Fotodiox 48" Ez-Pro Solutions Octobox Review

I've been in the need for an octobox for a while. I wanted something light weight and easy to put up and break down because I'd like to use it on location shoots. I was ready to order a Paul C. Buff umbrella style octobox when I came across the Fotodiox Pro Studio EZ-Pro 48" Octobox. I have a $500 gift certificate to Amazon and at $85, half the price of the PCB, I went for it.

Here is a link to it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EWKPME/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It arrived the day before yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. It comes in a carrying bag with a draw string. I was happy with the weight of it and that it folds down to a pretty compact size. So far so good. Took it out of the back and again, not disappointed.

The octobox material seems pretty durable. It's made of a pretty think nylon material with nicely stitch seems. Here are some shots of the outside of the box:





What I was even more impressed with was how easy it was to open and close the box and the construction of the rib supports. Seems very freaking solid. It's as easy to open and close as an umbrella. The ribs are made of what appears to be stranded fiberglass, kind of like a fishing pole. I don't see this thing breaking.

Here is a shot of the inside support. You can see how its just like an umbrella:



The inside of the box is a silver reflective material, just like most boxes. It comes with a parabolic reflector-like attachment that slides onto the middle strut (next pic). Admittedly, it's made of thick plastic and doesn't seem as well made as the rest of the box but no biggie. I consider it an extra.

The idea is that you can use the box like a giant beauty dish. You can move the parabolic reflector forward and back so you can focus the light. Haven't tried it yet to see how it affects the light output but I will.





It comes with an inner and out diffuser. Both attach via velcro. Again, velcro seems to be attached to the box very well and I don't see any issue with it peeling or anything.

Inner Diffuser:


Outer Diffuser:


I put the box to the test earlier today. Took a few shots of my wife. Used my Alien Bee AB800 with it.

I had the octobox set on camera left, just outside frame and about a foot above her head. It was metered at f/10. For fill I used a large, round white reflector on camera right, again, just outside the frame.

In these first two shots, I had an AB400 in a large gridded strip box behind and to camera right as a kicker. It was metered at f/5.6.





In this 3rd shot, I added another AB400 with the same gridded strip box on the left. This one was metered at f/7.1.



The box shoots a little cooler than my other boxes but not so much that it will create mix light problem. I easily corrected it with a custom white balance off a gray card. The light quality is very nice. Really even, soft light and the light fall-off is quite pleasing.

In summary, I'm really impressed with this octobox. Honestly, I'd pay quite a bit more for it. They also sell a smaller and larger 60" octobox that I'm probably going to order. Highly recommend this to anyone that does portraiture with off camera lighting.