Westcott Compact 43" White Satin Umbrella with Removable Black Cover - Collapsible

2022-11-06T12:34:03

The size of this umbrella is phenomenal - great to throw in a bag, and combined with an admittedly ill-fitting diffuser for a different westcott umbrella, makes a half-decent softbox. But the positive aspects end there. The idea that the cover is "removable" is a stretch. Can you remove it? Technically, yes. Can you put it back on in front of a client? Absolutely, beyond a shadow of a doubt, NO. First of all, when you remove the black backing, you're left with razor-sharp points at the end of each rib. Like seriously you or your client could VERY easily lose an eye on this. Second, as others have noted, there are no instructions, and I feel lucky to have discovered that the cap holding the black backing on is threaded. It doesn't even remotely appear to be screwable, and the idea that you'd use your fingers to twist this 1mm thick metal cap could not be further from obvious. The main issue comes when you're trying to put it back on - it takes a good 5 minutes while seated to get the metal cap to screw back into the top of the umbrella. I wish they'd just make a collapsible umbrella with a well-fitting diffuser instead of this gimmicky stuff that only half-works. That all being said, I'll still use this, I just won't ever take that cover off.

Julius S.

2019-04-29T15:36:05

Umbrellas are the best first investment in light modifiers. This one is versatile and outstanding. Throws out broad soft even light, whether using as shoot-through or bounce with or without the black outer cover. Highly recommended.

ED F.

2019-02-16T16:36:03

This umbrella is a pain in the a-- to use and will account for over half of your time while your are trying to setup and store away your lighting gear.. 1. There is no way to open, handle, close this umbrella without the cover popping off the tips of the umbrella wires. You will get three tips on while 4 more pop off. 2. The sleeve it is supposed to store into is way too tight. You will feel like you are nearly breaking the umbrella if you try to squeeze/twist it into the sleeve. Somebody at Westcott should be forced to actually USE this umbrella a dozen times. He would then be in a mood to jam it up the a-- of the damfoo who designed it.

ROBERT N.

2017-11-10T08:57:11

Excellent travel umbrella! Other users had issues getting it back into the provided sleeve, and it is a little tight, but I've been able to manage it.

Trey H.

2017-11-01T08:56:19

Thanks, for asking for my 43'' Westcott umbrella for which I am glad I ordered forks as I expected. Thanks. Regards: Lazaro B.

lazaro b.

2017-01-22T13:50:53

The black part of this umbrella was separating when I pulled it out of the bag, and it won't stay attached to the umbrella splines. I ended up scrapping the black part and just using the white as a shoot-through. I will buy a silver umbrella separately. This was too cheap and fiddly and a major headache to deal with.

CARMEN S.

2016-12-18T10:06:39

This is a nice versatile photographic tool. It works well photographically as it's designed to work. I dropped the rating from a 5 to a 3 because of construction integrity. When I first attached the black cover, one of the stretchers bent under stress. That was disappointing.

Ken J.

2013-02-14T19:00:00

it's an umbrella and it does the job. lol

CALISTIA G.

2013-02-08T19:00:00

For a beginner this is a great starter setup for head shots and portrait work, totally looking forward to using it.

QuattroRocket

2011-10-16T21:00:00

This is a great product, my only concern is the process of removing the black backing. Truth be told, it may be better just to get a shoot through and reflective umbrella separately. Besides that I like the compact umbrella structure of this product.

Dale-Kurt M.

2011-09-03T21:00:00

Small compact size perfect for location work.

JACQUES A.

2010-12-02T19:00:00

This is the umbrella recommended by Strobist. It is lightweight, collapses very compactly, and fits into the recess of the Manfrotto lightstand they recommend. Wescott is now supposedly making this umbrella with a solid shaft tip. That is not what I received. I received the older, hollow shaft model. A pencil inserted into the shaft will prevent it from collapsing from the umbrella adapter thumbscrew. The ribs of this umbrella bend very easily. The rib ends that hold the black cover on are plastic, as are some of the mechanism parts. It's a [$] collasible convertible umbrella. Can you expect more? I think photographers should.The nylon case is tight. To get the umbrella in it, you need to twist the umbrella tightly and then twist it inside the case. A little more nylon and a small piece of velcro on the case would not have raised the production cost of this umbrella. The twisting to get the umbrella into the nylon case is likely what causes the ribs to bend, and will lead to a short life. If you need the ultimate in lightweight and want to bounce a flash, a suitable wall or ceiling might be a better option. If you just have to have an umbrella, there are better ones (although not as compact or inexpensive) out there. My choice is the 36" Photek Softlighter II. It's more versatile, much better constructed, and it also fits on the Strobist recommended lightstand, secured with two ball bungies.If you just have to have this umbrella, order two of them. Keeep a spare on hand. You may need it sooner than you would like.

JIM S.

2010-06-05T21:00:00

Glad to see this product hasn't changed much. I bought one a couple years back and had to replace a few other umbrellas in my collection. One improvement I noticed was that they capped off the end of the umbrella so you don't dig chunks of skin out of your hand if you're trying to close/collapse the main shaft. I bring this umbrella with me on every location shoot.

PAUL M.

2010-05-13T21:00:00

Combined with a light weight compact light stand and off-camera flash, this handy umbrella makes for a very compact portrait kit that takes up little room or space. The ability to remove the black cover makes this umbrella extra versatile. The main problem I have with it is that the wire ribs are very fragile. The first time I used this was on location and I didn't weigh my stand down. It was an ultra-compact stand with a 580ex and this umbrella on top. It fell over from about 6' into soft grass and still ribbing was damaged and the umbrella was destroyed. I attribute this to user error as I should have weighed my stand down and I ordered two more of these because I like the compact design so much. I have 3 of these umbrellas, 3 - ultra-compact stands, 3 - 580exs and radio remotes and they all fit in a 21 inch gym bag along with a few other accessories to make for a complete studio setup in one compact bag.

Chip J.

2010-01-09T19:00:00

As a casual beginner, the diffuser/reflector 2-in-1 combo in a inexpensive compact design really appealed to me. As soon as it arrived, I configured it as a flash reflector and tested it using my strangely willing cat - so far so good. I then removed the reflector and setup it up as a flash diffuser and searched for my cat for the second test - again, so far so good. As far as I could tell, both configurations worked well; however, the issue with the product is what happens after its use. It is impossible to put the umbrella back into the same perfect storage state it was in when it arrived. I am convinced there is a little old lady from the old country with the knowledge and dexterity to do it; unfortunately, she works part time at the Westcott factory, and I cannot afford to hire her to fold my umbrella each time I use it. On a serious note, I'm not describing my OCD frustrations on how the umbrella folds up. The tips of the diffuser umbrella are rather sharp - share enough to cause damage to anything they may touch. When the the reflector cover is on the umbrella, the sharp tips are covered with the rounded tips of the reflector. No matter what I tried, I could not get the reflector tips to remain covering the sharp tips of the diffuser when the combo was in the collapsed position making it too risky to carry around in my backpack.

MTChas

2009-09-01T21:00:00

This versatile umbrella is very compact and easy to carry around. It deserves the good reviews found on[...]. My only negative comment is that the end of the shaft is sharp and so are the ends of the ribs once the black cover is removed (which is mostly how I use it). I will probably try to file the ends to smooth them down.

BILL D.

2009-06-10T21:00:00

The umbrella comes in a plastic case and a tissue case. The tissue case is useless, and it ripped appart the first time I took it out. The system for removing the black cover (and thus obtain a shoot-through white satin) is pretty cumbersome, one needs to unscrew a holder at the top of the umbrella that is prone to being lost. Overall a decent product for the money.

negora