Comments about Photek Photek Softliter 60" Diffused Umbrella:

For key or fill, this produces a nice, soft light. As with any modifier, the distance from your subject will alter the light, providing super soft warp or slightly harder shadow transitions. You can delicately light one person or throw some serious light in a small room. I use with strobes and am very pleased with the results. I have a octodome in this same size, but for me, this is faster to set up on location since it's umbrella-style. Have not used it outdoors, but will this week with an assistant; not sure I'd trust it or any modifier this size on a windy day.) It does lacks the snap of a regular softbox style modifier; but that's the difference, this is a softer light, thus its name. Great value for the price. Good to have in your arsenal!

Comments about Photek Photek Softliter 60" Diffused Umbrella:

Easy setup and works great

Comments about Photek Photek Softliter 60" Diffused Umbrella:

I already had the 46" Softlighter but decided to get this larger 60" one for full-length portraits.

It casts a large light source, which is important for soft lighting. The 60" size is quite big and for adults you want more than an 8' ceiling. Ideally you should aim this about 30 degrees down.

However, for full-length portraits, aiming at the head won't illuminate the legs enough -- you'll need to aim it lower.

Set-up is pretty quick. It begins set-up like any other umbrella, but then you have to add the diffusion fabric. That's pretty easy and the 60" unit uses velcro to further secure the diffuser (the 46" one only uses the eyelets).

However, placing a larger flash through the opening can be problematic. With most brackets and many taller flashes (like a Nikon SB-800), the flash can't look through the whole in the diffusion fabric.

I had to place the entire flash unit inside the diffusion fabric, and it's a bit awkward to mount it in this way. I've seen some DIY'ers use a right-angle bracket with a shoe drilled in, so that the flash lies flat and its head points into the unit. I may have to try this.

The unit seems more fragile than the 46" unit. It comes with a warning paper to shake the umbrella before opening it. They aren't kidding. The ribs have a tendency to stick in the sheaths. If you just try to force it open, the rather thin ribs can snap. Shaking the umbrella a bit helps a lot.

The lighting results are good. There's less illumination on the edges and the spill control doesn't match a softbox. But the light is good.

Comments about Photek Photek Softliter 60" Diffused Umbrella:

I take pet and people portraits, and I was really afraid that the Photek Softliter would be so big that animals would be afraid. In reality, it is so big that animals just seem to think it is another piece of furniture in the studio. As for the light quality, I am very happy with it. It is truly soft light and it wraps around the subject more naturally than my previous umbrella setup. I am using it with a Nikon SB-800, and I am definitely pushing the flash to the limit. I have not yet used it in shoot-through mode. Overall, I am very pleased, but be aware that you will need a pretty powerful flash to get the best effect.

Comments about Photek Photek Softliter 60" Diffused Umbrella:

I love my 60" Photek Softlighter. It is very similar to a softbox/octabox for light control, and it is quick to deploy and inexpensive like an umbrella.

I can also remove the diffusser and use it as a regular bounce umbrella, and I can also remove the black backing to use it as a shoot thru umbrella. I can also remove half of the umbrella shaft so that I can place it even closer to my subject for super soft lighting.

It is well built and I get fantastic results from it.

Comments about Photek Photek Softliter 60" Diffused Umbrella:

For the price this can't be beat. It triples as a shoot thru umbrella, silver reflective umbrella, and a large octabox! Fast setup compared to softboxes.