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

I'm a pro and bought this for a recent assignment that took me from Denver to Tampa to photograph three executives outdoors. I needed a quick setup and a specific screen size - this one fits a T. However, I quickly found that there are a few downsides: 1- The black outer shell only comes off after unscrewing and reattaching the end. Lid. It's attached to the end of the pole, and while you could theoretically use it as a walkway, the black will dangle somewhere along the way if you don't take the time to remove it. There is no silver on the inside of black, so it's only used to prevent light scattering. 2- After shrinking to the smallest size, the outer black peels off the ends of the ribs in many places. That's exactly how it's designed, and it's a side effect of the extra joints required to make this destruction so small. This makes setting it up time consuming as you have to reattach all the ends before you can attach it to anything. Definitely uncomfortable. 3- When the wind blows into the screen, it folds slightly in the opposite direction (ie from concave to convex). So if you're shooting in 15+ mph winds or gusts, keep that in mind. I have never used an umbrella of ANY size that made it so easy. Mine did this towards the end of my session and it fell and broke one of the bar connectors. However, if you work in a controlled environment, the size might not be better for travel. I just wish Lastolite would add some more "last" to this lighting modifier.