Review OctoDome Extra Small Kit by Photoflex

 

Assembled with grid attached.
Assembled with grid attached.

When you’re a photographer especially one who does portraiture, there’s no such thing as having too many light modifiers.

They are, after all, the  brushes with which you use to paint your subjects.

If you work primarily on location, these light modifiers tend to take a beating from being set up, taken apart and then moved around.

I could have paid a lot less for a softbox for my Speedlite but experience has thought me if it’s a piece of equipment I use often, I’m better off buying one that is well made.

assembled-octoDome-rearviewPast purchases from Photoflex has shown their products cost more but the material and their metal fittings are made better than others.

There is a 5 year warranty on this OctoDome.

As a comparison, the cheapest softbox out there with comparable size is one from Cowboy studio–$42.

I paid $214 shipped.

And Photoflex’s main competitor in the same price range is Lastolite’s Ezybox Hotshoe Softbox Kit-24″x 24″.

Assembly

Putting together the OctoDome was straight-forward for me as it should be for anyone who has ever pitched a tent which uses metal ribs as the frame.

BUT the part which is sure to baffle, confound and frustrate you most is figuring out how to attaching the assembled OctoDome to the necessary brackets that came with the kit.

The ‘kit’ comes with a HeavyDuty Swivel and an Adjustable Shoe Mount.

You can buy these parts separately but you should just buy the kit.

Instructions

octoDome-front1octoDome-front2Yeah, read the instructions, right? How about this? There was none! Nada. Zilch.

What about just pictures, you might ask?

Everything I saw online were so tiny, I couldn’t tell how to attach the assembled OctoDome to the swivel.

Photoflex as a company makes very good products.

I own a few reflectors, reflector holders and I find their materials to be a lot better in quality than say the  made in China products you get from Cowboy studios.

octoDome-to-swivelYou get what you pay for.

But it took me close to an hour to figure out how to attach the OctoDome to the Adjustable Shoe Mount and then the Swivel.

Whoever you in the marketing department at Photoflex, you should take note.

When I was researching this purchase, all the pictures I found online were not helpful at all.

I wanted to know how the frame would attach to the swivel and the pictures I found were either too small or they didn’t show the necessary angle to inform a prospective buyer.

I’ve taken some stills to show the various parts and how it’s supposed to be set up.

The flyer brochure with poor photos that came with the kit didn’t help.

Hopefully Photoflex’s next customers can benefit from this.
Peter Phun Photography

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