Soft Boxes for Flashpoint 1000w Hot Light?

[Fatalv]

Hi,

I'm a lighting newbie and have been searching around for some softboxes/diffusion for two flashpoint 1000 watt tungsten hot lights I have. The hot lights have worked well (for the price) for a product photography shoot I did with a custom light box I built.

I would like to be able to use these lights for some portrait shots of my fiance. Adorama has these softboxes listed as flashpoint accessories http://www.adorama.com/FPSBPZ2436.html but I'm wondering how well these would work since the lights get rather hot. I'd very much like to prevent the chance of a fire happening in my studio room

Is it possible to use softboxes with constant output lights like these? Any other good options for me? I'd really like to get into some Alien Bee lighting down the road when I have more $$ but right now the budget is very limited.

Thanks in advance for all the insight!

[TrumpetPower!]

The thought of putting a kilowatt of heat into a softbox would scare the...shot out of me.

Paul C Buff ships the Einstein lights with both 250 and 150 watt modeling lamps, and strongly cautions against using the 250 watt lamps with any sort of modifier that restricts airflow -- and explicitly includes softboxes in that caution. In the case of the Einstein, the concern is over the unit overheating and shutting itself down before it can damage itself, not over fire.

But a kilowatt? I've seen hairdryers with less heating power -- and you want to put that into a softbox? Hell, I've seen toaster ovens that don't draw that much....

And, safety aside, there's another factor at play. Even a kilowatt bulb isn't anywhere near as bright as a flash, and a softbox can suck up a good amount of light. Even if you did figure out a way to put that torch into a softbox without burning down the house, I don't think you're going to be very happy with the results.

My advice? Splurge for the $280 for a B800. (Actually, I'd advise saving up a bit longer to get the $500 Einstein, but the B800 is still a superlative light.) If nothing else, think of it as a dirt-cheap fire rider on your homeowner's policy.

Cheers,

b&

[Lawliet]

Is it possible to use softboxes with constant output lights like these?

Sure, movie people do it all the time. Chimera and Photoflex make softboxes that are rated in the multi-kilowatt range. They...aren't exactly cheap though.
Perhaps using V-flats as bouncers to create semidirectional area light would be an option?

[Fatalv]

The thought of putting a kilowatt of heat into a softbox would scare the...shot out of me.

Paul C Buff ships the Einstein lights with both 250 and 150 watt modeling lamps, and strongly cautions against using the 250 watt lamps with any sort of modifier that restricts airflow -- and explicitly includes softboxes in that caution. In the case of the Einstein, the concern is over the unit overheating and shutting itself down before it can damage itself, not over fire.

But a kilowatt? I've seen hairdryers with less heating power -- and you want to put that into a softbox? Hell, I've seen toaster ovens that don't draw that much....

And, safety aside, there's another factor at play. Even a kilowatt bulb isn't anywhere near as bright as a flash, and a softbox can suck up a good amount of light. Even if you did figure out a way to put that torch into a softbox without burning down the house, I don't think you're going to be very happy with the results.

My advice? Splurge for the $280 for a B800. (Actually, I'd advise saving up a bit longer to get the $500 Einstein, but the B800 is still a superlative light.) If nothing else, think of it as a dirt-cheap fire rider on your homeowner's policy.

Cheers,

b&

This was exactly my concern. I don't know why they have those softboxes listed as accessories. My honest opinion was that the thing wouldn't last more than 15 min before catching fire. I wanted to check cause I really haven't used much lighting equipment other than the flashpoints for some product photography.

Looks like I'll be doing some research into the Alien Bee gear mentioned. Thanks!

[Helen Oster]

Hi,

I'm a lighting newbie and have been searching around for some softboxes/diffusion for two flashpoint 1000 watt tungsten hot lights I have. The hot lights have worked well (for the price) for a product photography shoot I did with a custom light box I built.

I would like to be able to use these lights for some portrait shots of my fiance. Adorama has these softboxes listed as flashpoint accessories http://www.adorama.com/FPSBPZ2436.html but I'm wondering how well these would work since the lights get rather hot. I'd very much like to prevent the chance of a fire happening in my studio room

Is it possible to use softboxes with constant output lights like these? Any other good options for me? I'd really like to get into some Alien Bee lighting down the road when I have more $$ but right now the budget is very limited.

Thanks in advance for all the insight!

This will work with the softbox; I'm told that it was tested for 20 minutes and using a 1000 watt bulb. Do email me directly if you need any other information: Helen@adorama.com