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Cheetahstand QBox 16
divamum
Registered Users Posts: 9,021 Major grins
Following extended discussion in this thread, I decided to give the Qbox 16 a try. I also bought one of their "pocket" folding lightstands.
First impressions are extremely favourable. While the softbox isn't made of quite such thick ballistic nylon as the similar-design Lastolite EZbox, it certainly doesn't feel cheap (and, for the record, the main rectangular case it all comes in feels like exactly the same nylon as the EZbox).
It folds down into a triangle bag, and that can then be folded AGAIN to fit into a small circular bag; it arrives packed down to its smallest size. It pops open like a reflector to reveal the triangular form. (sorry, no pictures of this, but the product shots on the Cheetahstand website are an accurate representation of the product)
The bracket is easy to slot in to the frame of the box, and the ballhead is a lot chunkier than I was expecting it to be! I was expecting something more along the lines of a maghead. While it's not as strong/heavy as (for instance) the Manfrotto ballhead I use on my monopod, it is a LOT heavier and bigger than the maghead. Probably somewhere between those two, if that gives a sense of the size and weight.
ETA: by adjusting the orientation of the flash on the bracket it's possible to seat it closer to the ring itself; a bigger flash (ie a 580ex) would have no problem at all. The bracket can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally. I suspect it's exaclty the right depth for the largest speedlights around (eg 580ex), but the head on my 430ex doesn't extend entirely into the box even when I've adjusted it so it's as close as it will go; not sure if this is normal for this kind of setup, or if it's because my flash is small. I don't consider it a big problem, although I might make a black foam "sock" to avoid lightspill.
(rubbish shot - sorry - flash on camera didn't pop!)
You can see the placement of the tightening screw is a touch awkward, but it's a nice big and easy-to-grip nut - not one of these small fiddly ones. Not a problem (and once I have it adjusted, I expect to leave it in place). For the record, the bracket separates into two pieces (ring+vertical bracket/ballhead+horizontal bracket) so it can be packed flat inside the main carrying pouch.
Here's a shot of the inside - the material is the same as the popup reflectors I have. The inner diffusion panel is snapped onto elastics attached to the box itself.
The included grid is what sold me on this product, and I am not disappointed! GREAT idea to include. It velcros easily into place (as does the front diffusion panel). Wide velcro on the box makes it easy to attach where you need it. The grid is made of some sort of heavy-duty interwoven material (interfacing, to any sewers out there) but it's entirely adequate for the job it needs to do.
The "pocket" stand is great value for money at $35. (I assume it's a similar design to the Manfrotto folding stand, although I have not seen one of those in the flesh and thus can't compare.). The legs fold UPWARD instead of down to make it an extremely portable piece of gear to take on location (that's an iPhone next to it, for scale):
It can extend to 7ft. The nice thing is that the legs can splay out to their full length (ie so the column is essentially touching the ground) which means you can make it pretty stable despite the fact that it's fairly lightweight:
This also means you can make it really short, so it can work easily as a bg stand as well as full-size.
I would have no worries using it with a speedlight with the legs raised a bit, especially with a weight.I use ankle weights with all my stands - the nice thing with this is that it's small enough I can just slide them down the shaft - don't have to velcro or mess with them. It would NOT be suitable for a heavy studio strobe, but since that's not my intended use... no problem for me :thumb (ankle weights NOT included!)
ETA: just realised that if you extend the bottom sections first, the stand is even stronger (the tubes are increasingly smaller so they can telescope into the one below it). This may be obvious, but I didn't realise it until I was setting it up just now - if you extend the bottom ones first, it feels very substantial (especially with an added weight at the base) given how light it is to carry :thumb
One nice touch is that, unlike my other lightstands, the stud has a rubbber/plastic cover - when the umbrella adapter/bracket is seated, it's more secure because it's a tighter "softer" fit. No rattling around.
Conclusions:
THE STAND is a small miracle, actually - for somebody like me who is often schlepping stuff around and has major storage issues (and no permanent studio or storage space) it's close to perfect. I would NOT recommend it for heavy studio strobes, and I definitely feel it's more solid using it with a weight, but if you want small, portable and cheap, it's a great stand.
THE SOFTBOX is not made of quite such high-end materials as its EZBox competitor, but it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy, either. Unless you anticipate opening and closing the box many times a day (ie a full-time pro on location every day), then I think the quality is absolutely sufficient. Seams are well-stitched and the materials are fine. The only possible reservation I could have is that the ends of the elastics that hold the inner dffuser in place aren't fray-stopped, but it's easy enough to do that (any sewing store has fray-stop - I have some here and will touch it up while it's new, before it has a chance to start)
BIG thumbs up for the included double diffusers, round mask (I won't use it, but it's a nice inclusion) and, most of all, THE GRID. Ideal for my purposes.
Given that stand and softbox - with all the brackets and extras - came to a grand total of $120 including shipping, first impression is that it's great value for money (obviously, only time will tell if it holds up in the longer term!)
One other thing: shipping was crazy fast. They sent me the shipping notification within two hours of ordering, and the item arrived exactly as scheduled. From that fast response - and the tone of their website - I would anticipate reasonable customer service if there were a problem (and reports of dealings with the company elsewhere suggest that is indeed the case).
First impressions are extremely favourable. While the softbox isn't made of quite such thick ballistic nylon as the similar-design Lastolite EZbox, it certainly doesn't feel cheap (and, for the record, the main rectangular case it all comes in feels like exactly the same nylon as the EZbox).
It folds down into a triangle bag, and that can then be folded AGAIN to fit into a small circular bag; it arrives packed down to its smallest size. It pops open like a reflector to reveal the triangular form. (sorry, no pictures of this, but the product shots on the Cheetahstand website are an accurate representation of the product)
The bracket is easy to slot in to the frame of the box, and the ballhead is a lot chunkier than I was expecting it to be! I was expecting something more along the lines of a maghead. While it's not as strong/heavy as (for instance) the Manfrotto ballhead I use on my monopod, it is a LOT heavier and bigger than the maghead. Probably somewhere between those two, if that gives a sense of the size and weight.
ETA: by adjusting the orientation of the flash on the bracket it's possible to seat it closer to the ring itself; a bigger flash (ie a 580ex) would have no problem at all. The bracket can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally. I suspect it's exaclty the right depth for the largest speedlights around (eg 580ex), but the head on my 430ex doesn't extend entirely into the box even when I've adjusted it so it's as close as it will go; not sure if this is normal for this kind of setup, or if it's because my flash is small. I don't consider it a big problem, although I might make a black foam "sock" to avoid lightspill.
(rubbish shot - sorry - flash on camera didn't pop!)
You can see the placement of the tightening screw is a touch awkward, but it's a nice big and easy-to-grip nut - not one of these small fiddly ones. Not a problem (and once I have it adjusted, I expect to leave it in place). For the record, the bracket separates into two pieces (ring+vertical bracket/ballhead+horizontal bracket) so it can be packed flat inside the main carrying pouch.
Here's a shot of the inside - the material is the same as the popup reflectors I have. The inner diffusion panel is snapped onto elastics attached to the box itself.
The included grid is what sold me on this product, and I am not disappointed! GREAT idea to include. It velcros easily into place (as does the front diffusion panel). Wide velcro on the box makes it easy to attach where you need it. The grid is made of some sort of heavy-duty interwoven material (interfacing, to any sewers out there) but it's entirely adequate for the job it needs to do.
The "pocket" stand is great value for money at $35. (I assume it's a similar design to the Manfrotto folding stand, although I have not seen one of those in the flesh and thus can't compare.). The legs fold UPWARD instead of down to make it an extremely portable piece of gear to take on location (that's an iPhone next to it, for scale):
It can extend to 7ft. The nice thing is that the legs can splay out to their full length (ie so the column is essentially touching the ground) which means you can make it pretty stable despite the fact that it's fairly lightweight:
This also means you can make it really short, so it can work easily as a bg stand as well as full-size.
I would have no worries using it with a speedlight with the legs raised a bit, especially with a weight.I use ankle weights with all my stands - the nice thing with this is that it's small enough I can just slide them down the shaft - don't have to velcro or mess with them. It would NOT be suitable for a heavy studio strobe, but since that's not my intended use... no problem for me :thumb (ankle weights NOT included!)
ETA: just realised that if you extend the bottom sections first, the stand is even stronger (the tubes are increasingly smaller so they can telescope into the one below it). This may be obvious, but I didn't realise it until I was setting it up just now - if you extend the bottom ones first, it feels very substantial (especially with an added weight at the base) given how light it is to carry :thumb
One nice touch is that, unlike my other lightstands, the stud has a rubbber/plastic cover - when the umbrella adapter/bracket is seated, it's more secure because it's a tighter "softer" fit. No rattling around.
Conclusions:
THE STAND is a small miracle, actually - for somebody like me who is often schlepping stuff around and has major storage issues (and no permanent studio or storage space) it's close to perfect. I would NOT recommend it for heavy studio strobes, and I definitely feel it's more solid using it with a weight, but if you want small, portable and cheap, it's a great stand.
THE SOFTBOX is not made of quite such high-end materials as its EZBox competitor, but it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy, either. Unless you anticipate opening and closing the box many times a day (ie a full-time pro on location every day), then I think the quality is absolutely sufficient. Seams are well-stitched and the materials are fine. The only possible reservation I could have is that the ends of the elastics that hold the inner dffuser in place aren't fray-stopped, but it's easy enough to do that (any sewing store has fray-stop - I have some here and will touch it up while it's new, before it has a chance to start)
BIG thumbs up for the included double diffusers, round mask (I won't use it, but it's a nice inclusion) and, most of all, THE GRID. Ideal for my purposes.
Given that stand and softbox - with all the brackets and extras - came to a grand total of $120 including shipping, first impression is that it's great value for money (obviously, only time will tell if it holds up in the longer term!)
One other thing: shipping was crazy fast. They sent me the shipping notification within two hours of ordering, and the item arrived exactly as scheduled. From that fast response - and the tone of their website - I would anticipate reasonable customer service if there were a problem (and reports of dealings with the company elsewhere suggest that is indeed the case).
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Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
ETA: just went off to fiddle around with it more, and it is possible to get it seated closer to the ring by reversing it (tx John!). I don't think it will be a big problem
With a shoot through umbrella, somewhere around half your light ends up wherever it wants to go other than where you want it. It's certainly an improvement over direct, unmodified flash, but it's not as even as softbox light, not as controllable, and is wasteful of battery.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
thanks.
AZFred
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Zerodog, as soon as I've had a chance to use it on a subject, I'll add samples to this thread.
http://www.arkreations.com
Nikon D700 | D300 | D80 | SB-800(x2) | SB-600(x2)
Nikkor Lenses: 14-24 f/2.8 | 24-70 f/2.8 | 50 f/1.8 | 85 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8 VR II | 70-300 VR
Please share a couple of your shots when you put this box to use.
Bad news: one of the snaps on the inner diffuser cut through the fabric of the diffuser cloth (it hasn't frayed - it's a clean slice so I'm guessing the metal of the snap just cut right through the nylon)
Good news: within an hour of sending an email to Cheetah describing the problem, I had a reply saying they were sending me out a replacement inner diffuser.
Edward's reputation for customer service was one of the reasons I gave the product a try, and he's certainly living up to what I had heard/read.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
s e r v i c e ~
Has anyone tried this with a pocketwizard FlexTT5 on. I agree, I'm not too thrilled about the space between flash and speed ring, even though it might be a simple fix.
R.
Cheetah offer another bracket for those using PWs etc - it allows you to put them on their own coldshoe. http://www.cheetahstand.com/servlet/the-126/Cheetah-Wing-for-Qbox24/Detail
I'd definitely go 24. The 580 has truckloads of power. And a 16" SB is IMO too limiting.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
This appears as though it would work IF your not using the AC5 sock with its included "hotshoe foot". The "foot" on top of the remote cable would not fit, it would be too tall.
This should work fine with a 430EXII and TT5 (with remote cable), as this flash doesn't produce much RF interference, you wouldn't need to use the AC5 sock and foot.