Lastolite LL LS2420S Ezybox Speed-Lite

I'm a lastolite man through and through, so this review maybe a little biased. I don't care. I already have two 24 inch speedlite softboxes, both extension handles, the tri-grip, the all-in-one umbrella kit, the tri-grip holder, the foldable grey card, etc. Anything this company comes out with, I will happily give it a try.I consider myself a semi-pro photographer. I've photographed wedding, children, animals, parties, congressmen and other elected officials but I don't draw all of my income from photography. A wise man once told me, "Don't quite your day job until you have purchased all of your equipment". He was very right and the lastolie speedlite ezybox is absolutely wonderful.I've only used it a hand full of times so far, but it is as good as its big brothers. I shoot with a D60 and I mount it on my SB-900. The elastic band that you fit the head of the speedlite into is rather tight. This is not a bad thing mind you, but it does mean that I have to remove my Honl speed strap (the fuzzy end of the Velcro that I use to attach light shapers) before I slide it into the whole. My primary lens is my Nikon 2.8 24-70 and I am grateful of how long it is because this bad boy does extend out. I would wonder if I would get some intrusion on a shorter wide angle lens. I can't wait to see what someone says about this rig when using the 18-55 kit lens. The light is well controlled and it is a godsend for maneuverability purposes.The 24 inch ezyboxes are great, but they are just bulky for small spaces and they obviously can't fit onto your traditional mounts or brackets. I've been using the Opteka SB-5 medium softbox in conjunction with my regular dome diffuser inside to give it a little extra diffusion and that's worked okay. Given the design of the Opteka SB-5, I've gotten good use out my Honl speedstrap, but it's not very light tight. It folds down nicely and I can fit it into my camera bag well, but I've felt like I've had to dial up the power to get the kind of light that I want. This little ezybox has been surgical.I did a photo shoot with a county commissioner last week and it went great. The light quality was as good up-close as my other softboxes. Obviously with a smaller unit it doesn't have the spread that the larger units have, but for the close quarter work I was doing it was all I needed.I also have to give props to the only seller on Amazon (or anywhere that I can tell at the time of this review) that actually has this item in stock and that is Green Mountain Camera. I had never done business with them before, but the transaction was smooth and exactly what I expected. The price was good and the packaging was fine. I don't know how they got these bad boys before Adorama, B&H or Amazon itself, but kudos for providing a good product early. I hope they get the new grid light attachments for the softboxes soon because I am anxious to give them a try.

This is not at all the same thing as the $20 softboxes you can get. Those things fall apart with any amount of use because their structure is cardboard.This has a spring steel frame, so it won't fall apart the 10th time you take it out of your bag. It comes with an internal diffuser in addition to the one you can attach to the front shown in the product photo. It has 2 sets of velcro straps that wrap around the back of the speedlite, and comes with a durable blue case with a nice zipper.It just BARELY fits on my 600EX-RT, which has an extremely large head, so it should fit on most flashes. It's as big as you could go for an on camera flash and works great on a stand if you want to travel light.

I like the light quality from this little guy for tight/head shots. Interior baffle for added diffusion. Good build quality. Comes in a nifty case. Stupid easy to set up. The outer baffle lets the box hold its shape. Tip - insert the flash tail (hot shoe) first from the inside, as headfirst from the back can be cumbersome. I use this on a little cheapo cold shoe pistol grip so I can shoot with one hand and light with the other when my assistant isn't around. Have also used it as makeshift fill light from below camera position. Pretty versatile and handy little gadget. Glad I bought it.

I expected this small a softbox to be of limited use, but I was wrong. I find I use it for lots of things but mainly smaller product shoots and people. For portraits, mainly informal or on-the-fly, I've used it on camera (Canon 5D II). In ETTL, I do no exp comp and it works great, comes out a touch underexposed, which is what I'd want. For more control, I've used it off-camera via radio remote with hand-held 580EX. The light is softbox quality, even and soft. One issue is that the Velcro holding the diffusers is so strong that it's easy to tear stitching out when pulling on it.

This is my favorite new toy. I spend a lot of time shooting bands in bars, and of course I don't use flash there--but when they want posed shots, I take them out on the street for some urban grunge. You know, on the street backlit by traffic, or in the alley behind the bar at the load-out. Also good for shots with the fans. I compared the results to a Gary Fong Lightsphere II and bounce flash off a white ceiling or wall (not that you'll find those in dive bars) and it's not even close. The Ezybox gives a nice soft light, far better than the Lightsphere or bouncing. I prefer to use it off-camera, when I can find a sober assistant, but it does a nice job on the hotshoe, too. And lastly, it folds up small enough to sort of fit in my LowePro photorunner. I've used the 24-inch Ezybox on the street for the same effect and I suppose it does better. . .but this does well enough, and for the convenience in a run-and-gun situation, you can't beat it. Make Mom buy you one for Christmas.

This small softbox is certainly better than straight flash but not much. I have the Ultimate Light Box which the light was softer and The "lite-Scoop" was better . Also it affected the flash focus assist feature on Canon 580 EXII. This is definitely usable if you are looking to simply soften the light from your speedlight but don't expect soft, wrapping light or tapering shadows. Especially if you're more than a few feet from the subject. I returned item.

10/10 .Superb, quality product that works well on camera.Work with off camera cord for added flexibility.Highly recommended.Many thanks

pros better than bare flash, light, portable.cons flash head sits well inside the box not at the rear hole so its not using the whole box to spread the light. it is light but not handy for on camera and stresses flash-hotshoe also if using it off camera with one hand its very difficult with pro body and 24-70 lens in the other hand, so an assistant is needed. there 's a plethora of flash modifiers that are lighter and more portable than this one accomplishing similar resultsFor home use with kids and friends or even still life, its quite fun to use. For serious shooting either get a smaller lighter modifier or bigger one having in mind you 'll need an assistant anyways. Yes I would recommend for the mentioned above usage.

Outstanding portable softbox. Does the job beautifully.

Ordered this to get the flash more diffuse; it certainly makes a difference. A bit awkward to set up, but that's to be expected as it folds down so neatly. A friend took one look and couldn't believe the bag it came out of. Very nice results, much softer than straight flash, take it on shoots regularly. One problem, though - watch out for people walking into you when it's on the flash!

As a wedding photographer I was looking for something small and compact for diffusing my flash on shoot location. Though it did an OK job I just wasn't that thrilled with it. I'm going to get the more expensive Aurora Firefly octabox instead.I did like the fact that this attached to the flash direct rather than clamps/brackets.