Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hey guys,
Anyone have any experience interfacing the two together?
I know about the Kacey Adapter but it does add up quite a bit to the cost of the softbox.

Have you come across any other solutions /Adapters to do the same

The other alternative is to change to PCB octas but I simply love my Deep Octa.

Your help will be very much appreciated.

Terence.

Most brands of softboxes use the same size speedrings (thought there are exceptions). If the Elinchrome ring is the semi-standard size, just getting a PCB compatable speedring should work. If it uses a different ring, then adapter pates are often available. Our speedring outer diameter (opposite holes) is 188mm across, with rod holes 8mm in diameter. If this matches your current speedring, then ours will work.

http://www.alienbees.com/softboxes.html (very last item)

@Terence

I did the Elinchrom to AB conversion for the Rotalux Deep Octa last week. It's not difficult, but the mod is not for the faint of heart.
Briefly, my method was to drill slightly through the crimp side of each rivet.
Pin punch the rivet out of the casting.
Remove the Elinchrom insert and replace with AB insert.
Replace the rivets with stainless 8-32 x 3/8 machine screws and stainless acorn nuts.

I encountered a couple of "Oh Shit, Oh Dears":
1. While the Rotalux assembly is an excellent piece of kit, it is a casting made from the finest floor sweepings available and surprisingly delicate once it is disassembled. When punching the tightly installed rivets through the ring it is easy to distort it. Any distortion will cause the rods/ribs to be difficult to spring into place. A significant amount of time can be spent correcting this. Don't ask me why I know this ....

2. I have AB speedring inserts from several manufacturers... PCB, Visico and Photoflex. The only one that comes close to fitting is the Photoflex insert from their rectangular softbox speedring.

All said and done, I'm very happy with the modification.
Would I do it again? Sure. Maybe.
Would I buy Kacey's adapter next time? Probably.

Pic:
http://flic.kr/p/8tCkC5

Next week I'll remove the cover from the Deep Octa and take a few detailed pictures of the assembly.

Take care,
Ziv
Wizardbrackets.com