I have the same 48 inch EZ Glow softbox which I bought used in 2019 and it’s still going strong. I’ve used it for weddings and sessions and the light quality is magic. For budget friendly options, look no further. I don’t think the cost of the Westcott justifies the extra cost when the Adorama brands work just as well.
It's interesting because I'm a landscape photographer getting into portrait photography and I'm gonna use this analogy and people may disagree. Often. I saw people buying the most expensive tripod in the world and I used to say to them your tripod really only needs to do one thing and I would look at me physically and ask what is that thing...... it needs to keep the camera still..... you can have 1 million features on a tripod but it must keep the camera still. I actually have come to the same conclusion quite quickly with soft boxes..... they need to do one thing and that's let light through and diffuse the light. If the soft box you are using does that well it's fine. Honestly you could probably buy the most expensive soft box and I will argue that or have minimal difference in your image quality the lens you use on the camera probably has got more to do with that than the actual soft box. Remember the soft box is for light not image quality.. sure different sizes and shapes will have an impact but in general terms I don't believe you need to spend the most expensive soft boxes to get a decent set up.
I have a ridiculous amount of Glow EZ Lock modifiers and I've never had any issue with the Bowens mount and I've put these modifiers on well over a dozen different lights. I'm thinking you just got a bad one (I have two of those strip boxes).
I hope you can see this. I have seen that the glow ez lock octa 48 tends to fail when I comes to the rods, mostly breaking down. Is it a common failure?
@@oscarmolina8178 I have the 48” octa and deep para and neither have suffered any failures, nor do they have any noticeable wear. I use the 48” octa quite a bit too. But, they are budget modifiers so if you’re rough with them, you’ll be more likely to encounter some issues.
Excellent video. I was shopping around for my first few Softbox modifiers and B&H has a bunch of Godox products that are poorly rated. I found out about this Glow EZ brand from another product photographer on UA-cam and glad I came across your video. This helps reinforce my decision to purchase Glow EZ soft boxes over the plethora of options on the market.
@@LarimoreStudios Got mine today and aligning/removing the center plate from the center rod is a little tricky but beats other softboxes where you have to attach each individual rod to the mount. I also saw there is an improved version called the ParaSnap where you just close or open the mount on the back to assemble it even faster. The only problem is that the ParaSnap is double the cost of the EZ Lock version but that might be worth it to a professional who needs absolute speed.
Thanks for your video. To me, if you even get half as much use out of the cheaper model, you are still coming out twice ahead and you can buy a replacement when you need one. I have a smaller Westcott softbox that I purchased when I first started to get into them and it is fine, but it has some issues now, and when I went to price the grid, I realized that I could get a bigger softbox from another company with a grid for less than the price of the grid! Just not worth it! What I look for now is the umbrella style--I have a Godox rectangular softbox that I purchased early on, and it has the rods, and they do bend and the diffuser never sits on the front perfectly as a result. And it is a real pain to open and close, so I just leave it open and at home if I have to go anywhere!
also the damage is done with them setting them up and closing them down all the time. I have come up with a much simple solution and what I do is I have a nice big trolley and I don't take my soft boxes down at all once they are constructed, they stay constructed and I just put everything in my wheelie trolley. My camera bag goes on my backpack and I just walk in with a nice big trolley and it's really simple to do kind of like a big beach trolley actually that I've adapted and the trolley itself folds down in the back of my car I would suggest to people that it's a good idea not to be pulling apart and resetting up your soft boxes all the time as that is where the wear and tear will occur.
I'm curious whether constantly ripping the diffuser and grid off is actually more likely to cause damage than leaving it on, there must be SOME amount of strain when you do that. Does anyone know?
That is a good point. It does add strain when pulling it off. Honestly, they probably don't make a huge amount of difference either way. We have been leaving the diffusion on but we take the grid off
Great video! Any chance for an update as its been 2 years since this went up?
I have the same 48 inch EZ Glow softbox which I bought used in 2019 and it’s still going strong. I’ve used it for weddings and sessions and the light quality is magic. For budget friendly options, look no further.
I don’t think the cost of the Westcott justifies the extra cost when the Adorama brands work just as well.
I have definitely been impressed with them and enjoy them!
It's interesting because I'm a landscape photographer getting into portrait photography and I'm gonna use this analogy and people may disagree. Often. I saw people buying the most expensive tripod in the world and I used to say to them your tripod really only needs to do one thing and I would look at me physically and ask what is that thing...... it needs to keep the camera still..... you can have 1 million features on a tripod but it must keep the camera still. I actually have come to the same conclusion quite quickly with soft boxes..... they need to do one thing and that's let light through and diffuse the light. If the soft box you are using does that well it's fine. Honestly you could probably buy the most expensive soft box and I will argue that or have minimal difference in your image quality the lens you use on the camera probably has got more to do with that than the actual soft box. Remember the soft box is for light not image quality.. sure different sizes and shapes will have an impact but in general terms I don't believe you need to spend the most expensive soft boxes to get a decent set up.
Thank you for the helpful and informative video! Good luck!
I have a ridiculous amount of Glow EZ Lock modifiers and I've never had any issue with the Bowens mount and I've put these modifiers on well over a dozen different lights. I'm thinking you just got a bad one (I have two of those strip boxes).
Thanks for your feedback!
I hope you can see this. I have seen that the glow ez lock octa 48 tends to fail when I comes to the rods, mostly breaking down. Is it a common failure?
@@oscarmolina8178 I have the 48” octa and deep para and neither have suffered any failures, nor do they have any noticeable wear. I use the 48” octa quite a bit too. But, they are budget modifiers so if you’re rough with them, you’ll be more likely to encounter some issues.
Excellent video. I was shopping around for my first few Softbox modifiers and B&H has a bunch of Godox products that are poorly rated. I found out about this Glow EZ brand from another product photographer on UA-cam and glad I came across your video. This helps reinforce my decision to purchase Glow EZ soft boxes over the plethora of options on the market.
So glad it was helpful! We still use them all the time and love them!
@@LarimoreStudios Got mine today and aligning/removing the center plate from the center rod is a little tricky but beats other softboxes where you have to attach each individual rod to the mount. I also saw there is an improved version called the ParaSnap where you just close or open the mount on the back to assemble it even faster. The only problem is that the ParaSnap is double the cost of the EZ Lock version but that might be worth it to a professional who needs absolute speed.
Will these work for Godox ad400pro?
Very clear review.
Thanks!
Thanks for your video. To me, if you even get half as much use out of the cheaper model, you are still coming out twice ahead and you can buy a replacement when you need one. I have a smaller Westcott softbox that I purchased when I first started to get into them and it is fine, but it has some issues now, and when I went to price the grid, I realized that I could get a bigger softbox from another company with a grid for less than the price of the grid! Just not worth it! What I look for now is the umbrella style--I have a Godox rectangular softbox that I purchased early on, and it has the rods, and they do bend and the diffuser never sits on the front perfectly as a result. And it is a real pain to open and close, so I just leave it open and at home if I have to go anywhere!
6 months now. How did the cheaper did?
The softboxes are working great and are in perfect condition still!
Another 6 months, how are the Glows holding up? @@LarimoreStudios
Holding up great!@@PatricSleightholm
@@LarimoreStudios How is it holding up after 1.5 years?
@@tojadmka they are great! Still use them all the time and love the grids
also the damage is done with them setting them up and closing them down all the time. I have come up with a much simple solution and what I do is I have a nice big trolley and I don't take my soft boxes down at all once they are constructed, they stay constructed and I just put everything in my wheelie trolley. My camera bag goes on my backpack and I just walk in with a nice big trolley and it's really simple to do kind of like a big beach trolley actually that I've adapted and the trolley itself folds down in the back of my car I would suggest to people that it's a good idea not to be pulling apart and resetting up your soft boxes all the time as that is where the wear and tear will occur.
I'm curious whether constantly ripping the diffuser and grid off is actually more likely to cause damage than leaving it on, there must be SOME amount of strain when you do that. Does anyone know?
That is a good point. It does add strain when pulling it off. Honestly, they probably don't make a huge amount of difference either way. We have been leaving the diffusion on but we take the grid off
This could have been a 3 minute video.
Got same problem i got so mad 😆😆