Adorama now makes its own photography lighting gear, and they recently sent me their Glow HexaPop 24″ softbox for review. The Adorama Glow HexaPop is similar to a standard softbox for still photography, but it’s got some nice umbrella-like features in the back so that it can collapse down quickly for transport. It retails for about $135 on Adorama with a current rebate offer. With this Adorama Glow HexaPop review I’ll tell you about some of the pros and cons in case you’re shopping for this kind of gear.
Pros:
- Use with any standard flash
- Lightweight
- Quick setup and take down
- Solid construction of the softbox
- Soft, but crisp, light
Cons:
- Although it is lightweight, only time can tell how well the plastic elements of the bracket will hold up
The Glow series of light modifiers includes all sorts of shapes and sizes, and this HexaPop version of their softbox is 24″. It’s a good, manageable size for shooting portraits on-the-go or doing quick head shots in tight spaces, etc. You could even wander an event like a wedding and shoot candids with this softbox in one hand and your camera in the other. I wish I had this with me on my three minute portrait shoot with Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos earlier this month! The six wires in the back of the softbox snap into place really quickly, and I could’ve set this up in no time.
Simply put, this is a nice, light softbox that will get the job done. Of course, if you want softer light, you’ll need to get something larger. They do make a range of light modifiers for still photography, built for both large studio strobes and smaller flashes. Stay tuned for a review of the Adorama Glow 71″ Grand Softbox, but the Adorama Glow HexaPop 24″ is a nice place to start for creating simple, soft light from your flash. I think it’s worth the $135 it’s going for right now on Adorama.com.
