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Thread: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

  1. #11
    indecent exposure cosmicexplosion's Avatar
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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    i bought two 600w 'mettle' flash from china, they are great as they come with battery pack for field, and ac power, think 700aud for two

    one flash can also set of the other wirlessly

    pretty flash hey?

    Andrew
    through a glass darkly...

  2. #12
    retrogrouchy
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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    Time for an update: Do not buy anything from Meking Studio on eBay, they are liars and swindlers. The flashes were DOA, I returned them, they acknowledged receipt of the items, promised replacements... but I of course received nothing.

    And to add insult to injury, PayPal denied my refund claim. They "accepted an explanation from the seller" apparently, without telling me what they "explanation" is or even giving me the opportunity to provide evidence that the flashes were dead on arrival. So fuck you, PayPal. Buyer Protection isn't worth anything.

    So now I'm down about $800 with nothing to show for it, and I *still* don't know where I can find affordable studio strobes in Australia. Severely pissed off at this point.

  3. #13

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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    I have chineese made powerpack for shoots in Russia (so i wouldn't have to lug me Elinchroms around all the time), but i bought it via local dealer Its almost true 600w, battery powers single head, analogue dial for power setting, radio trigger included, bowens mount. Sync speed is ok at about 200/250. 400 is missing discharge spike. I know there are newer models now, they wanted me to do review on them, but i was in States at the time of release and kinda skipped it. If you want model names i can look them up for you.

    Afaik price was about 400/500USD (in local currency). About as much as Adorama was selling them recently.

  4. #14
    retrogrouchy
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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    Sergei: I'm interested, except that now I'm angry enough to want to either buy a brand-name or buy from an Australia reseller so that I have direct legal leverage in case of a failed unit.

    I've had a lot of good experience with Chinese electronics but in this one case where the goods were destroyed by the postal service (it looks like), the seller turns out to be good for nothing but hot air. And they're immune to AU laws.

  5. #15

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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    I know the feeling, but then i got screwed by "Epson repair" shop in CA just three months ago.

    Here is one i use:
    http://rocksphoto.en.alibaba.com/pro...ash_Light.html

    this is another one that was ok:
    http://www.aliexpress.com/store/prod...549006205.html

    (and yes, model code is just ... lovely )

  6. #16

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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    Make or find one of those heliographic signal boxes like the army used to use?
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  7. #17

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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    One wise person, but whose name I cannot recall, once said that it is more expensive to err on the cheap side than the too expensive side. If you go too cheap, then you end up losing your investment, plus have to purchase what you should have purchased in the first place. If you err on the high side, you just lose the difference between what you bought and what you should have bought (but you still have the utility of what you bought). I bet the PCB gear doesn't look quite as expensive as it once did. (sorry, not meant to be harsh).

    Also, what are the odds the no name Chinese companies will be around when you need service? Vs. the odds that PCB will be around? For sizable investments, or long term investments, brand names have more value (but these days no business is completely safe in the long term).

  8. #18
    retrogrouchy
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    Re: Recommendations for cheap (probably chinese) studio flashes

    "Buying quality" is a fine theory and for some stuff, it works very well. Conversely, some cheap stuff is so cheap that it is worth the gamble. Though I was ripped off in this case (and am not the only one), I am waaaaay ahead in the long term compared to buying all brand-name stuff. My normal approach is to buy secondhand high-quality goods, but the weight (and stupid US voltages) of flash gear makes that problematic in Australia. PCB is no better - it's still chinese stuff and I could buy two complete sets of flashes from different chinese vendors, throw one set away and come out ahead of the PCB option. The only real failure of the cheap-chinese option here is that PayPal Buyer Protection didn't work.

    It gets more bizarre though, I got a message from the seller today that they have completed the repair and have sent the items back, and this is AFTER PayPal denied my claim and left negative feedback, though I'm in the process of speaking with the Financial Services Ombudsman about that. We shall see what arrives in the post or whether it's yet another hollow promise.

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