Review : Kamerar D-Fuse Trapezoid Cylinder Light Panel Softbox

LED Light Panels are terrific light sources for video obviously but many still photographers prefer continuous lighting over flash (I really do feel for these folks). Unfortunately, unless you spend a lot of money, LED panels tend to be small and thus unless they are right on top of the subject, the light is quite direct and harsh. A diffusion frame over the panel itself spreads the coverage but does not increase softness in any way at all. This is a common misconception or outright lie perpetrated by the uninformed and the unscrupulous.

So how to make the light from an LED panel softer?

You already know how. Make it bigger!

I had a need to make the light from a couple of Godox LED panels softer for use in recording myself for tutorials and for live streaming. I don’t like squinting with a light hitting me in the face and I don’t like harsh light unless I have a specific purpose. I have a lot of soft boxes and umbrellas, but I discovered that none of them were simple to use with these inexpensive and useful Godox LED-260 panels that I have many of.

So I started searching with the criteria that the thing be simple to setup and teardown, that I could get the benefit of the size of the panels that I already owned, be lightweight and be inexpensive. I admit that I expected not to have success but I was wrong.

What I found was the Kamerar D-Fuse Trapezoid Cylindrical Light Panel Softbox, a product whose name is nearly as big as the device.

It unfolds like a reflector to a disk shape 23 inches in diameter and about 6 ¼ inches deep. The rear opening is perfect for a square LED panel around 12 inches x 12 inches, but as the unit just attaches to your panel with elastic velcro straps, it works perfectly with the rectangular Godox lights that I already own. It stays open with a series of two piece rods that use magnets and a sliding tube to keep them rigid and in place. I have seen complaints about these, but in my rather heavy use, I have to say that I expect that the issues are more user related than product related.

The front panel is very thin, which is a good thing considering how underpowered most LED panels are. As I mentioned it’s very light and so doesn’t place strain on the plastic mounting arms used on the Godox panels, along with most of the other offshore made panels.

In the link provided, you can order direct from Kamerar at a cost of about $50 USD for one, or get a 3 Pack for about $135 USD. I found mine on Amazon Canada, but they no longer list them directly and the alternative buying options are clearly set by people on very heavy drugs.

Kamerar has a number of options in a square format with different sizes for different sized panels. You can also get combo kits that include soft grids, if you need that sort of thing. They are not fancy, but for my use cases they are ideal. They get the job done, create no hassles and were well priced for what they delivery.

Thanks for reading. If you shop at B&H Photo Video, please use the link on the home page or the specific links in the article. It costs you no more, and we get paid a small commission on anything that you buy which helps us along. For The Photo Video Guy, I’m Ross Chevalier and until next time, peace.