A little over a decade ago, I reviewed the Roundflash Beauty Dish. This product has stayed in my gear kit for a very long time. However, in the past few years, I stopped using speedlights and instead just carry around my Profoto B10. However, at times I want a small softbox and so I’d use an ExpoImaging Rogue Flashbender. However, I finally decided to find a way to make my best softbox work for my Profoto B10.
How to Do This Hack
Essentially, I took the Roundflash Beauty Dish, cut into it, and used gaffers tape to attach it to a rubber Profoto speed ring. The awesome thing is that the whole device still folds down into a very compact and portable package that fits into the original case. That’s it.
Why Do This Hack
I’ve always wanted a small but effective softbox for Profoto. But the only good ones that I’ve found are made by Profoto themselves and they’re insanely expensive. I’ve already spent money on the B10 and nearly every transmitter that they have. Spending that much money on a softbox just seems like too much.
Frankly, no one is going to be able to tell the difference between the image quality of one product vs the other. So why then will it matter? As far as I go, I could tell people that I was using a Profoto softbox and they’d probably believe me. The reality is though that no one would be able to tell the difference between this and another softbox. That’s just the truth.
The roundflash essentially collapses down in the same way that a photographic reflector does. You twist and turn but then you taco it to collapse it down. Gaffers tape does a good enough job of keeping the softbox attached to the speedring. And if there are any concerns, then I’ll retape it. But so far, I haven’t found or seen any issues.
How Do The Images Look?
Well, I’m pretty hyped with how the images look in nearly every situation and scenario. The photos below were shot with various pieces of gear. Two images were shot back in the day with a Canon 5D Mk II and a flash diffused by the round flash. Two other photos were shot with a Leica SL2s, my own hacked lens filter, and the roundflash on the Profoto B10. But the two types of images are done with completely different looks in mind and with different models.
The truth about all this though is still that the lighting is more than acceptable in both of these situations. So if all that matters is how the light looks, why should I spend that much money on a Profoto lighting modifier?
