Profoto 254712 RFi 5-Feet Octa Softbox (Black)

This is a great Octa, and up to the usual standards Profoto is famous for. You'll spend more on this Octa than on some other brands, but the quality is worth it and it will take many years of use and abuse. I use this with my Profoto D1 monolights. I prefer the Octa for portraiture - the round shape creates a very natural-looking catchlight in the eyes. All things being equal, a 3x4 or 4x6 softbox will give the same quality of light, but having a square highlight looks unnatural to me; the round shape of an Octa is much more pleasing. I have both the 3' Octa and 5' Octa and they're both create very beautiful light. The 3 foot is great for portraiture, headshots, and head to waist shots; the 5' is ideal if you're doing full body shots. Before you buy this be sure to make sure you have room for it when set up; it's larger than many people think. Setup isn't difficult; it takes me about 5 minutes to insert the rods, attach the speed ring, and insert the inner and outer diffusers. When folded up it doesn't take up much room and is easy to store and transport. This Octa also has a soft grid available. It's not a necessary add-on, but helps focus the light and prevents spill for more precise control.

I have owned many softboxes and I have to say that this is the most annoying one that I have ever owned. I'll start off by saying the build quality is decent and it doesn't feel like it is going to fall apart anytime soon. the light quality is also decent, comparable to other octa's that I have used. but there is one thing that drives me nuts and makes me hate to have to pull this one out. Every other softbox I own has a continuous sleeve where the rods go in, you feed the rod from one end, slide it in and you are good to go. if you collapse the box, the rod might come out a few inches, but no big deal because you just push it back in easily. This Octa only has a loop at the halfway mark and then a pocket that the rod goes into. I guess they think that the pocket will be snug enough that the rod won't come out, but it always does. I always tear down my equipment after a shoot because I never know if I will be in the studio or on location for my next job. The first few times I set this octa up I didn't realize a couple of the rods came out and I almost pushed them through the front diffuser. now, I have to make sure to check each rod as I go which wastes time. and most of the time I have to remove the front diffuser to guide the rods in correctly. It drives me crazy because this is the only softbox I have to do that with. All I can think of is that maybe they saved a couple bucks by not making those sleeves, and that just makes me think that they are cheap It might not seem that important, but I had expected more from Profoto. similar octa's can be had from Westcott that are around the same price and seem better made for working pros.

An amazing softbox that is impractical to use. I fought with this for 30 minutes before finally visiting my local camera store to help me put it together. Even after I learned the "trick" to putting it together it is very difficult, so I keep it set up in my studio but it takes up 5' of the storage space. If I had it to do over I would get one that had the innards of an umbrella to set it up easier. Again, superb quality once I'm shooting with it but too difficult to set up every time and causes much frustration. The "trick", if anyone needs to know, is setting each of the rods on opposite sides, not - and I repeat - NOT trying to set them up in a consecutive order. Also, bending the speedring down to meet the end of the rod helps. Once the last rod needs to go in, I have to push the speedlight down with my foot and it's STILL very difficult.

I expect more from Profoto. I put this up and tore it down twice in one day and found it to be a complete pain in the ass. The tips continued to fall out of the pockets, one metal end came right off the rod, all the rods bent permanently, the tension was so firm that popping them in was tough, keeping the rods aligned as you worked around the perimeter was like spinning plates and tearing it down took a bit of muscle. I have a Paul C Buff octa and it's by far much easier to assemble — maybe not quite as good quality on the shell, but much prefer the ease of the umbrella style speedring. I own a number of Profoto softboxes that are fairly easy to assemble, but this one is a nightmare.

I love the light this Octa puts out! The only reason I gave it 4 stars is the build quality is less than stellar. I used this 3 times and one of the metal rods separated from the metal end piece that goes into the speed ring. In this case it was the metal piece that is painted Green. I have had these come off on my Photoflex, but never after 3 uses! I will glue it back on, but we did not realize it was missing until we were setting up for a shoot and we had to scramble to find it in the case.

Outstanding build. Love the quality of light this octo produces. Easy setup and breakdown. Lightweight. Handy carrying case. Just used it with my Profoto B1 head along with a 3ft octo to light a group shot of 17 people. Profoto makes great stuff. More expensive than others but worth it.

Great product. Although some of the wire ends tend to come off and putting this item away is kind of a nightmare

Came as described, except I paid pennies for it :)

Calidad buena pero necesita adaptador que son 120 euros mas. Material bueno y pero demasiado caro para lo que es.

Très bien.