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Too Good to be True?


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I'm planning to shoot video testimonials and want to get a softbox for them. I'm new to softboxes and found this 32" unit for only $28: https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-centimeters-Octagonal-Speedlight-Photography/dp/B00PIM3I6I/

I saw Wescott softboxes this size in the $250-350 range. I don't get it. Is there something really awful about it that it's going for 1/10 the price? For the purpose of shooting video testimonials (indoors), is there any reason to avoid it? 

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That appears to be a flash umbrella, so there’d be no way of mounting it to most continuous sources, because it doesn’t have an opening in the back of it. You’d need to use a lamp with an umbrella bracket (like a photoflex starlite).

Generally, with cheap gear, it will not be as well made or as durable as professional equipment. Soft boxes do take a beating because of constant assembling/disassembling. The cheap ones also rarely have an identifiable type of diffusion on the front, it’s generally just some form of white nylon. You may be able to find proper replacements from a company like Chimera if they’re in standard sizes, but they won’t be cheap.

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Stuart hit the nail on the head.

@Jesse Colin: If you're tight for cash, try using a solid white shower curtain hung from a c-stand as your diffusion. You'll have to control the spill, naturally, with flags, but you'll get a soft box look cheap and easy with 3-4 c-stands. Of course, it's not as simple, self-contained, and pretty looking like a Chimera.

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If you're using LEDs (or lower power fluorescents), maybe you can get way with flimsier soft boxes. They generate less heat, though more than strobes. 

The Chimeras are meant to endure the heat of an HMI or tungsten lamp.

There might be some middle ground like the Aputure ones.

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Update: I ordered a Pixel Fodavil C220 spotlight: https://www.amazon.com/Photography-Continuous-Lighting-Spotlight-Recording/dp/B07ZJC75CZ/

After reading the replies in this thread, I want to be careful not to get a softbox that can't handle the heat of this light. Any budget-friendly recommendations within the 30" to 35" range? 

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Stuart's case in point:
I got a Godox 32" photography octobox when I first started and put a 750w Tota light in it. This held up for 6 months I believe, before it degraded from the heat and snapped the rods. But to be clear, it was for studio interviews and was never broken down or moved. The constant teardown and setup will likely wear faster. So that's the life I got out of that solution.

Afterward I bought a photoflex softbox on ebay specifically intended for hotlights and had a jolly time blasting a 2k open-face into with no problem (which is a very hot light).

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