includes the K&F Concept 65cm/26 inch lantern softbox, with protective bag and instructions.
The workmanship and material leave a good and robust impression, so it can be assumed that the whole mechanism and material will go through a lot of assembly and disassembly on various sets.
This is my first “lantern softbox”, but otherwise I have a series of round and square standard softboxes, in different sizes, in use and was excited to see what this type of “lantern soft box” had that others might not have.
Assembly and dismantling:
First of all, the “structure”, and that is a joke, towards brilliant.
Simply support the flat end (fig. 2) on the floor, slowly press the Bowens flange down until everything is tight, attach the locking bracket, that's it actually already (fig. 3), done in seconds, if necessary, open the Velcro fastener a bit at the back and move one or the other spoke into the correct position (small picture in fig. 4), also works from the outside.
No need to tighten/attach attachment diffusers, etc.
Just as easy to assemble, flat on the ground again, slowly push the Bowens flange down again, remove the locking bracket (done in 3 seconds), and off into the protective bag.
Use:
It is difficult to compare with standard softboxes, or to implement a real comparison and describe it here.
My subjective impression as an ambitious amateur photographer and sometimes as a contract photographer on the go.
The illumination is noticeably more wide-angle and slightly softer than the standard softboxes, especially compared to the parabolic softboxes, of course, but I need a little more flash power to have the same illumination intensity on the person or the object to be photographed.
The drop shadow also seems to dissolve a bit more with this “lantern softbox” but is only very marginally noticeable. Here, however, a few 10-20 cm - from a person to be photographed - reach farther away, e.g. from a white wall, to achieve a “perceived” tie.
Since I always work with at least two flash heads in my studio rooms, this point doesn't really matter, in other words, the “lantern softbox” has no discernible advantage here.
The main advantage of this “lantern softbox” is clearly the insanely quick and absolutely simple mounting and untightening function.
Truly in seconds I'll have this “lantern softbox” ready for use on the flash head.
Depending on the set conditions and shooting requirements, however - due to the wide-angle illumination - you can even get by with just one light source, but then you need a few power reserves with the flash head.
In my opinion, it may also be ideal as a wide-angle bright flash for outdoor shoots, as long as electricity is available or a power battery flash is on set.
Summary:
The workmanship as well as the material make semi-professional applications easy to assemble and disassemble, especially with regard to the functionality that takes just seconds to assemble and disassemble.
Even compared to standard softboxes - and especially compared to parabolic softboxes - a noticeably more wide-angle illumination, almost no “spot effect”. This is also accompanied by an even further resolution of drop shadows.
However, this comes at the cost of a lower brightness on the object to be photographed, which may then have to be compensated by means of an appropriate camera or flash setting.
Even if you already have one or the other softbox on set, at a current price of less than 75, - €, it is still a recommended addition. Because one or the other, additional and supplementary lighting composition is still possible here.
It can also be used very well, as a very quickly available stand-alone brightening solution for photo sessions of smaller groups of people, as there is ultimately no spot effect or darkening of the corners up to the outer areas of the image section.
In summary, an extremely fast and very easy-to-use softbox solution, with very wide-angle illumination, with an even higher resolution of drop shadows, but which also requires a little more “flash power”.
Also a great addition if you already have one or the other softbox in your photo equipment.
This includes the K&F Concept 65cm/26 inch lantern softbox, with protective bag and instructions.
The workmanship and material leave a good and robust impression, so it can be assumed that the whole mechanism and material will go through a lot of assembly and disassembly on various sets.
This is my first “lantern softbox”, but otherwise I have a series of round and square standard softboxes, in different sizes, in use and was excited to see what this type of “lantern soft box” had that others might not have.
Assembly and dismantling:
First of all, the “structure”, and that is a joke, towards brilliant.
Simply support the flat end (fig. 2) on the floor, slowly press the Bowens flange down until everything is tight, attach the locking bracket, that's it actually already (fig. 3), done in seconds, if necessary, open the Velcro fastener a bit at the back and move one or the other spoke into the correct position (small picture in fig. 4), also works from the outside.
No need to tighten/attach attachment diffusers, etc.
Just as easy to assemble, flat on the ground again, slowly push the Bowens flange down again, remove the locking bracket (done in 3 seconds), and off into the protective bag.
Use:
It is difficult to compare with standard softboxes, or to implement a real comparison and describe it here.
My subjective impression as an ambitious amateur photographer and sometimes as a contract photographer on the go.
The illumination is noticeably more wide-angle and slightly softer than the standard softboxes, especially compared to the parabolic softboxes, of course, but I need a little more flash power to have the same illumination intensity on the person or the object to be photographed.
The drop shadow also seems to dissolve a bit more with this “lantern softbox” but is only very marginally noticeable. Here, however, a few 10-20 cm - from a person to be photographed - reach farther away, e.g. from a white wall, to achieve a “perceived” tie.
Since I always work with at least two flash heads in my studio rooms, this point doesn't really matter, in other words, the “lantern softbox” has no discernible advantage here.
The main advantage of this “lantern softbox” is clearly the insanely quick and absolutely simple mounting and untightening function.
Truly in seconds I'll have this “lantern softbox” ready for use on the flash head.
Depending on the set conditions and shooting requirements, however - due to the wide-angle illumination - you can even get by with just one light source, but then you need a few power reserves with the flash head.
In my opinion, it may also be ideal as a wide-angle bright flash for outdoor shoots, as long as electricity is available or a power battery flash is on set.
Summary:
The workmanship as well as the material make semi-professional applications easy to assemble and disassemble, especially with regard to the functionality that takes just seconds to assemble and disassemble.
Even compared to standard softboxes - and especially compared to parabolic softboxes - a noticeably more wide-angle illumination, almost no “spot effect”. This is also accompanied by an even further resolution of drop shadows.
However, this comes at the cost of a lower brightness on the object to be photographed, which may then have to be compensated by means of an appropriate camera or flash setting.
Even if you already have one or the other softbox on set, at a current price of less than 75, - €, it is still a recommended addition. Because one or the other, additional and supplementary lighting composition is still possible here.
It can also be used very well, as a very quickly available stand-alone brightening solution for photo sessions of smaller groups of people, as there is ultimately no spot effect or darkening of the corners up to the outer areas of the image section.
In summary, an extremely fast and very easy-to-use softbox solution, with very wide-angle illumination, with an even higher resolution of drop shadows, but which also requires a little more “flash power”.
Also a great addition if you already have one or the other softbox in your photo equipment.
28/11/2024