*[TIMECODE]* 0:00 TLDR 0:50 General Info 2:27 The BOTTOM LIN 6:16 Diffus Only Output Test 6:37 Diffus + Grid Output Test 6:58 Life Examples Softness Tests *[AFFILIATE LINKS]* Use of my affiliate links gives me a little commission at no cost to you, this directly helps support this channel so I can continue making fun videos for you! Thank you so much! *Laofas Softbox 47" Softbox Bowens* US: amzn.to/3dsrYy4 UK: amzn.to/2CB0CsZ CAN: amzn.to/3dxnTZn INTERNATIONAL: ebay.to/2YyIBUF *Godox SL150wii* US: amzn.to/2Yip8Y2 UK: amzn.to/3fSCDnw CAN: amzn.to/31ajYzl INTERNATIONAL: ebay.to/2Z9KeXP *Godox SL60w* US: amzn.to/3etNCn4 UK: amzn.to/31brMkc CAN: amzn.to/317j7iV INTERNATIONAL: ebay.to/382yJFD *[FAQ]*
Jason is like Gerald Undone and Dave2D “fusioned” together! I love your technical rigour + down to earth consumer oriented explanation + detailed and concise video structure! This channel deserves 2 million plus subs!
Hey hey again Clement! I didn't know who Dave2D was, but I do now! Thank you so much for your kind words! I will continue to do my best and maybe one of these days I may reach that 2 million!
Hey hey Josh! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! So glad you stayed for the extra stuff! I'll continue to do my best with my content and reviews! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Very nice softbox...especially that it is very fast to set-up. And it come along with the grid which makes the lightening a lot more intimate... not the cheapest but it worth it's price. I just got my Comica BoomX-D D2 I bought after watching your video it it is just great, in fact it well surpasses my expectations, thank you for that!!!
same here! got my Comica, couldn’t be happier! I actually already have this Laofas 47” in my cart for a week now when this video came out lol this video came out at perfect timing.
Hey hey again Bánáti and Clement! The fast setup is definitely a great plus and all the diffusion and grid! So glad to hear both of you are enjoying the Comica and that its working for you! I will continue to do my best with my review for you all!
Hey hey Marcus! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! You're most welcome! I will keep doing my best with my reviews and content! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Updated edit: These are excellent softboxes. Just be sure to get the D-series and not the U-Series. My grievances below were made after I had mistakenly bought the U-series instead of more D-series versions. Don't be dumb like me. But the D-Series. Original comment: LAOFAS has apparently redesigned their Parabolic softbox and it is notably worse in literally every possible way. I bought their 47" and their 25" months ago after watching your video here, and those two are absolutely wonderful. Easy setup, work great, very affordable. Couldn't love them more. Excellent recommendation. I just got their 35" model and it is COMPLETELY different. To start, the rods are 95% exposed, held in place by a 1 inch long loop near the base and a 1 inch deep pocket at the larger opening. With this new design, the rods easily slip out when the softbox is broken down and cannot be inserted into their pockets once the softbox is popped up. Time consuming and frustrating to reassemble every single time I open it up. Secondly, the new design has what LAOFAS is calling a "speedring". All the rods are connected to one big ring in the center that you push down toward the base from the larger opening until it latches itself into place. I understand why they THOUGHT this would be an improvement, but it only works better in theory. While with the old design you had click each rod into place individually (though you can easily do 2 at a time), it only took maybe 10 seconds to do. This new speedring design has you fighting with the natural bend of every single rod going in many different directions at once, so you have to apply a lot of strength and a lot of balance while setting up. And the ring doesn't always latch into place easily. You sometimes have to fiddle with it at its base until its grooves line up correctly. A real pain in the ass. And lastly, you HAVE to erect the softbox from the larger end. You cannot do it from the smaller opening. This means you have to partially detach the grid and both layers of diffusion about 50% to really get to the speedring. And to make this particular annoyance even worse, they've replaced the wonderful buttons that were on the smaller layer of diffusion with strips of velcro that you have to loop thru what are seriously ribbon quality hoops of fabric that are only barely sewn into the inner walls of the softbox. Thankfully, whoever came up with their idiotic redesign put more of these little ribbons than are even needed around the softbox, because I effortlessly ripped one off upon initial setup. This redesign is seriously AWFUL. Cutting corners everywhere and not cutting the price at all. I'm seriously considering doing my very first RUclips review just to tear LAOFAS a new one for this horrible decision.
@@TLDR_filmmaker I was stupidly wrong. They make 2 different versions of this softbox. The D-series and the U-series. I accidentally bought the U-series after initially buying the D-series and mistakenly thought they had redesigned it. Get the D-series! Extremely easy setup. Updating my original comment.
Hola! I am doing well mi amigo! I was actually gone for about a month so that may be why, but I am back and got more content to make! Hope all is well my friend, stay healthy and safe!
TLDR Filmmaker Im glad you’re back! Everything fine I hope? Good to have you back and building (running) once again. Yes, you should stay healthy and make sure to use hand sanitizer. 🤟🏼
Everything is fine, It was hard but I was able to make it back to mi familia for a month. But it is good to be back and continuing testing and reviewing equipment for you all. Definitely using plenty of hand sanitizer when I am out getting groceries!
Hey hey Ryan! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! You're most welcome! Id recommend you check out my beginners youtube setup video where I walk you through just about everything, it may be helpful: ruclips.net/video/__dsOEMzrVA/видео.html Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Great watching you set up the soft box! So Effortless. Wow! Wish you had explained re the latch system, and given suggestions for reaching in if you're not as tall as you.
Hey hey Mike! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! Ah yea, I should talked about other ways to open it. I don't know if you have the softbox already. But another easy way to open it is from the back side where the bowens is. I grab onto two opposing spokes and I place my thumb near where the release buttons are. From there I simply use my thumb as leverage and pull back on the spokes with my other fingers/wrist and they snap into place. Hope that makes sense and helps! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Hey. Thank you very much for your response-- made an instant subscriber out of me. Yeah, I figured out the from-the-back approach. Thank God-- before that, it was like opening a Christmas present that didn't work. And thank you too, for discussion of shadows. That's the thing, actually, that convinced me to get the 40" softbox in the first place. Few vloggers touch on that. And it's a big deal. Thanks again, Mike
Hey hey Cody! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! I'm so glad you enjoy the format of this channel! I will continue to do my best with my reviews and content! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey again Kyle! Awesome! As I build out my light kit more for my next feature film...whenever thats gonna be these days, I'm going to pick up a 35 and 27. I love how fast I can set this up and tear it down, for most of the sets I'm on these will definitely help with the overall light design! Hope you are well my friend, stay safe and healthy!
Another great one☝️ but I have a question, please, Bro. I just want to have an idea how big the 47” is, compared to the godox 120 softball, please. Thank you so much.
Hey TLDR! Just found your channel after days of doing research on lighting setups and your videos are by far the best I've seen. Well done man I've got a sort of specific question for you - I'm a professional actor, and self tape submissions are becoming the standard. I'm looking to put together the best lighting package I can for this purpose, but there's a lot of stuff out there to sort through. I have high ceilings and a decently sized office, so one of these Bowens softbox setups could work, although I was looking at maybe a 3 point setup at first. As a filmmaker, what setup would you recommend? I'm probably looking to spend up to $700 altogether, but can be flexible. Really appreciate you taking the time to read this, and for your channel.
Hey hey Migs! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! Being an actor myself and having done these self tape submissions I have some questions for you and then hopefully give you an idea of what to get for a setup. (These are my affiliate links, by using this link I get a small commission that directly supports the channel at no additional cost to you. If you choose the link I sincerely appreciate your support of the channel, Thanks!) *QUESTIONS* Are you using your phone, webcam or do you have a dedicated camera. If you have a dedicate camera, do you know how to set a custom white balance. When you are filming, I know this varies from casting directors, do you usually film a full body or just upper half? *SUGGESTIONS* Generally speaking you do not need to invest in $700 work of light it for a submission, most of the time you will just have one powerful light set at 45 degrees to your left or right and up high enough to shin down at you (Search Rembrandt triangle lighting). Then you'll take either a bounce reflector or a second light to fill up the other side of your face to your liking. The budget setup that will work pretty well is simply using a 4 socket softbox like the one I use: amzn.to/2F8omG7 (Need to purchase an basic cheap light stand) From there you populate the sockets with some LED bulbs from your local dept store. I personally use these phillips LED bulbs amzn.to/2BTz8fH (Video review here: ruclips.net/video/p-rDtf2Jra8/видео.html ) as they seem to have better colors for "daylight". All my youtube videos, including this one you saw, my talking head part was being lit from this setup with a custom WB. (The light is about 5 feet away from my face). So if you got two of these (3rd if you want the hair light for 3 point lighting" You'd probably just get 8 LED bulbs. 4 for the key light, 2 for the fill light, and the last 2 for the hair light. When it's all said and done the setup will probably be around $200 for a 3 point lighting setup. about $150 for a 2 point setup. The reasons I am always looking at budget setups is because the casting director isn't going to be judging you on how expensive your light is, they just want to see how you look and act. This budget option fits the bill in reproducing your skin color and lighting yourself up so they can see you. The rest is your camera settings in terms of making sure you set a custom WB for the lights and then making sure your cameras ISO and Aputure are set so that you are exposed. (Base recommendations are ISO 400-800, Aputure 2.8-5.6, shutter speed at 1/60. And you can determine if you want to film your submission in 24p or 30p. But if you're gun ho to spend some cash then I would say the next step up is to invest in a 60w COB LED light for more output so that you can light up a large parabolic softbox like this. I did a review over here about which 60w LED lights id suggest. For you I would suggest the GODOX SL60w ruclips.net/video/3drVUZ5LWPI/видео.html I don't think you'd necessarily need the 47" version of the softbox as you start getting into photography modeling territory having something that large, id imagine the 35" would suffice, but up to you and your needs for your home studio. For the most part I would only say that your key light is important, so I wouldn't necessarily buy three of these. The other two lights could be supplemented with cheaper LED panels. The Neewer 660 Bi-Colors that I reviewed are quite color accurate at daylight to match the Godox SL60. You can put a softbox on them to soften your fill light. Hair light can be done without a softbox if you want something harsher. Neewer 660 comparison video : ruclips.net/video/qPxGAUHxWbQ/видео.html Neewer 660 softbox video: ruclips.net/video/7JIVzSPy5Kk/видео.html When all said and done you be looking at maybe around $500+ for this setup. The gains for this setup is that each light has its own dimmer so you can fine adjust the lights where as the bulb setup you have to just adjust by either eliminating a bulb or moving the light closer or further away slightly. You'll also get the use of a parabolic softbox that is larger than the budget option. However the budget options can still over similar results if the lights are closer to you. With this larger one you can have it further away while still achieving the same type of light. This largely depends on what your casting director prefers. If you find that they are always wanting full body shots, then you should go with this setup to be able to use a larger softbox. The 60w should still be fine, just make sure you close all the curtains in your office when you film so that you have full control of your lights. Sorry to dump this much information, but I hope this helps you get an idea of where to go from here. All the best wishes from one actor to another! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Oh man thank you so much for taking the time and giving me such a detailed answer! From one actor to another, it means a ton. I will 100% be using your affiliate links for this and everything else I buy from now on. To answer your question, at the moment I'm using just an iphone with a saramonic blink500 lapel mic attached, and a ring light, which I'm not crazy about but it was better than nothing. I am very much into photography as well so I follow what you're saying about aperture and ISO/shutter speed, but I'm a film geek so everything I shoot is with an old nikon f3 or yashica for medium format. I would like to upgrade to a digital camera to record self tapes, so if you have any suggestions on a decent camera for that, please send an affiliate link! For most of my auditions they request a pretty tight medium closeup, about mid chest to top of head, but they also ask me to tack on a full body slate a lot of the time, which always ends up looking kind of crappy compared to even my ring light setup. I've watched a bunch of your videos and googled stuff, so I've learned about the neewer lights, the godoxsl60 (even looked up the godox150 motorless all the way up to the aputure 300D which is when I had to pull myself out of the rabbit hole), and even looked at just propping up some chinese paper lanterns. It got overwhelming. For the time being, even though I don't have a camera where I can set the white balance, do you think the light boxes you suggested will still work? And if you want to send affiliate links for light stands please do I want to help support your channel with anything I buy. Thanks again man! Wishing you all the best
Honestly smartphones these days from the last 2-3 years do pretty darn well with video and auto-white balance, so I think you should be set (iPhone user here) and don't need to sink more money into something. That being said there is actually a app called "filmic pro" which I think its 30 bucks? And it basically coverts your smartphone more into a DSLR with manual settings. The cheap softboxes with the bulbs, when you have 4 bulbs inside, will essentially give you something very close to the Godox SL60 in terms of output for your key light. I've actually used that cheap setup for a interview video where I was fighting some sunlight, and yet it still did quite well. (medium shot) Hope this further helps!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out with this - I just clicked through your affiliate links and am purchasing the lights and lighting setups, getting a bounce as well. Thanks again so much, you've got yourself a lifelong fan. Keep on rocking and hopefully we'll meet again on a job someday!
Hey hey Pergear! I'm so glad you enjoyed this review! I will continue to do my best! Thank you as always for giving me the opportunity to do these tests and make these reviews to give as much information to creatives as possible!
Hey hey again newfoundmass! By golly they are pretty much the same thing with slight differences! I wonder if the current price at Adorama is a sale price? But it looks like the EZ Glow has one extra piece that helps split the hotspot even further than the Laofas does, that extra metal concave piece that you can use in two different orientations. I believe that piece is used for photography flashes to really try and even it out, not sure if it would have a slight different effect with constant LED lighting. I can't think that it would aside from lowering the overall output a little because the light now has another stage of bounce reflection and travel before it gets to the final stage of diffusion. One thing is for sure, the EZ Lock system looks like it just opens like an umbrella, no need to click clack anything! Do you have one of these systems? If I remember correctly I believe you and your significant other did photography primarily with some video here and there. How has the EZ lock system held up so far? Hope all is well my friend, stay safe and healthy!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Hey again! I actually got myself one of the EZ Glow softboxes last year for Christmas with my Godox SL-60W. Haven't had much chance to use it since, due to the pandemic, but so far the EZ Lock system's worked fine for me. The biggest hold up I personally have with it is that it gets a bit finicky to close when I'm breaking it down and it always creates a sort of "pop" like sound. Nothing serious or damaging as far as I can tell, just prone to being a bit spooky if you're the one breaking it down. I'd actually love to see your thoughts on the EZ Glow softbox, TLDR Filmmaker, and see how it compares to the Laofas. The EZ Glow is definitely a bit cheaper (I got mine for around $80 last year), but it'd be interesting to see if it has any weaknesses compared to the Laofas!
Hey hey Toni! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! I'm so glad this video was helpful! I will continue to do my best with my content! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey Zero Gravity! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! I would say it's about 8 inches. Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
I've tried undoing the umbrella and could not get it to collapse. Watched you and will try again later. I'm beat right now after a 10 hr. Shoot (I'm a one man band). Is there something other than pulling on the ends i gotta do. I swear I tried what you demonstrated here and got no where.
Hey hey JCINE! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! The trick for me when collapsing this setup is I have my thumbs on the release button, with my other fingers I grab onto the black flex rods (Grabbing opposite side to make tear down faster and more leverage). From there I push my thumb down while also pulling my other fingers up on the rods to give the release button less work to unlatch. Using this leverage you just pop pop pop in a circle and you'll be collapsed in no time. Hope this helps! God bless you doing a solo 10hr shoot, I know the feeling my friend. Hope you were able to get some good deserved rest! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey Goodco Studios! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! In theory it should be fine, but me I don't do it because it feels hard to get the softbox into its carrying case, so thats why I take it off when packing away. Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Oh wow, can you help me answering this, the YT creators mainly use parabolic shape 36" soft box for video shooting but there is not a single video explaining why?, as there is octagonal shape soft boxes too which are less deep at cheap price for video shooting, Is there any difference between two?
Hey hey The Shopper! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! So the part where I talk about the "eye light" being a perfect circle, thats something people like. However if you look at my talking head part where I'm just speaking at the camera. You'll still see an eye light, but that softbox is actually a rectangle. Now if I never told you that and you now went to look at it, you'd probably never know and wouldn't care. However if you were to do a very close up shot of someones face, then you'll probably want to use a parabolic to get a perfect circle (Think high end portrait pictures). The Octagonal ones are the in-between, not quite square, not quite round. The last bit is how a light will fall off based on the laminated surfaces shape, how it wraps around something. A Circle will wrap around more subtly than a square so your shadows will look more calm. Hope this helps and gives you an idea! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hi, I need a little help and was thinking you would be the perfect person to ask. So I share a studio with a photographer. he uses flash for his work while I use continuous lights for interviews. Our setups are very similar except for the flash vs continuous lights that we have to constantly swap out (limited space). You wouldn't happen to know of any solutions that would be like a flash continuous light combo?
Hey hey again S Singh! Hmm... I'm not too aware of a combo light that can provide both functionalities. My guess is because whats good enough for a videographer may not be enough for a photographer who wants to use a faster shutter speed. The only thing I can think of at the moment is determining if the Godox SL300, Aputure 300, and Nanlite forza 500 is something that would be enough for your photographer friend. The 300w and 500w is a very fun light for videographers who want to bring the sun indoors, and in theory it should be enough for a photographer to get a decent shutter speed, but thats something you two will have to discuss together. The reason I'm thinking this route is because even if there is a flash unit that gives the photographer what they need, the continuous light may not offer as much for the videographer since flashes are for a quick burst and the continuous portion of the light is usually fractions of that and very low just so the photographer has an idea what the shadows are going to be like when the flash goes off. Where as if the 300w to 500w is enough for both of your, the photographer gains the added benefit that he and the portrait subjects won't be temporarily blinded by a bunch of flashing lights, it will just stay constant and they can work normally. Thats all I can think of, hope this helps!
Hey hey Victor! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! Neewer has two different versions, one is cheaper than this one, and the other is more expensive. Both of them will most or less give the same result as the Laofas as the design is pretty standard unless their diffusion material is slightly different. If it is, it may either just let out or cut out a little more light, not enough to consider one being better than the other. The expensive one has the same click clack system as the Laofas, and the cheaper one is the one I talked about in the video where its very difficult to setup quickly. Thats pretty much about it, a similar softbox will only have differences in terms of design and how it opens up etc. The Difference of how the light shines through it is more dependent on the COB LED than the softbox itself. Hope this makes sense! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
S Singh, you can technically use an Arri Camera as an umbrella but that doesn't mean its gonna be a good idea haha! I think my Amazon Canada is finally gonna go through, these last couple videos have seemed to work and some Canadians are getting to the products I'm talking about. Hopefully it holds up! Hope are you doing over there?
Hey hey Pavel! Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question! Probably not, I have collapsed the softbox with the diffusion still inside, but because of how I prefer to open the softbox back up, id have to move the diffusion anyways. So I just make the habit of folding it back up neatly when I store away the softbox in its case. Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey sig310! Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting! Already?! Holy cow! What size were you gonna get? Hope you'll be able to get one soon! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Hey hey again Henri! It's pretty close, the only thing missing is the Magnetic Gel Holder. That woulda been nice to see on the Laofas, but I can't say I'll be using color gels as much these days. We all know one of these days there will be a powerful RGB COB Led to eliminate the need for the gels.
*[TIMECODE]*
0:00 TLDR
0:50 General Info
2:27 The BOTTOM LIN
6:16 Diffus Only Output Test
6:37 Diffus + Grid Output Test
6:58 Life Examples Softness Tests
*[AFFILIATE LINKS]*
Use of my affiliate links gives me a little commission at no cost to you, this directly helps support this channel so I can continue making fun videos for you! Thank you so much!
*Laofas Softbox 47" Softbox Bowens*
US: amzn.to/3dsrYy4
UK: amzn.to/2CB0CsZ
CAN: amzn.to/3dxnTZn
INTERNATIONAL: ebay.to/2YyIBUF
*Godox SL150wii*
US: amzn.to/2Yip8Y2
UK: amzn.to/3fSCDnw
CAN: amzn.to/31ajYzl
INTERNATIONAL: ebay.to/2Z9KeXP
*Godox SL60w*
US: amzn.to/3etNCn4
UK: amzn.to/31brMkc
CAN: amzn.to/317j7iV
INTERNATIONAL: ebay.to/382yJFD
*[FAQ]*
Jason is like Gerald Undone and Dave2D “fusioned” together! I love your technical rigour + down to earth consumer oriented explanation + detailed and concise video structure! This channel deserves 2 million plus subs!
Hey hey again Clement!
I didn't know who Dave2D was, but I do now! Thank you so much for your kind words! I will continue to do my best and maybe one of these days I may reach that 2 million!
TLDR Filmmaker you have my support, lets make it happen! 😁
Came for the setup tutorial, stayed for the comparisons and information 🤙🏻
Hey hey Josh!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
So glad you stayed for the extra stuff! I'll continue to do my best with my content and reviews!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Very nice softbox...especially that it is very fast to set-up. And it come along with the grid which makes the lightening a lot more intimate... not the cheapest but it worth it's price.
I just got my Comica BoomX-D D2 I bought after watching your video it it is just great, in fact it well surpasses my expectations, thank you for that!!!
same here! got my Comica, couldn’t be happier! I actually already have this Laofas 47” in my cart for a week now when this video came out lol this video came out at perfect timing.
Hey hey again Bánáti and Clement!
The fast setup is definitely a great plus and all the diffusion and grid! So glad to hear both of you are enjoying the Comica and that its working for you! I will continue to do my best with my review for you all!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Thanks You!!! Really appreciated TLDR
Thank you so much. This channel has way too few subscribers. You deserve so much more. Please keep up the great work.
Hey hey Marcus!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
You're most welcome! I will keep doing my best with my reviews and content!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Updated edit:
These are excellent softboxes. Just be sure to get the D-series and not the U-Series. My grievances below were made after I had mistakenly bought the U-series instead of more D-series versions.
Don't be dumb like me. But the D-Series.
Original comment:
LAOFAS has apparently redesigned their Parabolic softbox and it is notably worse in literally every possible way.
I bought their 47" and their 25" months ago after watching your video here, and those two are absolutely wonderful. Easy setup, work great, very affordable. Couldn't love them more. Excellent recommendation.
I just got their 35" model and it is COMPLETELY different.
To start, the rods are 95% exposed, held in place by a 1 inch long loop near the base and a 1 inch deep pocket at the larger opening. With this new design, the rods easily slip out when the softbox is broken down and cannot be inserted into their pockets once the softbox is popped up. Time consuming and frustrating to reassemble every single time I open it up.
Secondly, the new design has what LAOFAS is calling a "speedring". All the rods are connected to one big ring in the center that you push down toward the base from the larger opening until it latches itself into place. I understand why they THOUGHT this would be an improvement, but it only works better in theory. While with the old design you had click each rod into place individually (though you can easily do 2 at a time), it only took maybe 10 seconds to do. This new speedring design has you fighting with the natural bend of every single rod going in many different directions at once, so you have to apply a lot of strength and a lot of balance while setting up. And the ring doesn't always latch into place easily. You sometimes have to fiddle with it at its base until its grooves line up correctly. A real pain in the ass.
And lastly, you HAVE to erect the softbox from the larger end. You cannot do it from the smaller opening. This means you have to partially detach the grid and both layers of diffusion about 50% to really get to the speedring. And to make this particular annoyance even worse, they've replaced the wonderful buttons that were on the smaller layer of diffusion with strips of velcro that you have to loop thru what are seriously ribbon quality hoops of fabric that are only barely sewn into the inner walls of the softbox. Thankfully, whoever came up with their idiotic redesign put more of these little ribbons than are even needed around the softbox, because I effortlessly ripped one off upon initial setup.
This redesign is seriously AWFUL. Cutting corners everywhere and not cutting the price at all. I'm seriously considering doing my very first RUclips review just to tear LAOFAS a new one for this horrible decision.
Hey hey again Nick!
Oh man, that is unfortunately about the new design :(
Thanks for the heads up. I hope they go back to the original design.
@@TLDR_filmmaker I was stupidly wrong. They make 2 different versions of this softbox. The D-series and the U-series. I accidentally bought the U-series after initially buying the D-series and mistakenly thought they had redesigned it.
Get the D-series! Extremely easy setup. Updating my original comment.
Holly TLDR!! How are you amigo, long time no see! For some reason I haven’t seen your notifications on my smartphone. Great content as always. 👍🏼
Hola! I am doing well mi amigo! I was actually gone for about a month so that may be why, but I am back and got more content to make! Hope all is well my friend, stay healthy and safe!
TLDR Filmmaker Im glad you’re back! Everything fine I hope? Good to have you back and building (running) once again. Yes, you should stay healthy and make sure to use hand sanitizer. 🤟🏼
Everything is fine, It was hard but I was able to make it back to mi familia for a month. But it is good to be back and continuing testing and reviewing equipment for you all. Definitely using plenty of hand sanitizer when I am out getting groceries!
This video was indispensable to me as a beginner. Thank you.
Hey hey Ryan!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
You're most welcome! Id recommend you check out my beginners youtube setup video where I walk you through just about everything, it may be helpful: ruclips.net/video/__dsOEMzrVA/видео.html
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Great watching you set up the soft box! So Effortless. Wow!
Wish you had explained re the latch system, and given suggestions for reaching in if you're not as tall as you.
Hey hey Mike!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
Ah yea, I should talked about other ways to open it. I don't know if you have the softbox already. But another easy way to open it is from the back side where the bowens is. I grab onto two opposing spokes and I place my thumb near where the release buttons are. From there I simply use my thumb as leverage and pull back on the spokes with my other fingers/wrist and they snap into place. Hope that makes sense and helps!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Hey. Thank you very much for your response-- made an instant subscriber out of me. Yeah, I figured out the from-the-back approach. Thank God-- before that, it was like opening a Christmas present that didn't work. And thank you too, for discussion of shadows. That's the thing, actually, that convinced me to get the 40" softbox in the first place. Few vloggers touch on that. And it's a big deal. Thanks again, Mike
EPIC review man! Love your TLDR style, I could see it catchin on in many fields
Hey hey Cody!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
I'm so glad you enjoy the format of this channel! I will continue to do my best with my reviews and content!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
I have the 35" and love it!
Hey hey again Kyle!
Awesome! As I build out my light kit more for my next feature film...whenever thats gonna be these days, I'm going to pick up a 35 and 27. I love how fast I can set this up and tear it down, for most of the sets I'm on these will definitely help with the overall light design!
Hope you are well my friend, stay safe and healthy!
TLDR Filmmaker That Kyle is aces. Just ordered a pair of 47" models on his recommendation. Presumably they'll arrive sometime in the next 20-30 years.
@@GilbertTang 😻😻😻
Another great one☝️ but I have a question, please, Bro. I just want to have an idea how big the 47” is, compared to the godox 120 softball, please. Thank you so much.
Hey TLDR!
Just found your channel after days of doing research on lighting setups and your videos are by far the best I've seen. Well done man
I've got a sort of specific question for you - I'm a professional actor, and self tape submissions are becoming the standard. I'm looking to put together the best lighting package I can for this purpose, but there's a lot of stuff out there to sort through. I have high ceilings and a decently sized office, so one of these Bowens softbox setups could work, although I was looking at maybe a 3 point setup at first. As a filmmaker, what setup would you recommend? I'm probably looking to spend up to $700 altogether, but can be flexible. Really appreciate you taking the time to read this, and for your channel.
Hey hey Migs!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
Being an actor myself and having done these self tape submissions I have some questions for you and then hopefully give you an idea of what to get for a setup.
(These are my affiliate links, by using this link I get a small commission that directly supports the channel at no additional cost to you. If you choose the link I sincerely appreciate your support of the channel, Thanks!)
*QUESTIONS*
Are you using your phone, webcam or do you have a dedicated camera. If you have a dedicate camera, do you know how to set a custom white balance. When you are filming, I know this varies from casting directors, do you usually film a full body or just upper half?
*SUGGESTIONS*
Generally speaking you do not need to invest in $700 work of light it for a submission, most of the time you will just have one powerful light set at 45 degrees to your left or right and up high enough to shin down at you (Search Rembrandt triangle lighting). Then you'll take either a bounce reflector or a second light to fill up the other side of your face to your liking.
The budget setup that will work pretty well is simply using a 4 socket softbox like the one I use: amzn.to/2F8omG7 (Need to purchase an basic cheap light stand)
From there you populate the sockets with some LED bulbs from your local dept store. I personally use these phillips LED bulbs amzn.to/2BTz8fH (Video review here: ruclips.net/video/p-rDtf2Jra8/видео.html )
as they seem to have better colors for "daylight". All my youtube videos, including this one you saw, my talking head part was being lit from this setup with a custom WB. (The light is about 5 feet away from my face). So if you got two of these (3rd if you want the hair light for 3 point lighting" You'd probably just get 8 LED bulbs. 4 for the key light, 2 for the fill light, and the last 2 for the hair light. When it's all said and done the setup will probably be around $200 for a 3 point lighting setup. about $150 for a 2 point setup.
The reasons I am always looking at budget setups is because the casting director isn't going to be judging you on how expensive your light is, they just want to see how you look and act. This budget option fits the bill in reproducing your skin color and lighting yourself up so they can see you. The rest is your camera settings in terms of making sure you set a custom WB for the lights and then making sure your cameras ISO and Aputure are set so that you are exposed. (Base recommendations are ISO 400-800, Aputure 2.8-5.6, shutter speed at 1/60. And you can determine if you want to film your submission in 24p or 30p.
But if you're gun ho to spend some cash then I would say the next step up is to invest in a 60w COB LED light for more output so that you can light up a large parabolic softbox like this. I did a review over here about which 60w LED lights id suggest. For you I would suggest the GODOX SL60w ruclips.net/video/3drVUZ5LWPI/видео.html
I don't think you'd necessarily need the 47" version of the softbox as you start getting into photography modeling territory having something that large, id imagine the 35" would suffice, but up to you and your needs for your home studio. For the most part I would only say that your key light is important, so I wouldn't necessarily buy three of these. The other two lights could be supplemented with cheaper LED panels. The Neewer 660 Bi-Colors that I reviewed are quite color accurate at daylight to match the Godox SL60. You can put a softbox on them to soften your fill light. Hair light can be done without a softbox if you want something harsher.
Neewer 660 comparison video : ruclips.net/video/qPxGAUHxWbQ/видео.html
Neewer 660 softbox video: ruclips.net/video/7JIVzSPy5Kk/видео.html
When all said and done you be looking at maybe around $500+ for this setup. The gains for this setup is that each light has its own dimmer so you can fine adjust the lights where as the bulb setup you have to just adjust by either eliminating a bulb or moving the light closer or further away slightly. You'll also get the use of a parabolic softbox that is larger than the budget option. However the budget options can still over similar results if the lights are closer to you. With this larger one you can have it further away while still achieving the same type of light. This largely depends on what your casting director prefers. If you find that they are always wanting full body shots, then you should go with this setup to be able to use a larger softbox. The 60w should still be fine, just make sure you close all the curtains in your office when you film so that you have full control of your lights.
Sorry to dump this much information, but I hope this helps you get an idea of where to go from here. All the best wishes from one actor to another!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Oh man thank you so much for taking the time and giving me such a detailed answer! From one actor to another, it means a ton. I will 100% be using your affiliate links for this and everything else I buy from now on.
To answer your question, at the moment I'm using just an iphone with a saramonic blink500 lapel mic attached, and a ring light, which I'm not crazy about but it was better than nothing. I am very much into photography as well so I follow what you're saying about aperture and ISO/shutter speed, but I'm a film geek so everything I shoot is with an old nikon f3 or yashica for medium format. I would like to upgrade to a digital camera to record self tapes, so if you have any suggestions on a decent camera for that, please send an affiliate link!
For most of my auditions they request a pretty tight medium closeup, about mid chest to top of head, but they also ask me to tack on a full body slate a lot of the time, which always ends up looking kind of crappy compared to even my ring light setup.
I've watched a bunch of your videos and googled stuff, so I've learned about the neewer lights, the godoxsl60 (even looked up the godox150 motorless all the way up to the aputure 300D which is when I had to pull myself out of the rabbit hole), and even looked at just propping up some chinese paper lanterns. It got overwhelming.
For the time being, even though I don't have a camera where I can set the white balance, do you think the light boxes you suggested will still work? And if you want to send affiliate links for light stands please do I want to help support your channel with anything I buy.
Thanks again man! Wishing you all the best
Honestly smartphones these days from the last 2-3 years do pretty darn well with video and auto-white balance, so I think you should be set (iPhone user here) and don't need to sink more money into something. That being said there is actually a app called "filmic pro" which I think its 30 bucks? And it basically coverts your smartphone more into a DSLR with manual settings.
The cheap softboxes with the bulbs, when you have 4 bulbs inside, will essentially give you something very close to the Godox SL60 in terms of output for your key light. I've actually used that cheap setup for a interview video where I was fighting some sunlight, and yet it still did quite well. (medium shot)
Hope this further helps!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Thanks so much for taking the time to help me out with this - I just clicked through your affiliate links and am purchasing the lights and lighting setups, getting a bounce as well. Thanks again so much, you've got yourself a lifelong fan. Keep on rocking and hopefully we'll meet again on a job someday!
Wow! Really appreciate your great review! Keep up !
Hey hey Pergear!
I'm so glad you enjoyed this review! I will continue to do my best! Thank you as always for giving me the opportunity to do these tests and make these reviews to give as much information to creatives as possible!
@@TLDR_filmmaker My pleasure, thanks fror your great content.
nice as always
Hey hey again D Gemini!
Thanks for checking out another video! I will continue to do my best!
Nice one! Keep up the good job 👍
Hey hey again Aristomenis!
Always appreciate your comments! I for sure will! More interesting content coming!
Aren't the Glow EZ Lock soft boxes from Adorama a better value and essentially the same thing?
Hey hey again newfoundmass!
By golly they are pretty much the same thing with slight differences! I wonder if the current price at Adorama is a sale price? But it looks like the EZ Glow has one extra piece that helps split the hotspot even further than the Laofas does, that extra metal concave piece that you can use in two different orientations. I believe that piece is used for photography flashes to really try and even it out, not sure if it would have a slight different effect with constant LED lighting. I can't think that it would aside from lowering the overall output a little because the light now has another stage of bounce reflection and travel before it gets to the final stage of diffusion.
One thing is for sure, the EZ Lock system looks like it just opens like an umbrella, no need to click clack anything! Do you have one of these systems? If I remember correctly I believe you and your significant other did photography primarily with some video here and there. How has the EZ lock system held up so far?
Hope all is well my friend, stay safe and healthy!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Hey again! I actually got myself one of the EZ Glow softboxes last year for Christmas with my Godox SL-60W. Haven't had much chance to use it since, due to the pandemic, but so far the EZ Lock system's worked fine for me. The biggest hold up I personally have with it is that it gets a bit finicky to close when I'm breaking it down and it always creates a sort of "pop" like sound. Nothing serious or damaging as far as I can tell, just prone to being a bit spooky if you're the one breaking it down.
I'd actually love to see your thoughts on the EZ Glow softbox, TLDR Filmmaker, and see how it compares to the Laofas. The EZ Glow is definitely a bit cheaper (I got mine for around $80 last year), but it'd be interesting to see if it has any weaknesses compared to the Laofas!
VERY helpful. Thank you.
Hey hey Toni!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
I'm so glad this video was helpful! I will continue to do my best with my content!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Thanks...good info!
Hey hey again The Corbett Music Group!
You're most welcome!
Thanks for the video? Could you tell me the diameter on the Bowen’s mount when folded?
I want to know whether this fits into my large light stand bag.
Hey hey Zero Gravity!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
I would say it's about 8 inches.
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
I've tried undoing the umbrella and could not get it to collapse. Watched you and will try again later. I'm beat right now after a 10 hr. Shoot (I'm a one man band). Is there something other than pulling on the ends i gotta do. I swear I tried what you demonstrated here and got no where.
Hey hey JCINE!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
The trick for me when collapsing this setup is I have my thumbs on the release button, with my other fingers I grab onto the black flex rods (Grabbing opposite side to make tear down faster and more leverage). From there I push my thumb down while also pulling my other fingers up on the rods to give the release button less work to unlatch. Using this leverage you just pop pop pop in a circle and you'll be collapsed in no time.
Hope this helps! God bless you doing a solo 10hr shoot, I know the feeling my friend. Hope you were able to get some good deserved rest! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Do you think it is safe to keep the layers of diffusion on when packing it away?
Hey hey Goodco Studios!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
In theory it should be fine, but me I don't do it because it feels hard to get the softbox into its carrying case, so thats why I take it off when packing away.
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
Oh wow, can you help me answering this, the YT creators mainly use parabolic shape 36" soft box for video shooting but there is not a single video explaining why?, as there is octagonal shape soft boxes too which are less deep at cheap price for video shooting, Is there any difference between two?
Hey hey The Shopper!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
So the part where I talk about the "eye light" being a perfect circle, thats something people like. However if you look at my talking head part where I'm just speaking at the camera. You'll still see an eye light, but that softbox is actually a rectangle. Now if I never told you that and you now went to look at it, you'd probably never know and wouldn't care. However if you were to do a very close up shot of someones face, then you'll probably want to use a parabolic to get a perfect circle (Think high end portrait pictures). The Octagonal ones are the in-between, not quite square, not quite round.
The last bit is how a light will fall off based on the laminated surfaces shape, how it wraps around something. A Circle will wrap around more subtly than a square so your shadows will look more calm.
Hope this helps and gives you an idea! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker ohh wow thanks again.
You're most welcome!
Hi, I need a little help and was thinking you would be the perfect person to ask. So I share a studio with a photographer. he uses flash for his work while I use continuous lights for interviews. Our setups are very similar except for the flash vs continuous lights that we have to constantly swap out (limited space). You wouldn't happen to know of any solutions that would be like a flash continuous light combo?
Hey hey again S Singh!
Hmm... I'm not too aware of a combo light that can provide both functionalities. My guess is because whats good enough for a videographer may not be enough for a photographer who wants to use a faster shutter speed. The only thing I can think of at the moment is determining if the Godox SL300, Aputure 300, and Nanlite forza 500 is something that would be enough for your photographer friend. The 300w and 500w is a very fun light for videographers who want to bring the sun indoors, and in theory it should be enough for a photographer to get a decent shutter speed, but thats something you two will have to discuss together.
The reason I'm thinking this route is because even if there is a flash unit that gives the photographer what they need, the continuous light may not offer as much for the videographer since flashes are for a quick burst and the continuous portion of the light is usually fractions of that and very low just so the photographer has an idea what the shadows are going to be like when the flash goes off. Where as if the 300w to 500w is enough for both of your, the photographer gains the added benefit that he and the portrait subjects won't be temporarily blinded by a bunch of flashing lights, it will just stay constant and they can work normally.
Thats all I can think of, hope this helps!
Does the Godox UL150 have rossett locks?
Hey hey again Shaheed!
It does with a rubber washer inbetween that can be removed if desired.
I believe Neewer also have similar softbox, can you compare them?
Hey hey Victor!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
Neewer has two different versions, one is cheaper than this one, and the other is more expensive. Both of them will most or less give the same result as the Laofas as the design is pretty standard unless their diffusion material is slightly different. If it is, it may either just let out or cut out a little more light, not enough to consider one being better than the other.
The expensive one has the same click clack system as the Laofas, and the cheaper one is the one I talked about in the video where its very difficult to setup quickly. Thats pretty much about it, a similar softbox will only have differences in terms of design and how it opens up etc. The Difference of how the light shines through it is more dependent on the COB LED than the softbox itself.
Hope this makes sense! Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
@@TLDR_filmmaker Thank you so much for replying with a long answer, love your channel!!
You're most welcome! I will continue to do my best with my content!
But can I go outside and use it as an umbrella in the rain?
S Singh, you can technically use an Arri Camera as an umbrella but that doesn't mean its gonna be a good idea haha!
I think my Amazon Canada is finally gonna go through, these last couple videos have seemed to work and some Canadians are getting to the products I'm talking about. Hopefully it holds up! Hope are you doing over there?
Hey!! Am I the only one that tears it down without removing the diffusion?
Hey hey Pavel!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and asking a question!
Probably not, I have collapsed the softbox with the diffusion still inside, but because of how I prefer to open the softbox back up, id have to move the diffusion anyways. So I just make the habit of folding it back up neatly when I store away the softbox in its case.
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
All of the sizes are backordered 🤦🏻♂️
Hey hey sig310!
Thank you so much for checking out this video and commenting!
Already?! Holy cow! What size were you gonna get? Hope you'll be able to get one soon!
Thanks again for stopping by! Stay safe, healthy, and I’ll see you in the next one!
just like aputures soft box
Hey hey again Henri!
It's pretty close, the only thing missing is the Magnetic Gel Holder. That woulda been nice to see on the Laofas, but I can't say I'll be using color gels as much these days. We all know one of these days there will be a powerful RGB COB Led to eliminate the need for the gels.