How I'm using them. In the past I have used strobes on remote triggers for group photos of dance group my wife belongs to, worked well but takes a fair amount of fiddling around to get the lights aimed and camera adjusted to the lights since I have to trigger the flash to see the light. Continuous light source would make that easier.
Do I review the first kit or the replacement? First one had a stand with a defective latch for the extension pole, the latch for both tall stands was basackward design poorly put together. The locking levers on the tall stands was almost unmovable, with the hinge pin of one in crooked. The replacement (same kit) had larger latch levers that worked smoothly. First kit shipped had an umbrella with the material not attached to one of the ribs so material sagged (missed sewing that one). Replacements were different material and had a round plastic tip on the end of the umbrella not on the first kits umbrellas.
First Con - the items are not consistent from one order to the next. You don't know that what your getting is what others have given positive reviews. (or negative for that matter)
These are bargain stands, with fairly small bases not going to be very stable with a large umbrella in the 50 or 60 inch range. The main use I have for lights is to shoot groups, large umbrellas are a must as I require even light over large area. However if one was setting up lights for portraits or product shots and working in a smaller area such as a photo booth, home studio in a spare room or corner of the basement the smaller size might be an advantage. If you plan on shooting a wedding these are not the stands you want. Pictures for online sales, or family portraits on the cheap the stands would work ok.
Stands are a toss up. If I had it to do over I would purchase stands separately based on the review of the stands to have better quality. I would have had to spend more money for them.
Pro - The light sockets were all good, had a metal tab that applied spring tension to the umbrella shaft so umbrella was stable, not high quality but all arrived serviceable without socket problems.
Umbrellas - what can I say quality on par with all the other $7 to $9 33 inch umbrellas. I purchased with reflective silver/black because as I mentioned I want as much light as possible over large area, shooting through white umbrella reduces the amount of light, besides I already have white umbrellas. These work for what they are. If doing it again a better investment might have been to purchase individual umbrellas based on the umbrella reviews.
The short stand would make a decent keyhole light or back light stand, latches were better on this stand than on the larger stands. Base is small so don't plan on extending to full height and putting an umbrella on it without stability issues. Which might be why the kit only has two umbrellas.
The lights - mostly con. The people who complained that they are inadequate are being generous. They are NOT the equivalent of 200 watt incandescent, not even close. Range using reflective silver umbrella was approx. 6 feet and maybe 1 shutter speed stop faster worth of light at that range. Again for situations where light can be close they could be useful. I think with a frame of about 8 ft. (such as an 8 ft. backdrop or green screen) and all three lights you could at least get even and fairly decent light. One or two person portrait lighting they would work. Might as well plan on doing what I did and purchasing some decent 85 watt lights, I went with Kazi in 5500k. The one good thing about these 45 watt kit bulbs is they are a pretty good match for the color temperature of my flash units. So I can mix and match without big white balance issues.
On purchasing those 85 watt bulbs those are great big bright beautiful light, 2 shutter stops faster focused 20 ft. away. Those bulbs are huge. When it comes to lights bigger and brighter is what I want.
Don't make the mistake I did of ordering a double light socket, I figured I could use the two 45 watts I replaced with 85 watt bulbs on another stand if I had a double socket. Two small dim bulbs is still just more dim light, not worth it.
Bag is OK - nice enough but not heavy duty.
So why three stars for what on the basis of quality and overall performance sounds like a two star review? First off Amazon was very prompt in sending the replacement kit. Service counts. And because it is a budget kit. You don't buy a Yugo and expect it to be a Honda Civic. At $70 you can expect every part to be budget quality. And within its limitations you could use it to take better studio pictures. A pair of decent 7 ft. stands would run you around $60-$80, those good 85 watt lights are $14.50 each. (totally worth the cost) better umbrellas also cost more.
It does provide a way to get started with controlled 3 point lighting on a budget, as an investment in photography equipment it falls short. If you continue to pursue photography this will end up being replaced sooner rather than later. If you can make do with less "stuff" of better quality consider spending the extra money and shopping for better individual items to build up a good kit over time.
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Customer reviews
I ordered this light set for an indoor photo shoot. I was skeptical about the quality of the product, because of the price, but it surpassed my expectations. I travel with the set and set it up indoors for photo shoots. The size of the product packed up in the travel case is manageable, lightweight and easy to carry. It comes with two umbrella lights, a smaller light (3 stands all together), three light bulbs and a carrying case.With the smaller light I aim it away from the subject and project it off a cheap poster board towards the subject. These are constant lights and it will get hot in a room fast, a fan is an extra bonus if you have one!The only thing I recommend that you add to your purchase order is an extension cord or two as these cords are not that long. I also recommend that you keep ALL the product packaging (minus the shipping box) and take down the equipment and store it like you received it every time you use it. This is what I have been doing with it for over a year and I have not had to replace anything with it.
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Top reviews from the United States
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If I had it to do over I would purchase stands separately based on the review of the stands to have better quality. I would have
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2014Style: B/S triple kitProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2012
Style: BW1200wkitProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Antonio
Excelente
Reviewed in Mexico on December 26, 2017Style: triple kitProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Mathieu
Working kit but not rock solid, just test all the parts when receiving, Cowboystudio and Amazon are there to help!
Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2015Style: BW1200wkitProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Working kit but not rock solid, just test all the parts when receiving, Cowboystudio and Amazon are there to help!
Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2015
I've bought this item and sadly one of the bulb socket came broken. I had the same issue some people had: the metal ring loosened from the plastic and damaged it when screwing the bulb.Reviewed in Canada on July 17, 2015
Considering the price, I expected having something working, but for sure you won't get something as rock solid as pro hardware (which also costs a lot more).
I strongly suggest you try first every piece when you receive the box. In my case I contacted Cowboystudio and Amazon and they know the problem so they were very kind and helpful. They sent me the replacement parts at no charge to avoid sending back the whole package (which is quite big).
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Amazon Customer
Easy to set up
Reviewed in Canada on February 4, 2018Style: triple kitProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
