FAQ

General

Why choose Lighttools?

As the originators of Soft Egg Crates (Original Black), and Ultra Soft Egg Crates (33% Grey), ez[POP] Soft Egg Crates, and CUfocus Soft Egg Crates, we are the world leader in soft light control. We offer:

What Soft Egg Crates do?

Soft Egg Crates are made up of uniform parallel cells that control off axis light at right angles to the diffuser. A secondary effect is that Soft Egg Crates reduce the near-to-far light ratio, creating more even lighting which is ideal for when a subject is moving towards or away from the light. This more even lighting occurs due to increased occlusion by the cells at closer distances.

How are ez[POP] Soft Egg Crates different?

Lighttools ez[POP] Soft Egg Crates combine all the light control benefits of the Soft Egg Crates with faster set-up and a built-in tensioning frame. The Soft Egg Crate remains taut and in perfect formation regardless of how your softbox is angled .

Why use Lighttools?

As the inventors of Original, ez[POP] and CUfocus Soft Egg Crates, we are the world leader in soft light control.

We provide:
• A complete range of soft light control tools.
• Models to fit most manufacturers' lightbanks.
• In-house manufacturing.
• Unparalleled quality assurance, dependability and a three-year warranty.
• Personal support with product selection, technical specifications and photometric data.

What are CUfocus Soft Egg Crates and how do they work?

CUfocus® Soft Egg Crates light the subject at very close distances with 100% of the source and tightly block light around the desired subject area. This is achieved by the design of cells angled to a specific close distance, based on the diffuser size. Most of our close focus Soft Egg Crates are angled to a distance .75 times the diagonal dimension of the diffuser size.

CUfocus, with angled cells, are the only egg crates that block light tightly around a subject at close distance without resulting in occlusion reducing the effective size of the source. Full-source illumination at close-distances is not possible with right angle egg crates due to occlusion.

†Occlusion: Refers to the blocking of light by Soft Egg Crate cells at close distances.
CUFOCUS: THE OCCLUSION REVOLUTION

MORE LIGHT, TIGHTER CONTROL

Technical

What is indicated by the cell size degree designation?

The off-axis portion of the light is controlled by the cell size.

Cell size, measured in degrees, describes the maximum angle of the off-axis light. A 20° Soft Egg Crate is our narrowest model, giving you the greatest ability to aggressively control light. At the same time, this model creates the most significant occlusion at close distances. The 60° is the widest cell size making it the most modest light blocking tool.

The 30°/50° model offer two variations in a single Lighttools Soft Egg Crate. You can easily vary the amount of soft light spread in four directions by rotating these models.

I love the dramatic control of the 30° Soft Egg Crate on my lightbank, but I want to use a larger source, such as an Overhead Frame. What degree would give me the same look?

A specific Lighttools cell size designation gives the same cutoff of light whether it is on a lightbank or an Overhead Frame. The only difference would be the square footage of light coverage determined by the light source size variation.

How much light loss occurs with the use of a Soft Egg Crate?

Light loss on center axis is minimal at a distance greater than three times the diagonal dimension of the light source. With Original Soft Egg Crate models the light loss at these distances is less than a 1/4 f-stop, even on our most dramatic 20° model. At closer distances, there is a greater loss due to occlusion of up to two f-stops.

How do the Lighttools Stretch Frames work and why use them?

Lighttools Stretch Frames eliminate sag, giving you complete control, - regardless of how much your lightbank is angled downward.

Essential for larger softboxes, Stretch Frames are a one-piece, collapsible frame constructed to the unparalleled standards of all Lighttools products. When inserted into the softbox, the Stretch Frame creates rigid sides to keep your Lighttools Soft Egg Crate taut for 100% efficiency.

One Stretch Frame can be used for all Lighttools Original and CUfocus Soft Egg Crates with the same outside dimensions, regardless of their cell size.

For a more detailed information and pictures, visit our Stretch Frames page.

* Separate Stretch Frames are not required for ez[POP] models as the ez[POP] stretch frame is built-in.