NANLITE Rapid Square, Rectangular and Octagonal Softboxes Announced – Bowens Mount, Eggcrate Included, Plus a 10cm NANLUX Diffusion Ball

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NANLITE Rapid Square, Rectangular and Octagonal Softboxes Announced – Bowens Mount, Eggcrate Included, Plus a 10cm NANLUX Diffusion Ball

NANLITE has added three umbrella-style softboxes to its Rapid line: the Rapid 90 Square, the Rapid 100×70 Rectangular and the Rapid 120 Octagonal. All three fit Bowens and BE mount fixtures, have a silver interior, and come with two diffusers, an eggcrate grid and a carrying bag, at US prices from $89 to $109. Sister brand NANLUX has also released a 10cm FE mount diffusion ball for the Evoke 150C. Here are the details.

We reported on the NANLITE Rapid 90 and Rapid 120 parabolic softboxes in January 2025. Those are deep 16-rib parabolic modifiers with a flat-folding design, and they launched at $179 and $199 (NANLITE’s US store now lists them at $129 and $149). The three new models are a simpler and less expensive option. They use an umbrella-style frame with aluminum alloy rods (four in the square and rectangular versions, eight in the octagonal one) and nylon fabric. NANLITE positions them for portraits, interviews and other soft key light work, in the studio and on location.

The NANLITE Rapid 120 Octagonal with its eggcrate grid. Image credit: NANLITE

Three shapes, one kit

The Rapid 90 Square (SB-S-RP90) measures 90 x 90cm / 35.4 x 35.4in. The Rapid 100×70 Rectangular (SB-RT-RP100×70) measures 100 x 70cm / 39.4 x 27.6in with a depth of 32cm / 12.6in. The Rapid 120 Octagonal (SB-O-RP120) has a diameter of 120cm / 47.2in and a depth of 36cm / 14.2in.

Each softbox comes with an interior and an exterior diffuser. With both diffusers in place, NANLITE specifies a beam angle of 110°. The included eggcrate narrows this to 70° on the Rapid 90 Square and to 60° on the rectangular and octagonal models. The diffusers and the grid can also be used separately.

The silver interior of the Rapid 90 Square, with the interior diffuser in place. Image credit: NANLITE

Folded, the softboxes are between 875mm / 34.4in (rectangular) and 912mm / 35.9in (square) long, and all three use the same 360 x 1095mm / 14.2 x 43.1in carrying bag. The softbox alone weighs 0.82kg / 1.81lb for the square model, 0.85kg / 1.87lb for the rectangular one and 1.08kg / 2.38lb for the octagonal one. The eggcrate adds 0.12 to 0.17kg / 0.27 to 0.38lb, and the bag weighs 0.37kg / 0.82lb.

Which lights fit?

All three softboxes have a Bowens mount and also fit fixtures with BE mount, which is the NANLUX version of the Bowens mount with electronic contacts. NANLITE lists the FC-300B, FC-500B and FC-500C, the FC-720B and FC-720C, the FS-150, FS-200 and FS-300 families including the FS-300C, and the Forza 200, 300, 300B, 500, 500B II, 720 and 720B. On the NANLUX side, the list includes the Evoke 600C. Other Bowens mount lights should fit as well, but NANLITE’s compatibility list only names its own fixtures.

The rear of the Rapid 100×70 Rectangular with its Bowens mount ring. Image credit: NANLITE

NANLUX FE mount diffusion ball 10cm

NANLUX has also released the MD-DB-FE10, a 10cm diffusion ball with FE mount. It fits FE and FM mount fixtures, including the Evoke 150C. It is a smaller version of the 15cm FE and 20cm BE diffusion balls that NANLUX released in October 2025. The ball measures 96 x 92.2mm / 3.78 x 3.63in and weighs 0.03kg / 0.07lb.

The NANLUX 10cm FE mount diffusion ball on its own and on the Evoke 150C. Image credit: NANLUX

According to NANLUX, the ball spreads the fixture’s focused beam into a wide, soft source with hemispherical coverage. The spec sheet gives a beam angle of 110°. Unlike the two larger balls, which NANLUX rates IP66, the 10cm version has no IP rating in its specifications. For Evoke 150C users who already carry the FE30 parallel beam reflector or the FL-12 Fresnel, it adds a soft-light option that weighs almost nothing.

Price and availability

In the US, the softboxes are available for pre-order from NANLITE: the Rapid 100×70 Rectangular costs $89, the Rapid 90 Square costs $99 and the Rapid 120 Octagonal costs $109. NANLITE gives a 2-year warranty. The NANLUX 10cm diffusion ball costs $17.90. At the time of writing, B&H and CVP do not list the new products, and we have not seen European prices yet.

Do you use umbrella-style softboxes on your Bowens mount lights, or do you prefer deeper parabolic modifiers? Which of the three shapes would you choose for interviews? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!