I was in the market for a softbox and came across a great deal on an Amvona Dynaphos softbox that I couldn’t pass up. The softbox came with a speedring, which was just a flat, circular sheet of metal with a pattern cut out of the middle that allowed Amvona hot-lights to be removed with a quarter turn. Luckily, it was easy to remove and replace with whatever I wanted. I could’ve modified that metal speedring that came with it but it was pretty beefy and would’ve taken longer to cut. To make life easier, I opted for a piece of 3.2mm styrene (plastic) that I got at a local hobby store (it was with the model train accessories). The actual material isn’t important, you could use styrene, ABS, plexiglass, wood, and so on, as long as its fairly thin and sturdy.

First, I cut out a styrene circle equal to the size of the original speedring. Then I cut a rectangular hole in the middle that was large enough for the head of a speedlite to pass through, with room to spare. Around this, I siliconed a piece of foam. It made a pretty firm seal around the head of my 580ex but to be sure it didn’t fall out, I drilled a few holes and used paracord/550 cord as a way to secure it. On the back of the styrene, I covered it with gaffer’s tape to give it a more professional look. After this, I bolted this new “speedring” into the frame and was good to go. The red arrows indicate how the frame mounts to a light stand (I’ve received many questions on this). One end is threaded for 1/4″-20 and the other, 5/8″, so that it can be mounted on any light stand. It works surprisingly well for what it is. If you need more power, stay tuned for my dual speedlite revision.

Tags: DIY, softbox, strobist