14" x 55" Photography Strip softbox for Alien Bees Alienbees Speedring Strip Beehive Softbox Grid AB35140GD

Trying to use the speedring is a problem. The speed ring doesn't match the tutorials. (I was watching the one on ePhoto's web site) It's an entirely different ring. The tutorial says to insert rod into off center hole while showing two holes next to each other. The ring I have has flats going around the edge with holes centered on each flat. I can't do the very thing ePhoto says to do.For right now, since I cannot use it, I'm giving it 1 star. If I can figure out how to use it I may change it but this is inexcusable.EDIT: The problem turned out to be the tutorial. As I mentioned the speed ring I got was not the same as what was shown in the tutorial. Once I dismissed the tutorial and worked on it myself, I got the box together. The softbox actually fit this ring like a glove. Virtually no bleed through at all. It fit fine over the AB fingers. When I released the calipers, the fingers expanded and fit the whole unit snugly. After reading the horror stories of others, I was expecting nothing close to the fit I was seeing. It's possible that the ring in the tutorial is the one everyone has had trouble with meaning that it's a good thing the ring I got was different than what they were showing. And the issue with the off center hole? Given that each flat has only one hole you are required to use a centered hole. Whatever design they were using to demonstrate the assembly of the box it was unnecessarily complicated.When I can, I will upload pics of the ring and the assembly to show how well everything fits. If they are shipping their boxes with this ring instead of what's in their video, they ought to address that. The quality of the material is very good and it's well made. The stitching is solid. I am using this in my home studio and do not intend to disassemble it. Everything is nice and tight but it would be a pain to have to take the box apart and reassemble it repeatedly. It would likely greatly lessen the product life as well.I was going to give it 4 stars (up from the one I initially gave it) because I thought it should lose 1 star for a God awful tutorial (it doesn't come with assembly instructions) but it really fits so well I decided to give it the full 5 stars. But ePhoto...reshoot that damned tutorial! Again, I'll be posting photos so people can see for themselves how well it all came together.

I needed two strip boxes for an upcoming studio session and contemplated renting some from a local business. I have two small strip boxes by Photoflex, but they are not large enough for a studio dance shoot. There were no reviews of this strip box, but because Amazon has such an amazing return policy I was willing to see if the product would meet my needs. I can only compare this unit to Photoflex softboxes since they are the only ones I've used and own.The main unit's material is of good grade and unlike my Photoflex units it is lined with a silver material rather than white. The inner baffle is attached to elastic loops via small and inexpensive clips, much like the clips I use to use when making my own lanyards. The outer baffle attached via hook and loop fastener along the perimeter of the baffle. The recess of the baffle is about 1.5 inches which is great for feathering the light. The included grid attaches via hook and loop as well. The depth of the grid is about 1 inch which is a bit shallow compared to my Photoflex grids, which are about 1.5 inches deep.The rods which support the unit do not go into sewn channels like the Photoflex units, but are captured at the edges and run inside the softbox. The included speed ring for my Paul Buff Einstein unit fits very well and is of a cast material with a rotating speed ring to allow rotation of the softbox while installed on a monolight. Unlike the Photoflex and Paul Buff speed rings, there are no grommets to allow smooth rotation of the softbox, but they work well enough.The baffles are about 1/3 stop in opacity versus Photoflex's 2/3 stop. The color cast of the baffles is the same as the Photoflex units which is very neutral. Each unit comes with a carry bag which is of the same quality as the Photoflex units. No instructions come with the units.When I first attempted to assemble the softboxes I could not locate the 'hole' at the edge of the corners until I discovered they are under the hook and loop material. One corner has a flap that allows one of the poles to exit through to the outside making disassembly easy. The other three do not.I would recommend this softbox based upon its value and build quality.

Is it as good as a top of the line strip box? No, but you would have to pay 4 or maybe 6 times the price to get that quality. I'm amazed that they are selling a box of this size at this price. The quality isn't bad at all - yes, it could be a bit better but it holds up quite well. I've had higher quality boxes that the pole ends broke off within a year - experienced photogs, you know what I'm talking about. Also, I've seen these boxes sell for at least twice the price and they didn't even have the decency to include an eggcrate, which this has. I've had this beast 2 years and it's holding up well. I'm going to buy another one for sure. So I still give it 5 stars because the price is insane for what you get and what you get is everything you need to do a professional shoot. fyi, I'm a professional photographer, so this is an educated opinion.Also, you don't need to watch a tutorial for this. First of all, you should know how to attach a speed ring. If you don't find a friend to show you. And on top of that, the speed ring that I received had markings on it to show you where to put the poles - it says "strip" as I recall. Logic and mechanical skills are a marvelous thing.

I loved the idea of this so much that i ignored the review which said it did not fit Paul C Buff White Lighting lights and therefore Alein Bees (which have same mount as they are made by same company). The ring is too large when mounted on light. This is false advertising.Oh well. Lesson learned. Returning to Amazon. I hope they fix the title on this product.