Review on Westcott 2011 43-Inch Optical White Satin Collapsible Umbrella: Sleek Black Design by Megan Smith

Yes, this umbrella is cheap. After three very careful uses, the black part that's supposed to turn it into a reflector no longer stays on the device properly unless it's fully extended. The locking mechanism, which technically still works, now reaches too far and it takes something like the tip of a handle to snap it back in properly so you can pull the stem back in for transport. I don't expect it to last very long. Despite all that, it does its job of diffusing the light very efficiently and I'm able to take great pictures with it. I've played around a bit and used it as a reflector with no black backing and that seems to work well too if you do some camera adjustments for light leaks. This also doesn't work well in a studio environment where you'll probably want the light to be better contained, but it's fine for a wide, open outdoor space. I would recommend this to a friend with the caveat that this is really just a shoot. - continuous and not a combined umbrella, due to poor processing quality. But for the price I'm happy with the purchase.