Hair Light 8" X 36" Softbox + Grid + Speedring for Alien Bees Alienbees B400 B800 B1600 White Lightning X800 X1600 Einstein E640

My photography space is very small, which makes controlling light spill difficult at times. This gridded strip box does an excellent job, letting me direct the light where I want, without excess spill. It does a great job as a hair light (as advertised), but you can use it anytime you want a high contrast light source with dramatic shadows. It's a great value at $50, I bought two!This strip box is very well built, with thick material covering the outside and the reflective inside. The inner and outer baffles are typical diffusion material, but not bad. There are two heat vent flaps, one on each side, to help keep things cool. The grid is really well done, made from thick material. The metal rods and speed ring are all high quality. Overall, the materials are top notch.Putting everything together was a tough at first, I believe this was because I tried following the terrible instructions. I ignored the instructions and just decided to "wing it", and had it assembled in about 10 minutes. Once assembled, everything is very rigid. I'm not sure how well it would withstand constant assembly / disassembly, so I just leave mine assembled...not a huge problem, since they are so compact.I'm using these strip boxes with White Lightning X1600s, the speedring fits perfectly with no play, and they rotate freely when needed. I haven't noticed any odd color casts in my use, but YMMV, do a custom WB and you'll be covered.This is an excellent product, if you're in the market for a strip box / hair light, this is a great solution.

I purchased 2 of these and really wanted the Paul Bluff folding version, for the price though, this was a good deal. Since they are small enough and easy to transport I decided to give them a try. They arrived in good shape and everything was in the carrying case which is basically a cheap plastic style bag.It does take a little effort to put these together as mentioned in other reviews and I will not be taking them apart, to much of a hassle. The quality of the materials is very good, Paul Bluff version is a little nicer based on the other items I have purchased for them. These do the trick and control the light nicely. I'm glad I bought 2 of them.If you are not sure if you should by these, it comes down to taking them apart. If you travel a lot and need to be flexible, pay the extra money for the foldable Paul bluff version from alien bees. If you don't mind keeping them put together, this way you don't have the hassle of taking them apart nd putting them back together again get these. You will be happy with either one.

It's quite a bit better than the FotoDiox version. The material is a bit thicker, the base ring has four tighten screws instead of two. The Egg Crate is much better material. It has instructions that are generic, and don't really match up. But it's not complicated to put together. It's a real solid unit. It's not the easiest to put together, but none of these types are. I will leave mine assembled. The speed ring can be removed, and swapped out if you have other standardized rings, you should be able to fit into this. I have a speed-light ring, that fits just fine. So I can use it with my Einstein or one of my Yongnuo flashes.My photo shows the four thumb screws you remove to change out the adapter plate. Also I found it easiest by sliding in the locking insert into the open slot as the last of the four poles. Also shown is how the internal diffuser attaches, and the ample Velcro section.

I've had it for about a year. The seams on the diffusion are coming apart a little even though it rarely leaves the studio. I am happy that shooting thru it does not seem to affect the color of the light. It's a bargain for a studio shooter, but I fear it would not last long for location shooters who have to collapse and reassemble often. It also is not easy to break down and reassemble, so I just keep it assembled.

4 stars as I've not used them yet. Got it fast (as usual). I unpackaged and put 2 of these together in about 10/12 minutes.*If you've had issues setting up.The rods larger end that goes into the speed ring and smaller end goes into the corner of the box. Familiar softbox construction where it seems your going to break the rods when setting up :-). It may have been a little more difficult because of it's small size. You can mount the box on your light to finish. If you try to do this with the speed ring mounted to your light you risk the chance of breaking your modeling light or, worse, the flashtube. The rest is fairly simple. However, note the angle of the eggcrate, it's tapered a bit so the velcro should point outward when installing. I like the wide lip around the edge. It's a nicely built modifier especially for the cost.

I am impressed. The speedring is solid, strip & grid are very effective. Setup for the stripbox was fairly easy and quick. The grid takes a little more time to get it perfect -- just keep the velcro matched up. Grid works well, in my opinion. Color temp warms 200-300 deg. Kelvin, as expected for any softbox, but also lowers green by about 1/8 minusgreen gel. I measured 1 stop lower versus the 7" reflector on my AB800, which was better than I expected. Thus, Inside is very reflective. Bottom-line: no regrets, great quality, better value than name brands.

I have wanted a strip box for a while now, and the price on this one seemed right, especially since the eggcrate came with it. This SB is well built and very sturdy, and the eggcrate is very well made. It did take a bit of effort to get together, as all standard softboxes do, but it was not as difficult as some seem to make it. I do plan on leaving this one built, but since it doesn't take up much space, storage is no problem. Some speedrings you find on Amazon fit Alien bees a bit loosely, but this one fits nice and tight. I would have no fears of it falling off if I mount it on an overhead boom. Overall, it's a great stripbox!