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| |  | Flashes | Home » » Photoflex XTOCLRGII On Camera Large Softbox. | | | | | | | Product Details: | | | Product Weight:
| 0.15 pounds | | Package Weight:
| 1.0 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 6 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 6 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 Serves its purpose well - and gets you noticed.Dec 23, 2008
By Dale F. Mead
I browsed to this product to re-order it after my first one wore out. It serves its purpose well, but the purpose isn't what the prior reviewer expected (as he admits).
Both items are photojournalistic mobile softboxes, but the Photoflex is not intended to replace the Sto-fen Omnibounce, my default soft box on my SB-800. The latter is designed to be used pointed straight up in small rooms with low ceilings and white/light walls to disperse the light in a hemisphere including the subject ("Omnibounce"). That makes everything evenly illuminated and the subject sharp. Very nice; the flash doesn't leave the background dark as a bare flash aimed at the subject does.
But in huge rooms or outdoors where omnibounce doesn't happen, the Sto-fen just throws light away. The only goal is to soften the flash shadow on and behind the subject. I use the Photoflex in exhibit halls or at harshly sunlit events as fill flash, and I point it straight at the subject for maximum light output. If illuminated background is needed, I use rear flash with vibration reduction.
I like the Photoflex also because it is so compact when deflated, smaller than rigid-side flash bounces. Bonus: If you want to stand out in a room full of photojournalists with fancy camera systems, the phunny-looking Photoflex will do it. Walking around in exhibit halls, I get an inquiry every couple of minutes: "What is that?" It's a real conversation starter.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great for on camera flashes and fill flash, won't block your E-TTLAug 14, 2009
By ELMC
After thoroughly breaking in this softbox, I have to say that I am very pleased with it. Sure, it looks like you're packing your own naptime equipment, but hey, who cares what you look like anyway, right?
I needed something that wasn't going to block my E-TTL beam from my 580 EX II that would soften fill light, not lose a lot of light, and wouldn't be heavy or bulky to carry around. The Photoflex XTC II works great! It only loses about 1/2 stop of light (less if subject is closer to the lens), which can easily be compensated for on camera or in post when shooting in RAW, although, honestly, it often isn't even noticeable at all. The fact that it blows up to a good size then simply deflates is brilliant when it comes to keeping this thing stored and packing light. It blows up to a nice size, big enough to give you a nice size light source, but not too huge that it becomes cumbersome. It does require being velcro'd onto your flash, but this can be avoided with a very handy big fat rubber band. I use a soft no-tangle hair tie (problem solved!).
As for performance, as a softbox, it will work relatively close (i.e. if you're not too far from your subject), but if you're shooting at or over 200mm (on 1.6x crop camera) and your subject fills less than 1/3 of your frame, you may want to avoid this softbox as it will spread out your light quite a bit, as it is intended to do, and your subject won't be well lit. You can compensate for this by cranking up your flash power though if need be. If you're shooting primarily E-TTL, then you'll need to be aware of how far your subject is away from the light source more acutely than with a bare flash. I use it for macro work and for providing some fill to backlit and toplit subjects with the 70-200mm f/4L on my 40D to reduce the hard light shadows inherent with bare flashes. For this purpose, it works very well. I love that it folds up so compactly too. It's very thin when deflated, and perfectly slides right into my camera bag's accessory pouch.
The only reason I do not give this softbox 5 stars is simply because I don't like the kind of plug they used for this softbox. It is EXTREMELY hard to get the plug out without feeling like you're going to rip the whole thing apart. I found that the more I use it, the less of a problem this is becoming, but when I first got it, it was quite frustrating. I also believe that it is slightly overpriced. It should be around $15, not over $20.
 Great for shooting up to 10ftDec 30, 2011
By Coco
Stick your velcro to your flash. Blow up the XTC and use it. Thats it. Buy a second set of velcro for a second flash. Since the front of the XTC bubbles out it spreads the light better for wider angle lenses.
3 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 The desired effect was not exactly what I expectedSep 02, 2007
By Ratboy55
I wanted to see if there was a better alterative than using a Sto-fen Omnibounce on my SB-600 Speedlight to get soft light (and to this day, nothing as compact and effective goes anywhere close to my sto-fen omnibounce) so I decided to try out the Photoflex XTCII Softbox. Immediately after setting up the thing on my speedlight, I was already expecting the worse. I had to boost up my speedlight a couple of notches stronger and I got some really bad looking shots. Thank goodness I shot in RAW because what turned out to be "okay" soft light from this getup, turned out to give me some really ugly lighting resulting in some really bad shots. I returned the thing immediately. If you wanna go compact but need a softbox, invest in a $12+ sto-fen omnibounce or just make one with a plastic milk carton. You can't go wrong.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Worth the priceJun 19, 2010
By Bevin Buchler
This product is easy to use and worth the price. Obviously you get what you pay for, so if you're looking for a super high quality product, look elsewhere. I chose this as a quick alternative for my backup cameras external flash and it does a great job. Diffuses and spreads the light and has great color quality. The only thing I didn't like about this item was the velcro attachment. You must put the super sticky velcro on your external flash which sucks. But once its there, the product does seem to stay in place, and doesn't block anything.
See all 6 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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