For Walt and everyone who was waiting with 'bated breath for the arrival of the Chinese knock-off Apollo Orb to Walker Studios ... it's here!
And the good news is that it works as advertised. I did a quick light test: it's very efficient, acting a lot like a parabolic reflector; it only loses a 1/3rd or 1/2 stop of light through the diffusion material. The light output is very uneven across the front surface -- 1-1/3 stop difference top-to-bottom -- but the same issue occurs with the real Westcott Apollo because of how high the flash ends up inside it. That can be fixed with a third-party umbrella/flash mount doohickey that puts the light close to the center, that I plan to get sometime. The octagonal diffusion material velcros into place easily and fits well. This Orbalike even comes with a cloth velcro-closing carrying-case/cover. No such thing came with the Apollo, oddly enough. It's ultra compact: folded-up in the case it's 29" x 6" x 1.5". The unknown at this point is how robust it is. It is made just like an inexpensive rain umbrella, but with a silvered interior and no handle. So it has ribs made of those light metal U-shaped channels that are easily twisted and eventually collapse. I don't expect this thing to last for years and years. But it feels very solid and rigid when open and should survive the odd stand tip-over. In comparison, the Westcott Apollo uses pairs of fiberglass rods, like fishing gear, carefully stitched into the fabric, and the silver interior is much brighter and more reflective. But this Orb-clone is $25 with shipping and the Westcott is $125. Next step: shoot with it. On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Walt <ldott...@gmail.com> wrote: > On 6/14/2013 8:24 AM, Bruce Walker wrote: >> >> Here's a recommendation for you. Last night I succumbed to LMA (light >> modifier addiction) and ordered a new softbox: >> >> http://www.ebay.com/itm/300896302632?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT >> >> This design is ideal for hotshoe flashes because it is very efficient, >> light weight, and behaves like an umbrella so all umbrella doodads >> work with it. With a multi-shoe you can put three flashes in it for >> big light. Put a high wattage CFL in it for video. Plus the octagon >> shape gives a round catch-light in eyes. It's a smaller knock-off of >> the Westcott Apollo Orb but is only $25 (free shipping) rather than >> $125. I just hope it doesn't fall apart too fast. It's shipping by >> rowboat from Shenzhen so don't expect a report on it for a while. > > That certainly looks like a pretty useful setup! I'll bookmark it and wait > until you have a chance to see if the build quality is reasonable. -- -bmw -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
