inexpensive softbox/diffusion

scorsesefan

scorsesefan

Veteran
Does anyone know of an inexpensive softbox that would fit any of the lights in the Lowel DV creator kit? Or does anyone know of a way to diffuse these very hard lights? (aside from diffusion sheets or bouncing).
-Thanks
 
On a gorilla basis, a frosted shower curtain liner (3-5 bucks ) can be hung up by stands and a piece of conduit pipe (8 ft pole- 6- 8 bucks , or even cheaper) or even gaff tape. Place lights behind the curtain, and a giant soft light is yours. I would then "flag" off the light coming from the sides and perhaps the top, to keep the spill light from bouncing every where.
Do not place the lights closer than 2 1/2 feet to the curtain, for heat and melting issues. And never leave it unattended for a long period of time.
If the glass can be removed from the fixture, you might be able to replace it with a frosted glass....
 
I've seen gaffer's build custom softboxes out of foamcore and have diffusion inserts (216, 250, Opal) that they can slide in front. It's cheap to make.
 
The shower curtain 'solution' is really just a fire waiting to happen.
Don't do anything that could possibly endanger your crew or location.
I've seen a few fires break out from Home Depot worklights, softbox workarounds, and other DIY solutions (not on my own sets, mind you) :)

It just isn't worth it to save a few bucks.
Just my 2 cents.
 
I just ordered a cheap sofbox on ebay. It has a universal metal ring and cost me around 40$. The guy said it was for up to 1000w. I will report after i get it. I'm not sure it will sustain the heat.......
 
It is.

Most manufacturers of softboxes simply overcharge. Let's face it. How expensive is that material and how much does it cost to sew it in China?
 
Ok i got the soft box.......The ring was supposed to fit 8inch but was just a bit short. I'm putting in on a chinese red head i got from ebay. Since i paid only 40$ for that lamp i was willing to modifi it a bit. I used some pliers to bend the casing a bit. Now it fits snugly in. I put the lamp on for about half an hour and it survived the heat.(the seller said its rated 1000w and the red head is 800w)
I will test it longer and post some pics if someone is interested.
I never owned a soft box but one of the drawbacks of this one seems to be the assembly; a little bit like camping 20 years ago....when you had to assemble the poles of the tent and it was head ache.

Not sure if allowed to put links to ebay in here....
The seller name is comewithstyle .
 
Pierre Petit said:
Ok i got the soft box.......The ring was supposed to fit 8inch but was just a bit short. I'm putting in on a chinese red head i got from ebay. Since i paid only 40$ for that lamp i was willing to modifi it a bit. I used some pliers to bend the casing a bit. Now it fits snugly in. I put the lamp on for about half an hour and it survived the heat.(the seller said its rated 1000w and the red head is 800w)
I will test it longer and post some pics if someone is interested.
I never owned a soft box but one of the drawbacks of this one seems to be the assembly; a little bit like camping 20 years ago....when you had to assemble the poles of the tent and it was head ache.

Not sure if allowed to put links to ebay in here....
The seller name is comewithstyle .
Click to expand...

That was the very first softbox I ever bought from them about 3 years ago. They've been on there a long time. It's okay and the price is pretty good. I think you'll find that most softboxes all have that support pole method that's not so easy to put together. The fit is very tight in order to get the supports to fall in line with the corners of the softbox and keep it well "inflated" so to speak. I usually ended up leaving mine assembled.
 
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