How To: My 120J Softbox Rig - Itemized Parts List Included

[Abel]

Before I attended The Onelight Workshop I used a single Canon 580EX II to fire into my Medium PhotoFlex Softbox. Needing more power I decided to try to fire two 580's into the box in order to get more light output. Once I saw the barebulb SunPak 120j in action at the workshop, the cogs in my head were already turning to see how I can get that same flash setup in my softbox. I like the idea of being able to fire a barebulb flash in my soft box rather than a traditional flash head. A traditional flash head is still very directional even with a wide angle panel on the head. The barebulb option is completely omni-directionally which fills up the inside of the box with light and then pours (for lack of a better word) out the front of the box.

Once I located a 120j for myself I began to piece together a system that I felt would be very efficient. This is probably above and beyond what most would ever want to do or really need to do but I am a "tinker-er" at heart and love this kind of stuff. hehee.



I had 3 goals in mind when starting this little project.

Goal #1
Get a nice clean & sturdy setup to fire the 120j (barebulb) in my softbox with as little items/cables dangling off the side as possible.

Goal #2
I did not want to be tied to the SunPak supplied NiCad stick pack that came with the flash. I wanted to run off of higher capacity NiMH "C" cell rechargables so that I could easily if out in the field stop by a local gas station and buy replacement batteries for my battery pack.

Goal #3
Make the solution easy to replicate with available store bought parts in case others wanted to use the same type of rig.



Itemized Parts List
I bought most of these items locally but I added the B&H links so that others that are not local can locate the parts online.


1 - Generic Straight Flash Bracket
Generic Flash Bracket that also already includes a cold show to mount a Pocket Wizard. I added a small portion of gaffer's tape so that the contact on the PW doesn't come in contact with the metal cold shoe.
Item Link Here

2 - Hama Screw (Short)
I bought all of the screws individually locally but this one complete pack will work for this setup.
Item Link Here

3 - Hama Screw (Long)
I bought all of the screws individually locally but if ordering online, the "Item 2" listed above is all you will need since it is a pack of 5.
Item Link Here

4 - Brass Adapters
Item Link Here

5 - Flashtube Spacer
I wanted to get the bare bulb out into the softbox a bit more since not only was it recessed inside the speedring but it was recessed inside the flash body a bit. The extender pushes the bulb out about 1" total.
Item Link Here

6 - Chimera Speedring For 120j
Pricey but a great fit. Mounts right up to the 120j and worked with my PhotoFlex Softbox.
Item Link Here

7 - Pocket Wizard Cable
I wanted a shorter cable to replace the stock SunPak 6' cable in order to make the rig nice and clean without too many extras hanging off etc. Completely optional.
Item Link Here

8 - PhotoFlex Medium Softbox
Item Link Here

9 - Original SunPak Plugs (Optional)
You can use these if you like instead of "Item 11" that I have listed below. I chose not to use these because the original plugs tend to get a bit hot because of the load on them. The Dean's Plugs listed below manage to stay cool without problems.
Item Link Here

10 - 2 "C" Cell Battery Caddy
I cut the Battery Caddy in two and also trimmed the width a bit in order to get it to fit just right in the SunPak Battery Pack.
Item Link Here

11 - Dean's Plugs
Male & Female end in one pack. I chose to replace and resolder the origianal stock plugs because these are used in high amp draw electric R/C Cars and I know they can take the load and not heat up. I used 2 packs in this rig.
Item Link Here

12 - Powerex "C" Cell 5,000mah NiMH Rechargables
I wanted to drop the NiCad batteries supplied with the SunPak 120J because they are probably less than 2,000mah cells plus that they are charged with the supplied trickle charger which can take around 8 hours to fully charge. I already have a multi size battery charger (Item 13 shown below) that I use for my other NiMH Cells. The advantage to NiMH cells over NiCAD is that the NiMH cells do not develop a memory. You can recharge them when they're half dead and not worry about it. NiCad's will develop a memory if not fully discharged every time which will hurt capacity and performance.
Item Link Here

13 - MAHA MH-C808M Battery Cahrger (Not Shown)
This charger will charge the individual cells on their own making sure each of the 6 cells in the battery pack are 100% charged. You can not do this with Stick packs like the SunPak supplied battery pack.
Item Link Here


Here are the images...
























I have run a few test shots with it thus far and it looks very promising. I have not had a full fledge shoot with it yet per se. I have a shoot slated for this weekend and will be breaking the rig then for sure! I'll post photos of the actual shoot and results then.

I hope you guys can use this info to either replicate the rig and/or improve upon it... I'd love to hear some feedback.

Thanks.

[imported_110240]

mad skills!

[Abel]

rig is still going strong... hopefully i can get quite a bit of use out of it this weekend.

[Abel]

I still havent used this rig as much as i would like.... hehhe.

[Spartacus989]

But every McGuyver project needs bubble gum, duct tape, and a Swiss Army knife...

[Abel]

LOL mark! I loved that show!

Now where did I put my duct tape..

[Abel]

here ya go.... my new tinkering project i completed this weekend...

ive seen a ton of DIY beauty dishes but i have never really been impressed with the layouts designs. when i came across this 22" dish on ebay for $110 total i said thats too cheap not to buy and try out.. :)

what i did is found THIS 22" (55cm) beauty dish on ebay BRAND NEW for $88 + $15 Shipping + $7 tax (seller is in texas) so I paid a total of about $110 BUT this beauty dish came with a spot grid which makes it a REAL steal! most of the times the spot gird is close to $200 by itself! i ordered it on tuesday at noon, and it got to me the very next day at noon!

Its a great deal although the guy was a bit rude to me via an email exchange when i asked if the 22" dish came with a front diffusion sock like the smaller 16" (40cm) beauty dish he also sells.

I knew the dish was a regular silver finish inside and i planned on painting it but when i received the dish the outside was not black like pictured on ebay so i decided to also paint the backside as well. the actual color was a greenish grey color which i didnt care for so since i knew i was painting the inside white i figured id throw some black on the outside. i used a rustoleum all purpose all material style spray paint.

here's the completed setup:



I have the 120J TTL with a cold shoe mount



another overall



another tight shot on the layout, notice how i slid the main rail all the way to the right in order for the dish to rest on it serving as a 3rd anchor point. nothing added to that intersection, once everything else is nice and snug, then that area is kept in contact by itself.







Here's the magic... I detached the aluminum mount disc from the chimera speed ring i used in the softbox setup listed above. I then unscrewed the front reflective panel and centered the chimera disc as best i could making some reference marks on both the beauty dish and the chimera disc. i then used a two part multiuse LocTite epoxy form home depot and applied it to the back of the chimera disc. realigned the disc with the reference marks i made earlier and applied pressure while it dried. i wanted to use the plate so that i had one more anchor point to support the weight of the dish. i also chose to use the extension piece listed in the softbox setup in order to help place the bare bulb out into the body of the dish.. you can see the chimera plate in this photo below. using the disc not only helps add support but it also helps keep light from spilling out the backside of the dish through the fairly large bowens adapter.





as another added anchor point, i drilled and tapped a hole into the bottom of the stock bowens adapter on the back side of the dish. I used a 1/4"x1" hex head bolt and washer to screw down into the brass coupling thingy in order for a good solid tie down.



shot taken into the beauty dish with the spot grid attached.



shot with the beauty dish about 40" from the wall WITH the spot grid attached.



shot with the beauty dish about 40" from the wall WITHOUT the spot grid attached.



there ya go... a quick rundown...

Extra notes:

1. i have both the 120J Pro and the 120J TTL and opted to use the 120J TTL in this configuration since its overall height along with the cold shoe was easy to place in the center of the beauty dish which was set by the 3 brass coupling thingys i mounted to it.

2. prior to gluing the chimera disc in the dish besure to to a test mount with your flash since the chimera disc has notches cut into it in order to mount to the 120j flash head completely. thats where those reference marks came in handy

3. when placing the chimera disc on the beauty dish be sure to check to to see if the tightening screw on the flash heads clears the inside wall of the bowens adapter. mine was a bit off and i had to remove the plastic portion of that screw in order to get the flash head to fit in and mount to the chimera disc nicely.

[Abel]

I've had my beauty dish rig completed for 6 weeks now and i havent eve used it once! go figure!

[Killjoy]

Send it my way. I'll use it for you. ;)

[TamberBliss]

Hello Abel, its been awhile since i've been here.. I seen your post on your new lighting .. Very cool set up for sure.. Now heres my question.. what would you advise for someone that has no lighting for studio.

See i usually do all my shooting outside, but i'm getting more interested in taking some real portraits and i want something that will do the work and not cost me an arm and a leg..I have been drooling over ebay's deals but still i'm working on a shoe string budget meaning i don't have any money at the moment..

So could you like McGuyver something really cool up for us poor folks here..**Smiles** Tamber

[Killjoy]

Tamber, have you seen This posting?
It's full of DIY lighting. :w00t:

[TamberBliss]

No hadn't found that one yet.. thank you alan This page is pretty cool..

[imported_Bubble]

Abel,

the power output from SunPak 120j, is it more or equal if i compare with Quantum T5D-R flash? Do you know by any chance?

[Abel]

Originally Posted by TamberBliss

Hello Abel, its been awhile since i've been here.. I seen your post on your new lighting .. Very cool set up for sure.. Now heres my question.. what would you advise for someone that has no lighting for studio.

See i usually do all my shooting outside, but i'm getting more interested in taking some real portraits and i want something that will do the work and not cost me an arm and a leg..I have been drooling over ebay's deals but still i'm working on a shoe string budget meaning i don't have any money at the moment..

So could you like McGuyver something really cool up for us poor folks here..**Smiles** Tamber

for an inexpensive option you can use Vivitar 285HV flashes. they run about $90 each i believe brand new and they work pretty well but they are ALL manual controls. most expensive part will be the wireless firing mechanism.

definitely check out http://strobist.blogspot.com they have a ton of good tips and tricks for wireless off camera flash.

Originally Posted by Bubble

Abel,

the power output from SunPak 120j, is it more or equal if i compare with Quantum T5D-R flash? Do you know by any chance?

i believe the output is about identical. and the 120j's are far cheaper.