I ordered some stuff through eBay and since I didn’t want to waste shipping charges, I thought of giving an item a try. It’s an inflatable softbox small enough to fit over a standard hotshoe mounted flash. I thought that it would go well with the off-shoe ETTL cord that I ordered as direct, un-diffused flash is quite hard even if not mounted on camera. It costs less than a Big Mac meal, so why not?
It looks really funny actually. It looks like one of those kiddie inflatable wing floaters for swimming, to be honest. Let’s see if it works, though.
Here’s how it looked like when I got it from the mail. Not exactly exciting.
After you inflate it (imagine how ridiculous you’ll look if you’re having a photoshoot and you’re inflating this in front of your subjects), it looks like this. You basically insert your flash into the opening and securing the (light) softbox with the garter pieces attached.
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If you look at the photo above, you’ll see that the initial layer is actually clear. I’d expect this to be opaque as a clear layer won’t exactly soften the light as the outer layer is just a lightly opaque layer of plastic.
After forcing the kids to be my subjects, here’s our comparison between a bare flash and the “inflated” flash.
Bare flash
Used with inflatable softbox
As you can see, there’s not much difference at all. I think the main culprit is the fact that the layer right in front of the flash isn’t diffused with an opaque material. So I tried to layer a sheet of tissue into the slot, and I got this.
Much better! I forgot to adjust for flash exposure as the diffusing tissue took around 1/3 of a stop from the flash’s power.
I then grabbed some Lee opaque diffusing sheet and layered some into the clear receptacle right (sorry, no photos for this one). The results are very pleasing indeed.
If we bounce it off the wall with the diffuser on, the light is even softer than the usual wall-bounce (bare flash), as you can see how soft the light wraps around the subject.
Overall, I think it’s a good value. It may not work right out of the box (or in this case, envelope), but with a little modification, you can use straight on-flash or off-cam mounted flash with softer lighting for a minimal cost.
Edit: Come to think of it, I should’ve just left the Sto-fen cup on instead of sticking diffusing filters on the softbox arggh.
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About David L. Tong
Did you stuff the opaque diffusing sheets inside the inflatable softbox? Please let me know, I;m consider buying an inflatable one. Thanks!
Hi, yes, I layered another sheet of opaque sheets to the inner surface of the box. I used clear double-sided tape.
I have one and use it often. When used with a dome diffuser the results are pretty great. I find this item especially useful on windy days when larger soft-boxes or umbrellas are not practical. So far i have primarily used it for portraiture but plan to try it soon for macro photography. The construction is poor and mine like to deflate itself but for the price it's great and i plan to purchase a few more! (This little POS has saved me twice so far.)
-DR
PS i found your site searching for larger versions of the same item.
I agree with you, Dustin. It has its usage, and you can't beat the price :D
Welcome to the site BTW.
Dave
Drey: I just got it off ebay for a few bucks. Just type "inflatable softbox" on eBay and you'll find units with free shipping for about US$5-6 bucks each.
Hey David,
That thing looks bulky but handy when not inflated. Care to know how much would it cost and if ever you have one for sale?
Thanks!
-Drey
You sold me this item, LinkDelight hehe. :)
the picture is very good with this inflatable diffuser that has been a little modified!
cool
thank you
It is quite bulky still and goofy looking, hehe.
Thanks, David. Just the kind of review I was looking for! The pictures with diffuser sheet indeed show very pleasant lighting effects. I'm surprised the inflatable softbox is not more popular.
Coupled with an off-cam flash cord, it doesn't look shabby at all even when fired direct. :)
<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3381/3268762830_1c29715fcf.jpg">
Hand-held 550ex + inflatable soft box at arm's length to camera left.
The Spectra’s too big bro, the space where you stick the diffuser is just slightly larger than a standard flash’s rectangular dimension. However, I’m sure sticking some onion-skin/tracing paper or any opaque cloth will be sufficient.
That looks interesting Dave. Hopefully I can get hold of this product… I might be able to fit in the Spectra’s diffusing panel inside to help diffuse the light. :)