Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

I'm having a hard time keeping the giant foldable 30x60" softbox from pulling off the 4 holding fingers on my B800 unit. Is there a way to secure it better so the softbox doesn't fall off mid-shoot? This has happened to me a few times while photographing clients. It seems like it's just too heavy for the fingers to hang on properly.

A couple of things to make sure of. One is to ensure all four fingers are inside the speedring. Also, make sure the softbox is well seated on the light. If the fingers are retracted, and the box is installed, the fingers cannot expand on their own with the weight of the softbox. Be sure to lift on the box, just to be sure it is fully seated.

Second, it is often desired for the softbox to rotate, which it can do. However, the softbox should not rotate with the speedring on the fingers/faceplate. The speedring is designed to rotate on the inner speedring. There are knurled knobs that can be loosened to allow the outer portion of the ring to spin on the inner portion. If the speedring is rotated on the face plate, the box can work its way off.

Beyond that, it is possible the fingers or the retaining springs are out of spec. If this is the case, and the light is less than 2 years old, we can correct it under warranty. Otherwise, we can repair the light, likely at our basic $40 repair price.

Thank you for the information. I will make a point of rotating the softbox on the outer ring. Should there be a small amount of slack between the speed ring and the faceplate after correctly mounting the softbox? There's about a 1/4" gap there, particularly at the top as the box angles down just a tad bit.

There is typically about 1/8" gap between the top of the speedring mount opening and the faceplate. The fingers of the light bend far enough out that there is room for the speedring to shift forward. However, the fingers then bend up, preventing the box from falling off (assuming the box is properly mounted, and everything is to spec). This gap is, in and of itself, not an indication that the hold will fail.

If that gap is significantly larger than 1/8", the fingers or springs may be out of spec.

1/8" is the size of the sync cord plug, incidentally, so that can be used as a guide.