Larson 4x6 Review

[ChristopherCoy]

I finally got to use the new Larson 4x6 that we got a week or two ago. I have to say, this thing is built like a tank! The rods are solid aluminum, not like those flimsy 'tent' type rods that we have in our Photoflex. If you can bend these, you're simply careless with your equipment, no question about it. The backplate is also solid aluminum.

The 4x6 is surprisingly lightweight, and our AB's have absolutely no problem keeping it up. Its EXTREMELY easy to put together, and instead of everything being velcro'd together, the box has pockets for the end of the rods on the front of the box, and metal grommets near the backplate where screws slip through to keep the box in place. Instead of fumbling with little clips, the internal baffle just attaches with little velcro strips. It goes in and comes out on the fly! I truly can't say enough about the construction of this box. Its certainly built to last!

And the light this thing puts out is gorgeous, and extremely simple. You nearly can't get anything wrong. The shot below is a friend of mine. I hadn't gotten to play with the softbox since we got it, so I threw it up, put Chris on the stool and said look here. The box was on our AB400 at full power. The 'wrap around' qualities of this box are amazing. The shot below is SOOC, as evident by the scuff marks on my white paper. I can't wait until we get the backordered fabric for our Larson 42x72 reflector in so I can use it for fill, and a Larson strip light as a kicker.

I highly recommend this box. Its a bit on the expensive side, but its well worth the investment, considering how long its going to last.

[tomdrink]

Image #1 - a little soft!

#2 - bad crop on the light bulb.

#3 - best of the bunch

#4 - window blown out, very distracting! And the softboxes are "crooked" - need to work on your horizons.

#5 - some kind of funny line/crease on the back ground, to the subjects left.

Just kidding - thanks for the review, and enjoy your new toy!

TomD

[a2rob]

Nice, I do not have the space for that thing!!

[ChristopherCoy]

You'd probably be surprised Rob. Our shooting space is only 15x15 and it fits nicely in there.

[bobbyz]

Questions

First about the rods - I don't understand by what you mean "If you can bend these, you're simply careless with your equipment, no question about it." If you can't bend them how do you install them into the softbox?

2nd - In your 2nd shot, the flash tube seems to be recessed behind the metal plate of the softbox. Any issues?

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by bobbyz

Questions

First about the rods - I don't understand by what you mean "If you can bend these, you're simply careless with your equipment, no question about it." If you can't bend them how do you install them into the softbox?

2nd - In your 2nd shot, the flash tube seems to be recessed behind the metal plate of the softbox. Any issues?

The rods are SOLID aluminum... no bending. They come from the factory with the proper bends at the proper angles. I dont know exactly how to explain it to you, but the end that slides into the backplate is about a 120 degree angle and it just slides into the backplate. And the softbox has a little pocket at the end where the rod just slips into it.

And the bulb isn't recessed at all. It just looks that way from the picture I assume. It sticks out as far as it would with any other run of the mill speedring.

[bobbyz]

Thanks. So no more fiddling with the rods to get them in. I like that.

[ChristopherCoy]

Originally Posted by bobbyz

Thanks. So no more fiddling with the rods to get them in. I like that.

Nope. You put one end in the backplate, and slip the box over the other and voila. And the reason I said you can't bend them is because they are about 1/4 inch thick if I had to guess. I was at After Dark watching John Larson take one apart and somehow or another one got bent (probably from shipping to all the different conventions.) In any event, he basically had to apply his whole body weight to it to slightly bend it back to normal. There is a thread in the 'great deals' section... the 4x6 is 30% off for the next 2 days with free shipping if you're thinking of getting one.