Clacton on Sea, Essex: British studio lighting manufacturer Bowens have announced the release of two new octagonal softboxes. The Octo90 and Octo150 are updates to previous models in Bowens’ softbox range, with modifications intended to make set-up easier.
The company’s marketing director, Robert Cook, claims:
“Portrait and commercial photographers across the world love the [previous] Octo150 – the only criticism ever made of this unique unit was centred on assembly challenges. Now photographers can simply lay the canopy flat on the floor, insert the rods and zip the sides up to form the Octobox shape – which is then locked in place by Velcro fastening tabs. We’ve made the entire assembly process fast and painless.â€
In the Bowens Octo series there are no inner diffusers and the light head is mounted on the inside facing backwards, as shown in the photograph below. According to Cook, this makes the softbox “a very efficient piece of equipment which can be used in conjunction with a relatively small flash”.
The front diffusion panels on the Octos are masked into a perfect circle so that reflections and catchlights belie the softboxes’ octagonal shape (see below). On the 90cm model, the internal reflectors can be swapped from silver to gold to reduce the colour temperature of the resultant light. Both colours of reflector are included in the price.
Where to buy
The new Octo90 and Octo150 are already available in the UK with recommended retail prices of £415.99 and £535.99 respectively, excluding VAT. Visit the Bowens web site for a list of dealers.