By bugtrumpet from Columbus, Ohio on 8/25/2008

I ordered the 40" Softlighter to use with off camera flash units. After a couple of trys, I found a way to put things together that makes it pretty easy. The most difficult things are 1) putting that sock thingy over top of the flash unit when it is mounted in an umbrella swivel, and 2) inserting one of the two (included) reflectors (silver or gold). #1 is fixed by putting the sock over the flash unit (SB-25) before you attach it to the umbrella. #2 is just a pain. You have to insert the flexible reflector sheet under the umbrella ribs. I found that the light from the Softlighter is very soft which is what I was looking for. A single flash does a good job of filling the entire opening and seems to illuminate the diffuser pretty evenly. While it does take a minute or two to set up, IMO it is worth the time to have a very portable 40" softbox. Much easier to set up and take down than a std softbox. It comes with a nice carrying bag with space for the reflector sheets and the fabric diffuse panel. IMO, very much worth the money if you want a decent sized softbox for not too much money. I really like mine.