Does anyone have experience with the Litepanels DoPchoice Snapbag Big for Astra 1x1?

N

Newsguy

Well-known member
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...anels_900_0033_dopchoice_snapbag_big_for.html

Just looking for opinions on this piece of gear. It's near impossible to find specific information on it. I stumbled across it because of an NAB video where the Litepanels rep was talking about how it works. Basically it has a baffle in the center that sends the light back to the reflector, and gives it a better diffusion. I currently use the Chimera soft box on my Astras and I've never been happy with it. There's always a hot spot, so I've had to resort to shooting them through silks. This is fine, but for the fast paced nature of what I do, can be slow and cumbersome. Anyone use this before and have options on it? Thanks
 
I have this product for both the Astra 1x1 and the Gemini. I personally think it's a fantastic piece of kit, though it's very pricey.

It's lightweight, easy to set up and quality. It will hold up and travel well.

The Astras and the Gemini's both are a bit spottier and the diffusion isn't that far from the light, so I'm not surprised you're getting a hot spot. It's always going to be nicer to put the diffusion further away, but for a lot of the work I do, having something that can pack up and travel w/the kit w/out having to set up any additional diff frames is nice.
 
Thanks for the info. This is literally the most info I’ve read about this part, so I appreciate you taking the time. My job actually approved a budget for some gear, and my first reaction was to find the best soft box for the Astras. We ran some tests at work today with the chimera on and there’s about a 4ft candle drop off from the center at 6 feet.
 
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Newsguy said:
Thanks for the info. This is literally the most info I’ve read about this part, so I appreciate you taking the time. My job actually approved a budget for some gear, and my first reaction was to find the best soft box for the Astras. We ran some tests at work today with the chimera on and there’s about a 4ft candle drop off from the center at 6 feet.
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No prob. Good luck w/your project.
 
I've got two of the snap bags and they work well, though are pricy and slightly annoying to get on. But mine are holding up well to the abuse of shooting.
 
Good question, NG. Thanks for the replies Travis & Rob.

So Travis & Rob, how big are the faces of your Snapbags?
(I can't find specs on DoP's website and the photo NG links to looks bigger than the "standard" size)

And how much light do you lose?

Thanks!
 
Jim Feeley said:
Good question, NG. Thanks for the replies Travis & Rob.

So Travis & Rob, how big are the faces of your Snapbags?
(I can't find specs on DoP's website and the photo NG links to looks bigger than the "standard" size)

And how much light do you lose?

Thanks!
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Snapbag doesn't increase the size of the light source by any significant amount. The bags come w/a half grid. You can put 1/4 or full or whatever you want but I'm personally fine w/half for most purposes.
 
Jim Feeley said:
Looks like there's at least two sizes for Astras:

"Regular" sized for about US$250
http://www.dopchoice.com/product/sblpa/
View attachment 129043


And "Oversized" for about $550:
https://www.adorama.com/lpaaoledsb.html
View attachment 129044

But I can't find the "oversized" listed on either the Litepanels or DoPchoice websites...

Anyone know more? Am I missing something?
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This is exactly what I mean when I mentioned that it’s near impossible to find info on this one online. If you call Litepanels they will give you the part # which is 900-0033. While it will take you to B&H and Adorama

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...anels_900_0033_dopchoice_snapbag_big_for.html

their own site does not list it. Also the sites have these listed as special order. The difference between the oversized version and the normal one is that it has a baffle inside. It’s basically a second diffusion which shoots light back at the reflector inside and then back out to the diffusion at the front. In theory this should soften the light almost like a self contained book light, but I need to see it in action. If worst comes to worst I will return these and simply get more silks and stands to throw in front of my astras. It’s time consuming, but it does give a really nice wrap around light.
 
Newsguy said:
This is exactly what I mean when I mentioned that it’s near impossible to find info on this one online.
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Grrr.....


Newsguy said:
The difference between the oversized version and the normal one is that it has a baffle inside.... In theory this should soften the light almost like a self contained book light...
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Ya, a quick-to-set pseudo book light would be great. Maybe we can call it an ebooklight... close enough to the real thing when traveling. :-)

Let us know if you find out more....
 
Jim Feeley said:
Grrr.....




Ya, a quick-to-set pseudo book light would be great. Maybe we can call it an ebooklight... close enough to the real thing when traveling. :-)

Let us know if you find out more....
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We ordered these for work, but because of the special order status they may take some time to arrive. I’ll follow up in here once they do.
 
Newsguy said:
We ordered these for work, but because of the special order status they may take some time to arrive. I’ll follow up in here once they do.
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Hey, stumbled on this thread as I debate the pros and cons of purchasing either an Astra Soft or an Astra 6x + Snapbag. What was your verdict on the Snapbag?
 
Bern Caughey said:
Have you tried calling The Rag Place, or DoPchoice? The Rag Place manufactures the SnapBags & SnapGrids for DoPchoice.

http://www.theragplace.com/snapbag.html
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About a year ago I wrote DoP Choice to voice my frustration in attempting to purchase their products. The response from a DoP rep was less than satisfactory. Basically the rep said that they have no desire to operate an online shop and gave me some speak about supporting "our Global resellers" and "aggressive exchange rates".

At that time ( and possibly still today ) it was not possible to purchase a DoP Choice Snapgrid for a Litemat 4 short of making the purchase by phone. The Rag Place website does not offer online purchasing. It still primarily operates using the antiquated method of having to call them up. Only a limited selection of DoP Choice products are available for purchase from B&H and the like.

I suppose that having to purchase by phone isn't a huge inconvenience. But having to be connected to a sales person, describe the product you want, ensure that the sales rep correctly understands which product you want, be provided a price, wait while the sales rep calculates shipping cost and any tax, read them your billing and shipping details, have the rep repeat all your billing and shipping details back to you...c'mon, it's 2018 for crying out loud. They no doubt lose sales as a result of not having a more efficient and modern method of purchase. And I told them that.
 
Ty Harper said:
Hey, stumbled on this thread as I debate the pros and cons of purchasing either an Astra Soft or an Astra 6x + Snapbag. What was your verdict on the Snapbag?
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I recently bought the Astra Soft Bi-Color (which is still on sale at B&H for a very good price). I got the DoP Choice softbox but just returned it. With the Soft version of the Astra, it doesn't do very enough to justify the bulk and output loss. Obviously more helpful with the non-soft version of the light. Also, I added the side rails that allow mounting of the honeycomb grids which is how I'll primarily use the unit, as a narrow beam fill to pick out an individual or small group without bringing up the walls etc. The grids are certainly not cheap and somewhat delicate but they do a great job. However, the rails interfere with the mounting on the softbox so this makes it an even worse combo.

One other note about the Astra that has perplexed me (and I've started a convo with a Litepanels rep about fixing it)--if you want to switch between AC and battery operation you have to swap out the power cable to the unit. You can remove the p-tap battery cable if you are going AC, but if you are going battery you have to manage the cable from the AC power supply. Fiddly. Most units like this have a single cable with a three way switch that keep it simpler. I've built a switch box to add that functionality as seen below, but it would be nice to have this built in to the unit.
litepanels.jpg
 
CharlesPapert said:
I recently bought the Astra Soft Bi-Color (which is still on sale at B&H for a very good price). I got the DoP Choice softbox but just returned it. With the Soft version of the Astra, it doesn't do very enough to justify the bulk and output loss. Obviously more helpful with the non-soft version of the light. Also, I added the side rails that allow mounting of the honeycomb grids which is how I'll primarily use the unit, as a narrow beam fill to pick out an individual or small group without bringing up the walls etc. The grids are certainly not cheap and somewhat delicate but they do a great job. However, the rails interfere with the mounting on the softbox so this makes it an even worse combo.

One other note about the Astra that has perplexed me (and I've started a convo with a Litepanels rep about fixing it)--if you want to switch between AC and battery operation you have to swap out the power cable to the unit. You can remove the p-tap battery cable if you are going AC, but if you are going battery you have to manage the cable from the AC power supply. Fiddly. Most units like this have a single cable with a three way switch that keep it simpler. I've built a switch box to add that functionality as seen below, but it would be nice to have this built in to the unit.
Click to expand...

I wish the Astra's came from the factory with a switch instead of having to switch cables. I know I'm not the only one that has forgotten to switch the cable back from the battery to A/C and vice-versa when in a hurry.

I managed to clean all of mine up cable wise and make them not look like a hot mess with some zip-ties, stick-on velcro and a few stick-on "mounting points", but Charles get the prize for the 'power switch' switch.
 
Another thing that could be improved is a better means of attaching soft-boxes. The design of the housing is as if they never anticipated anyone attaching soft-boxes. Gimme a nub or a groove or a pin or anything but a smooth, curved surface that seems perfectly designed to reject the elastic straps of soft-boxes.
 
Run&Gun said:
I managed to clean all of mine up cable wise and make them not look like a hot mess with some zip-ties, stick-on velcro and a few stick-on "mounting points", but Charles get the prize for the 'power switch' switch.
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Ha! Sometimes the cleanup ends up looking itself like a hot mess...my "favorite" (not) is a 32" TV I turned into the vanitiies monitor, basically a secondary video village setup that H/MU and other departments can use to keep an eye on things. Receives a quad signal of cameras wirelessly via the Connex, plus can be hardwired via SDI converter (as it is HDMI only). If I was doing it again I'd beef up the 12v adaptor and split it off to the various components, but I went down and dirty and kept all the wall warts intact. It's holding up fine a few years down the road, so no really reason to fix it up other than it looks a little clunky from behind!

32inch.jpg
 
Considering everything that's on there, that's actually pretty damn tidy, Charles. And it gives me an idea about cleaning up my 'A' monitor when I have the multiviewer on it.
 
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