Soft box mounting

I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to off camera flash but I now have more time on my hands and want to learn as much as possible. I've been fortunate enough to win a pair of Elinchrom D-lite RX2 heads and soft boxes. I'd like, if possible the flexibility to be able to mount the soft boxes on standard lighting stands so that I can pop my flashes inside. I'm presuming this is possible but at a loss to which equipment I need to buy.

These are the stands I have Ex-Pro Professional Photography Light Stand for Photo: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo
Here are the mounts Kaavie Universal Swivel Hot Shoe Flash Holder Type B: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Thanks in advance.

Ian Turner said:

I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to off camera flash but I now have more time on my hands and want to learn as much as possible. I've been fortunate enough to win a pair of Elinchrom D-lite RX2 heads and soft boxes. I'd like, if possible the flexibility to be able to mount the soft boxes on standard lighting stands so that I can pop my flashes inside. I'm presuming this is possible but at a loss to which equipment I need to buy.

These are the stands I have Ex-Pro Professional Photography Light Stand for Photo: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo
Here are the mounts Kaavie Universal Swivel Hot Shoe Flash Holder Type B: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Ian, you don't need the second mount for your D-lite lights. You don't need anything else. Your Elinchrom lights should simply mount directly on the top of your stands with nothing extra. The lights themselves provide the mounting and provide for tilting, etc. Then, the proper softboxes attach to the front of the lights.

The extra mounts are for speedlights, which only expect a hot shot type of mount. That would be for umbrellas... However, the speedlights are not going to mount into your softboxes.

WayneF said:

Ian, you don't need the second mount for your D-lite lights. You don't need anything else. Your Elinchrom lights should simply mount directly on the top of your stands with nothing extra. The lights themselves provide the mounting and provide for tilting, etc. Then, the proper softboxes attach to the front of the lights.

The extra mounts are for speedlights, which only expect a hot shot type of mount. That would be for umbrellas... However, the speedlights are not going to mount into your softboxes.

Click to expand...

Thank you, Wayne. I realise all this, but I wanted the flexibility to be able to use those soft boxes (instead of buying more) for situations where speed lights are more appropriate (i.e. when there is no power supply).

I’ve seen people use a ring type device that attaches to a stand. You lock your soft box on to those and then pop your speed light in the back (on the stand).

Ian Turner said:

Thank you, Wayne. I realise all this, but I wanted the flexibility to be able to use those soft boxes (instead of buying more) for situations where speed lights are more appropriate (i.e. when there is no power supply).

I’ve seen people use a ring type device that attaches to a stand. You lock your soft box on to those and then pop your speed light in the back (on the stand).

Click to expand...

OK, sorry, I realize now when you said flashes, you meant speedlights. I wasn't thinking speedlghts.

Any mounting for a speedlight in a softbox should include its own stand mounting. The mount attaches the softbox to the stand, and the speedlight hangs off of it. A speedlght hot shoe mount cannot hold the weight of a large softbox. The mount you show is not that mount.

One notion - I am not a fan of trying softboxes on speedlights. An umbrella can be fantastic on speedlights, but there is a huge difference for softboxes. Studio lights are bare bulb inside softboxes, so the light extends fully 180 degrees in every direction, to use the reflective sides of the softbox the way intended, to disperse the light angles. But the speedlight has the focused fresnel lens in front, and at best, just lights a spot on the front fabric. It might as well be a shoot-through umbrella. Some light will come out of the softbox of course, but I think a reflected umbrella (at full shaft length) will be better on a speedlight.

See the very bottom two pictures at Mounting Speedights in Umbrellas