Re: 2 x Westcott Flex 10" x 10" inside Softbox?

E

ectobuilder

Veteran
Re: 2 x Westcott Flex 10" x 10" inside Softbox?

I noticed the Westcott Flex's produce quite a bit of heat at full power.

If I put two of them side by side inside a softbox would that be a fire hazard?
 
Nope. You can touch them with your bare hands after they've been at full power for some time - it takes a lot more heat than that to present a fire hazard.
 
Even strobe softboxes (not made for hot lights) can handle some heat; my speedotron strobes use 250w modeling lamps - not sure how photoflex rates their softboxes but I recall my latest Fotodiox box (they're now making softboxes that are better than Photoflex for way less money) is rated for 400 watts. You should be OK for anything that you can actually touch the light emitter.
 
The Westcott rep was at Adorama demoing these units a few days ago. He was pouring water over them and stomping on them (he was not a small guy either) to demonstrate their durability :) They held up...
 
The 10x10 does come with a diffuser and a company called HoneyGrids makes a grid that'll fit on it.
http://honeycombgrids.com/grid-catalog/westcott-grids/westcott-flex-detail

While I still see the 10"x10" available at B&H
but note the limited supply.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1098579-REG/westcott_7419_flex_1_light_daylight_kit.html

It's no longer listed on FJWestcott.
http://www.fjwestcott.com/lighting/flex

and Adorama shows it as discontinued.
http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/default.aspx?searchinfo=westcott+flex&SearchMode=Discontinued

So it looks like the 10"x10" is going away

Looks like this new 1'x1' is replacing it. It has the same 7419 product ID followed by "n"
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1220008-REG/westcott_7419_n_flex_x_bracket_daylight_led.html
 
rskoss said:
Curious how you plan to mount them in a softbox.
Click to expand...

Depending on the size of the softbox you can gaffe tape it to the sides of the softbox or you can stick a 15mm rail through the speed ring and thus thru the soft box and rig it to the rail.

The Flex light has a warning sticker saying to NOT place the Flex up against a warm or hot surface. So it is DANGEROUS to place two Flex's side-by-side touching each other (I had mine curved in a "U" shape and they were literally clamped together, which is a no no).
 
cseeman said:
The 10x10 does come with a diffuser and a company called HoneyGrids makes a grid that'll fit on it.
http://honeycombgrids.com/grid-catalog/westcott-grids/westcott-flex-detail
Click to expand...

I find the diffuser for the 10x10 to be ineffective as it doesn't have enough distance from the LED's. You can actually see the LED diodes through the diffusion meaning it is not diffusing it at all (or not enough for my needs at least).

The newer 1x1,1x2,1x3 and 2x2's have corrected the diffuser design by allowing a 1inch gap which is the magic number for truly diffusing the light. In this way you don't see the diodes of the LEDs.

Even so it still depends on how soft you want the light to be. A softbox will still be softer than directly punching light through a diffuser.
 
A friend of mine created the Airbox, an inflatable diffusion softball for LED lights. The 1x1 model works great with the Wescott and together they weigh mere ounces and can be packed down to almost nothing. A light-as-a-feather lamp can have distinct advantages in certain rigging situations, not to mention how ridiculously portable it is.

https://airboxlights.com
 
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