I,m looking for a flash kit. I thought I,d start by having a quick look on e bay, Bowens or elinchrom, but there seem to be a lot of very cheap flash kits ;3 x 180 flash heads, stands,soft boxes, brollies and leads all for £200 delivered. This seems incredibly cheap, can they really be OK for this money?,, has anyone tried any of these kits? I,d be interested to know if anyone has used one of kits?
the strobes themselves are OK, the accessories are usually very low grade (stands/sync cables die fast, but for 3-8$ a piece who cares)
They are reliable and work pretty much as expected for the most part.
I have about 6-7 "china" generic strobes from 160-300WS and all are exactly what i paid for.
The problems i have run into is that color balance is off on some of the umbrellas which are not brand names.
In the studio i use bowens monolights, which were not that much more expensive on Ebay, and some deals do come along.
I just saw 3 Esprit 200/300 sell for 120$ each. Those are not that much different the the bowens knock off made in china, for the price, see if you can find a name brand (D-lite 4 kits shouldent be that expensive), or just go for the best looking el cheapo units.
I've had a similar experience: pretty good for the money. If you're just getting into studio lighting, it's a good way to start, though spending a little extra for Bowens (or Calumet/Bowens) is worth while. If you're fitting out a commercial studio for stuff that's going to be used hard every day, then you want real pro gear, not the knockoffs.
An exception are the various cheapie wireless flash triggers. I've gone through several of them and they always fail at just the wrong time. It's worth spending a little more for Pocket Wizards. The new X model is reasonably priced and has all the basic features.
Also consider availability of flash tubes, reflectors, softbox adapters. And whether parts/repairs are available.
Take a step back and decide what you need it to do. sometimes you want almost no depth of field and almost any junk kit will produce enough power. HOWEVER.....if you are shooting table top sets that require a great deal of depth of field, anything stop action that may need even a bit of depth of field, architectural interiors what need a huge depth of field, group portraits that also need a lot of depth of field, (and the list goes on), all you would be doing is wasting your money on every level. Power means depth of field! Period!!! Any unit can be powered way down, but if you don't have the power to begin with, you are mostly out of luck (except in perfectly still subjects where you can endlessly pop the flash while building up more and more light, but with those dinky units, that could take hours).
Take a look at the Paul C. Buff units, the Einsteins and and their other units. They are relatively inexpensive, extremely reliable, have a great deal of power and tons of accessories that are fine quality. I speak for them since I've used their gear since the late 70's with great success and reliability. In the three plus decades I've used them, I've only had four repairs and those were turned around to me a under a week.
However, Calumet, Photogenic and others have outstanding mono lights, just perhaps not as comprehensive a system. Others like Speedotron have great multi heads from a single power source which are the most powerful systems. One caveat there is that if your power source tanks, you are down for weeks waiting while it is repaired unless you invest in at least one more expensive power pack for backup. Monolights have the power source built in so if one fails, the rest of your system is still running and you are never out of business.
"One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude." Carl Sandburg
I second Paul C Buff. I just ordered my dream set last night. 3 more Einsteins so I have 4 and his Cyber Commander system that gives interactive wireless control for up to 16 of the lights. As my friend and neighbor also has Einsteins and Alien Bees we can share a huge setup within our building.
I like they are USA made, even the electronic control system, and affordable. Seems a lot of people agree as he seems sells a lot of these.
I need to grow into this system and I will shoot digital and film with them...
I have Norman and Novatron that need a new Chicago home.
The OP is (presumably) in the UK; as he/she used £ as currency denomination. I don't know if the Paul Buff units are sold outside the US.
However, I have 3 of the original Paul C Buff WL10000 monolights (the ones that look like paint cans) and they are still going strong. Flash tubes and - AFAIK - repairs are still available.
You are correct, this is from the website, here.
I now remember, PCB has gotten a lot of flack for his policies, but I understand his explanation. It's his business.
Please read his entire statement as there are ways and a logic to his policies.
Originally Posted by HMG
Yes I,m in the UK, so some of the makes suggested aren,t available over here. I,ve owned Bowens set ups before so i,ll probably go for them or elinchrom, but I was just curious as to whether at those prices the Chinese copies could be any good. If the heads are OK, it might be worth buying a set to use in conjunction with some better quality units
I use b800 and a b1600 from buff and they are great lights
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