For as few times as I really need to add in artificial lighting, the 80cm square softbox has been doing the job with a 60W COB LED continuous light (sometimes I use it for photography too with the speedlite adapter. More recently though my situations are shooting video in confined spaces, covering people going about their business and creative pursuits; me not being in the way and able to work to their pace is priority #1.

This octagon with two diffuser layers was love at first sight out of the box. I used it within days of arrival for a one on one session of a merchant in their tiny shop and got what we wanted with the least amount of fanfare. I could have pictured my 80cm box hitting a few things in the process and taking over the guest's attention.

The built in pull and click system to set the ribs is genius. They don't take much strength to lift up and out until they click into place. Lately I am very aware of this with some loss of grip strength and soreness in my right arm.

The shape when collapsed and twisted into a tight bunch, then into the fabric bag with draw string also suits my carry all bag way to haul gear; better than a semi rigid four sided collapsible soft box that doesn't fit in anything I have.

The two inner diffuser panels mount with hook and loop. The outer diffuser has a continuous band of that tape, as does the inner rim of the umbrella. The smaller inside diffuser attaches with short bands of hook and loop. Of the two diffusers, when used singly, the outer one reduces light output more than the inner one. I didn't test to compare the light dispersion or fall off pattern compared to a metal reflector bowl or my bigger popup softbox.

As the demo video shows, the Bowens mount ring can be removed after taking out one thumbscrew. I can't immediately think of when I would need to do that but it's there as an option.