Not long ago, we have reviewed Promaster Duolight 250 Hybrid Lighting System that delivers qualities of a studio strobe, hot-shoe flash, and video LED light in a single unit. Promaster also offers an accessory kit for Duolight 250, which we review below. Additionally, we go through some of the third-party light modifiers made for speedlights that are compatible with this Promaster unit.
Let's start with the Accessory Kit from Promaster, which is fairly inexpensive compared to similar products on the market. The kit includes a softbox, barn doors, and a honeycomb grid.
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The grid, which allows you to focus the light coming from your Duolight 250, has a snap-on design, and it is very easy to put on or take off. It is metal and, therefore, very durable.
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The barn doors included in the Promaster Accessory Kit allow you to control the light spill and somewhat focus the light, as well. The inside surfaces of the three out of four doors are silver, which increases the Guide Number of the unit depending on the position of the doors.
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One of the four doors has an opening with an orange filter, which can be used to match the color temperature of tungsten lights.
We found that attaching the barn doors can be a bit cumbersome. It gets better though, after you do it several times.
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The Promaster softbox measures 7" x 13" (18cm x 33cm), which makes it more of a stripbox than a regular softbox. Attaching it to Duolight 250 is very easy: just pull the softbox over the reflector/head and secure it with the built-in Velcro strap. A handy carrying/storage case is also included with the softbox.
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The softbox is comparable in size to LumiQuest Softbox LTp, as you can see in the image below.
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The reflector of Promaster Duolight 250 is bigger than the flash head of a typical speedlight. For this reason, many speedlight accessories cannot be used with this lighting system, but we were pleased to find out that there were still quite a few compatible modifiers.
You can use LumiQuest UltraStrap or Honl Photo Speed Strap to attach third-party light modifiers that use a Velcro attachment system.
For example, Honl Photo traveller8 softbox or Aurora MINI/MAX softboxes will not fit the larger head of Promaster Duolight 250. However, LumiQuest Softbox III or LumiQuest Softbox LTp fit the unit quite nicely. The larger Honl Photo traveller16 softbox can also be used, as you can see in the photos below.
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Rogue FlashBender reflectors are great to use as flags. The following image shows a Large FlashBender reflector attached on the right side of Duolight 250.
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To sum up, Promaster Accessory Kit for Promaster Duolight 250 provides you with the basic light shaping tools at a reasonable price. Additionally, there is a good chance that some of your existing light modifiers will work with Duolight 250, as well, opening up more options for using this hybrid lighting system.