My light gear - soft boxes and photo umbrellas.

Same as many artists  making living on their work, I have days when I really need to watch my budget. (or to be more frank - I am broke).
This often affects the way I do my equipment purchase. While usual wisdom is to buy the very best equipment which lasts lifetime, it is not always possible.

Because of that, I purchased several really inexpensive light boxes and umbrellas which I regretted later.
They were really cheaply made. The silver lining of one umbrella was probably sprayed on fabric, and flakes of it were falling like snow with each opening and closing of the umbrella. It lasted maybe a dozen openings, now it is just a bad memory.
Similarly cheap were some soft boxes, which also proved to be a nightmare to use on location, as they required two people to set them up!

But, trying my luck over and over and trying to do my homework, i was able to find a few keepers, which I use often without breaking my bank. In hope that I can save you some disappointment, stress and money, I would like to share with you my discoveries. I am not getting any kickbacks for recommending them - they work well, and I am happy I found them, that's all.

Westcott Travel Collapsible Umbrella. (photo above)
This little thing goes to my luggage when I go locations. As small as any folding umbrellas used for a rainy weather, it works really nice. Quick to assembly, it can work as reflective or semi transparent. It is made of white fine quality fabric, with a back layer added on if you want to use it for reflecting light. They are not exactly easy to find, I think I ordered mine from Adorama, and it was around $30 or so. Definitely a good deal! Thumbs up!

Another light travel or street photography item: Firefly soft box (called "beauty box"). It is an octagonal and small, beauty dish sized device. Works on umbrella mechanism for super quick setup and includes speedlight mount. It is really well made of fine materials, and is available in shops around. However, it is a bit pricey here. I bought it directly from Korea for about half price.
http://konovaphoto.com/best-selling/aurora-firefly.html

Another great piece of equipment I bought on ebay from England. It is really fine quality huge parabolic umbrella (photo above). This one is a blast when you need a large and strong source of light, it keep very well rounded and focused light, and its silver surface almost magnifies the light, giving a huge but fairly soft light when you need it. Normally parabolic umbrellas are expensive, but this one on ebay was bought at unbelievable price. Here is the link - until it works - on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160492775292&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNASIF:CA:1123
if link does not work, simply search for "parabolic type umbrella", or seller "cotswoldphoto".
This one is one great piece of equipment.

I have also a larger soft box I bought from ebay, and it is also based on umbrella-type mechanism, therefore it is quick and easy to set for a single person. it is made of very good Korean fabric, and of reasonably good quality - definitely worth the price. The seller ADPLO from Hong Kong offers whole range of sizes and different mounts, but always includes in auction title words "Softbox Korea stuff Rustless" so you can search this phrase on ebay, and save a lot on this item.

Surely, these are not the best possible quality items one can get. But they are durable, give good light, and their price offers quite a bang for your buck.