Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I purchased an 80" Octo for my AB 400. It has a speed ring but my problem is that I can clip it onto my AB but the slightest bump and the Octo comes off. I have shattered 2 bulbs now which are extremely expensive to ship to Canada.

Am I missing something or is there a trick I can use to further avoid the softbox coming unclipped and shattering any more bulbs in the process?

Thank you.

That's a lot of weight/torque to mount to the front of any light. You may be better off mounting the softbox to the stand, then mount the light to the speedring. Many speedrings have threads that allow for this.

My ring does have a spot to mount it on a stand. I just wasn't sure if the light was able to support itself on the ring or if you used dual light stands? I'm fairly new to all of this.

Thank you for replying.

If you are concerned about the light supporting itself, I would probably look at a solution like a magic arm with a super clamp mounted to the light stand. There may also be brackets on the market for this. A second light stand may work, but would be cumbersome to use.

How well would these solutions: viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2520 apply if using Alien Bees instead of Einsteins?

While that looks like a good solution for Einstein, I cannot vouch for long term suitability. As well, the full body length of the umbrella tube of the Einstein is a benefit. Considering the shorter tube on the Bees, it may or may not work.

A B400 is not terribly heavy, and should support itself under normal conditions. You could always use a safety cable through the umbrella channel to keep it from crashing to the floor should it get forcibly knocked or jarred off.

If the speedring is a good fitting speedring, I don't see the light falling simply under its own weight.

You can always pick up a Kacey bracket which takes all the weight off your Bee head.
http://www.kaceyenterprises.com/?page_id=1054

I was going to attempt to mount the octo to the lightstand and leave the AB floating just to see how it would work out. The problem now being that the hole in the plate of my speed ring is much smaller then that on my light stand. Nothing seems easy with this combination that I have. I'm going to bungy cord the softbox to the light for the time being. That Kacey bracket looks like a great idea but pricey for such a small item when the speedlight version of the same thing can be found for $30.

There are two standard thread sizes in photography, 1/4-20 and 3/8-16. Most speedrings I have seen have both if they have either, but there are many I have not seen. There are adapters for either direction for less than $10. If your stand does not have threads, I would bet you can find stand couplers with 1/4-20 threads.

I can use my backdrop stand tripod but then I'm stuck not being able to use my backdrop stand. The light stand that I have my AB on is the Paul Buff heavy duty. I will have to do some digging. I think that the AB is definitely light enough to support itself on the ring once I figure out the stand solution. I appreciate all of the help I've been given in this forum, it's helped immensely.