Kood umbrellas?

thanks to threads and folks on here I have now purchased most of my first proper strobist set up - but I cant decide on my final item - what Umbrellas to get?

For sure I want 'shoot through' first, but which ones? I went to Calumet to look at their big Lastolite cheapy but the staff were a bit hopeless, so looking at ebay

I am wary of unbranded ebay stuff (and dont like tat) but am veering towards a 33" Kood (and maybe a 24" Kood for macro/outdoor) as an option

any views?

PS
(already dismissed ProLine for poor quality)

I just got two white 34" shoot throughs - cheapest I could find. Are they the best ever? Probably not. Bigger would possibly have been better, although you have a trade off against portability and wind-catch-ability. But I've found them great. I doubt the results are going to differ greatly between brands, on such a simple piece of kit.I bought a couple of the silver ones too. The light's slightly different; a bit harder. I find the shoot through ones easier to use.

---

[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

I haveCalumet reversible which are more useful than plain shoot-throughs, which fall into the 'no skill,just fill' bracket IMO

---

Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

What does 'no skill just fill' mean, Ken? Surely that's not so much caused by the kit but how you use it?

---

[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]

thanks folks, to be clear - I dont want the cheapest I want something that is serviceable for a non-Pro like myself. Simple robust folding (no tri-fold) and decent stitching in clean white fabric is all I am after. If I have to be paying for Bowens or Lastolite then so be it. If Westcott is "good enough" I will go there

The £5 Ebay stuff seems to be a waste of money as the quality is so low, even basic stuff like the stitching can be unravelling straight out of the bag (from what I read on "reliable" sources like the internet . . .)

- some "brands" seem to be pretty much cheap Ebay offerings without the cheap. Pro line seem to be one of these, I was hoping Kood werent - though their website leads me to think they probably are

As I understand it Calumet stuff is just rebranded Manfrotto etc, no idea who's umbrellas they are re-branding though

I have the Westcott medium apollo which is a softbox in brolly form. I find it very flexible and light to carry around too. Not cheap though but then I tried the cheap brollies and didnt like them.

---

PPG Wedding photography Flickr
Concert photography

Currently on a Pentax hiatus until an FF Pentax is released

Calumet isn't rebranded Manfrotto but very good Chinese made copies of Manfrotto. There is nothing at all wrong with them.

Shoot-through brollies are excellent for a wide spread of soft even light, they are pretty much uncontrollable hence my remark about skill and fill.

---

Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

thanks for the info folks - in the end I picked up an unused 90cm Bowens convertible shoot through with silver/black attaching cover for about the same price as the Kood

if you look on Ebay you can see new ones listed for just over a tenner (I didnt use this seller)
link

- really nicely made and flexible too

That is fantastic, they are usually £33.00

---

Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

Ken - thanks to your enthusiasm (and my weak will) I now have one on its way from this seller too (and I don't even need it! though sooner or later having 2 umbrellas will be useful I am sure . . .)

Made a slightly lower offer and it was accepted instantly, outstanding value