Customer Product Reviews

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Pros: Small
Easy to assemble
Excellent quality of light

Cons: none

Best Uses: Headshots
3/4
Rim Light

Describe Yourself: Semi-Pro Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I was told about this item from a sales guy at a Camera store in Toronto. I am completely happy with this product. The build quality is amazing. Very sturdy and it folds up into my backpack camera bag. I will be picking up the larger softbox for sure!

Pros: Good light, and perfect size

Cons:  need another one

Best Uses: Portrait, Wedding

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

These are great items. Work exactly how there suppose to. Only regret is that I didn't purchase the Flash Bracket.

Pros: affordable, sturdy, easy to assemble

Cons: would like to see an option for an interior diffuser panel

Best Uses: location portraits

Describe Yourself: Photo Enthusiast

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

This little box is well built and easy to assemble. I was considering the Lastolite version but decided to go with the Alzo because of price. I'm glad I did. The Alzo is cheaper and the quality seems to be on par. My only complaint (which really isn't a complaint and more of an preference) is an option to have an interior diffusing panel. Great product I'll buy another...

Pros: Excellent value

Cons: No 24 inch version at this time.  If they had one, I'd have it ordered today...

Best Uses: Location lighting

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Great product. Easily the equivalent of pop-up soft boxes costing 3 TIMES the price. I actually have a 24 inch version of the more expensive manufacturer and so preferred the bracket and ring supplied (at no additional cost might I add) with this unit, that I ordered another bracket and ring to use with it.

Pros: Portability

Cons: Needs a sturdy opening where the bracket fits to the box it is flimsy

Best Uses: Single person portraits

Describe Yourself: Semi-Pro Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I love this softbox. I use it with my speedlights. Also I use it without the diffusion panel for a hardlight that I can control and place where I want it. Also use it on top of my Alzo flash bracket.

Pros: easy to use.
compact for travel.
includes bracket to attach flash.

Cons: I would like it to be a bit larger.

Best Uses: Portraits, up close, for no more than 4 people, location, or studio as fill.

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

This is a great soft-box for on-the-go location or studio shooting. Folds up flat and compact and travels in a zipper bag. The soft-box opens up quickly with no wires to mess with and attaches directly to the INCLUDED bracket. I'm using it with my Q-flash in my small studio as a fill flash soft-box, as well as on location. This small-size box is mostly used for portraits for one to 4 people. Great buy.

Pros: easy, portable, high quality

Cons: no setup instructions

Best Uses: off camera wireless flash

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I use this for wedding and on location portraits with my 580EXII as a master to my 430EXII. Works great. My only complaint is there were no instructions for setup and it didn't go together quite the way it looked like and it took me a little while to figure it out. But once I knew it's quick and easy.

Pros: Fast setup, well built, inexpensive, great results.

Cons:

Best Uses:

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I purchased this softbox for my Nikon SB-900 and SB-800. It works great. I had to buy a small flash adapter for to be able to use the Nikon SB-900 safely. But I can use the provided flash adapter for my Nikon SB-900 and SB-600.

This softbox works really well and it is so easy to transport and set up is always fast and simple. This items is built very well and I get great results when I use it.

Pros: Portable, breakdown for easy of transporting, good quality.

Cons: Would like to offset the flash softbox if using on the flash flip bracket.

Best Uses: Great for doing off-camera flash

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

All products were received in a timely manner and were of good quality. So far they have performed well in the field and I am happy with my purchase.

Pros: cheap, compact, easy setup, good diffusion

Cons: not small enough to fit in a medium size camera bag

Best Uses: Head shots, macro, event photography

Describe Yourself: Semi-Pro Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I got this 15x15" softbox specifically to use at crowded conventions where larger light sources and light stands are not convenient. Flash diffuser domes don't work in huge rooms or outdoors since there is nothing for the light to bounce off. After shooting for a while, I didn't bother taking photos without it for the rest of the convention.

However, a small softbox like this works great. I had it mounted to a monopod as a handle and fired it with a TTL cord. It does a good job of softening the light to about 10 feet from the box. Closer than 5 feet from the subject is fantastic.

I would recommend using a prime lens if you go hand-held with a softbox like this (or at leas a lens with no zoom creep).

Setup is quick and easy (takes less than 1 min) and there are no awkward rods to contend with. The speed ring has plenty of adjustment room to accommodate different flash sizes. The cold shoe can be replaced easily by unscrewing it as well. In my case, I used the end of my TTL cord as the shoe and screwed it into the bracket.

It folds down fairly small, but you would need a big camera bag to fit it in one. Another thing to keep in mind is that it does diffuse light, so you lose some flash power. This is only an issue at long range (>15 ft), with FP sync mode, or in daylight since you need all the power you can get. This isn't the fault of the box though but a side effect of it diffusing the light (aka what you want it to do).

Overall I am happy with the results. It's a great way to get rid of the hard shadows and ugly on-camera light look without bringing a full lighting setup.

Pros: Easy to set up

Cons: The front fabric diffuser is just a tad small when connecting to velcro

Best Uses: Weddings, events and receptions. Also excellent as a hair light when using large umbrellas or softboxes.

Describe Yourself: Occasional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Very portable and fast to setup. After the ceremony in church this is a snap for those portraits of the bride and groom; you can be done very quickly. I bought a second one.

Pros: very durable

Cons: none

Best Uses: outdoor fill light

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I've owned this softbox for two years and use it often. The construction is very durable, it still looks and works like new. I was able to buy a few parts and adapt it to a monopod. The quality of light is outstanding. I'm using it with a Nikon SB-800 or SB-900 set to remote.

Pros: beautiful soft light and portability

Cons: ring assembly could fold flatter, need larger softbox sizes

Best Uses: Strobist location portraiture

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I bought the ALZO mini softbox. I ended up buying two. It's 15x15” and it is the die-hard Strobists’ dream. I have been a Strobist since before I knew there was a term for it. I learned how to wirelessly fire my first Nikon SB-800 using the Nikon CLS system and I haven’t looked back. The setup can be placed on a light stand and the flash will make beautiful light.

I always pined for the control and flexibility of softboxes. We all know the “grenade”-quality of lighting with umbrellas.

After a few test shots, I am pleasantly surprised by the build quality and the ease of setting up the softbox. No rods, no speedring. It fits easily on a lightweight lightstand. Add tilting flexibility with an umbrella adapter for even more control. The softbox also folds down to a flat triangle that fits in a case like a medium sized reflector. So it suits the Strobist-Minimalist-Lighting Approach very nicely.

And at about $62 (US), the ALZO mini softbox is cheaper than comparable models.

I pray that the folks at ALZO decide to feed the Strobist/Minimalist Market with 24x24” and 36X36” models that fit the ring on the current model.

Comment by ALZO: We are working on a 24x24" and a 24x36" model. Check our Blog for updates.

Pros: price, portability

Cons: modeling light is limited

Best Uses: individual portraiture

Describe Yourself: Semi-Pro Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

This provides me a very portable soft box using camera flash. Most of today's digital SLR's and some upscale digicams support IR controlled off camera flash units. I use a digital SLR with on camera flash controlling a second flash off camera for portrait work, and some nature photography. With the off camera flash mounted in the Porta-Flash Mini Soft Box as the main light, and the on camera flash set at 1/2 or 1/3 the brightness of the off camera flash, and with an even smaller soft box, I get excellent results, rivaling those of studio flash units which are much less portable and much more expensive.

Pros: Quick and simple to assemble with no rods to fuss over

Cons: Does not come with its own light stand

Best Uses: outdoor/indoor portrait, product and commercial - perfect for that shot that does not require mass lighting or when time is of the essence.

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

The portable softbox w/flash frame is an excellent addition to any photographers inventory. Compact, light weight and super simple to set up, this accessory is a must for outdoor portraits or small group events.

Pros: The speed to setup/tear down

Cons: I can't get 2 speedlights into 1 box for more power. The bracket doesn't stay connected to the box that well. It doesn't take much force to pop it out. I've added velcro to the top of the ring of the bracket to help secure it in.

Best Uses: 2 boxes stacked on top of each other give me a much larger softbox for full lengths

Describe Yourself: Semi-Pro Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I love the Alzo Speedlight Softboxes. I bought 2 of them about 8 months ago and use them almost every time I use my flashes. They are versatile and easy to set up and break down. My only complaint is that the bracket could be a little more secured to the box and there isn't a way to mount 2 flashes in 1 box to get more power. I have rigged up some velcro to hold the top of the round part of the bracket to the box which has helped. But for what they are designed for, they are an excellent product and the price is awesome since it's about half the cost of the similar product from another manufacturer.

Pros:

Cons:

Best Uses:

Describe Yourself: Professional Photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

This portable softbox has been so useful! Easy to carry, easy to put up, works great...only trouble is the flash mount. No instructions provided so I had to rig it...but it works! Great price too!

Pros: Easy to set up. Portable, good value for the money.

Cons: Longevity of the softbox fabric at the speedring mounting. Provided coldshoe does not work with SB 900, lack of options like EzyBox.

Best Uses: Outdoors to soften the flash

Describe Yourself: Photo Enthusiast

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I was looking to upgrade from my 15" Photoflex Litedome Q39 hot shoe softbox to a slightly larger one. I looked first at the EzyBox Hotshoe, as I have numerous Lastolite products and love them, but then found the Alzo Digital website. At least from looking at the website details and info, I couldn't justify the additional cost over the Alzo EzyBox. So I took a chance and bought the Alzo softbox and I am glad I did. Very good product. It is easy to set up (maybe a minute?), whereas the Photoflex takes 5 to 10 minutes, depending how lucky you are at getting the spring wires into the plastic mounting box. What a difference! Only box up soft boxes for me from now on.

The Alzo diffuses the light nicely. The L bracket is complete and more compact than many others I have seen, with no sharp edges! Very sturdy. You do have to install the face diffuser each time (like the EzyBox), whereas the Photoflex diffuser is sewn in.

The only negatives I can see are: The provided coldshoe does not work with a Nikon SB900 (Alzo says this in there literature, but why cant they provide a industry standard coldshoe that fits, the SB 900 has been out for a year. The circular speed ring may eventually wear out the fabric that it rests against, as it is freewheeling and the softbox can easily rotate around the ring. (This area of the softbox should have a 2 layer of reinforcing fabric). And there is no back blackout fabric to cover the speedring area to stop lite spill. Additionally, the EzyBox has some nice options (all at added price), such as a 2nd internal diffuser, extension handle (which I may buy and see if I can hook up to the Alzo) and 3 masking diffusers. All options that Alzo does not seem to offer.

Pros: sturdy, well-designed and assembled unit; good price, does well what it should

Cons: None for me

Best Uses: Portraits, small items, artistic still life, fill-light

Describe Yourself: Semi-pro photographer

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

The Alzo Porta-flash mini (15" square) softbox is a most useful accessory. It is small enough to be carried anywhere and makes a really big difference when using with a portable, i.e. shoe-mount" flash unit. It functions as a studio softbox for softening the light. It can also be used outside, either on a stand or attached to a stroboframe-type of holder. It needs to be held as close as possible to your subject/object - it is still a small source of light, remember?

It is a very sturdy product and should give 100% service for many years. I bought it after comparing it to similar units sold by other manufacturers - this baby won out on terms of quality, utility and price. BTW, it is a complete unit, ready for use upon receipt - no BS about needing to buy additional adapters and such. Even its case is an A-1 quality product.

Service received from Alzo is second to none. I had to exchange another, unrelated, item and there was no delay or any nonsense re this transaction.

Thank you, Alzo, I'm glad someone mentioned you on a photo forum.

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