Bastard Studio Lights

So I was in an electronics store yesterday, and I found these Bastard Brandless -well they have a brand, a Chinese one I've never heard of before- Set f studio lights for an affordable price

the bundle includes
2x 300 watts flash lights
2x Studio light stands
2x reflectors
2x soft light boxes


Now I poked through the boxes, the material is sturdy and industriously strong

and the stands seem to not wobble much -sand bags or whatever to weight them down anyway-

the bundle is priced at 1700 Dhs = 470 US$

should I get them??

I don't think the staff will have much experience in terms of technical experience, but I can always return them and get vouchers from the shop which I practically live in and buy most of my electronics from


So??

any help making up my mind :) what should I look for in them?

the manufacturer extremely under nourished website is at http://www.jinhui-lighting.com/product/studio.htm


there seem to be some fair amount of people talking about them online and all pointing to the cheap price tag.

Some compared them to the Aurora brand -also a new species to me-

what do you guys think??

I'm going back to the store in a while, do you think you'll need me to post the back panel from one of the flashes??

I need to use it with my 40D and perhaps with the G9 as a slave camera for some experimenting


also do I need to buy any more cables to attach t the camera, or I can fire them through my Camera's own flash??

EDIT* found another more related link from another beefier website

http://www.nb-jinhui.com/En/product....234&ClaId=1234

What about the price and availability of spares like flash bulbs etc.
...if that is ok go for it!
I have a chinese studio flash and softbox myself...very reliable and working well for me :)

Bah, when I decided to go get it, they were out of stock, and they only had the units in display, and seeing how we treated them in my tests, I don't want them :(

I tried contacting the Chinese manufacture, and still waiting for a supplier list in Dubai

might end up buying them from China or so

tell me, how are they with Infra red triggering??

and how long have you had them Frexus??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by el-Ignoramus

tell me, how are they with Infra red triggering??
and how long have you had them Frexus??

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have it since 2 years now without failure and ...oh well, they are not very sensitive on IR remote so I use a cord :(

correct me if I'm wrong, so you use the cord on one of them only, what about the other one?
and I'll try it first with Infrared, if not, then I'll get the Rf trigger, it's about 300 USD

Quote:

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Originally Posted by el-Ignoramus

correct me if I'm wrong, so you use the cord on one of them only, what about the other one?
USD

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There is no other one...I have only one 120 watts and a softbox which is working well for my purpose (table tops and portrait) and I use a piece of styrofoam or a tinfoil as a reflector...
look here...
http://sambesigroup.ax-media.de/prod...roducts_id=134

Hmm I see, but do you have any idea f it's possible to release two flash units through one cable, or for that matter through RF trigger, because I'd rather not spend that much on an RF trigger which will fire only one flash unit and the second one has to be fired manually.

I might still buy the Units, give it a test in my photography room -not that big to begin with- now if only they'd have more of it in Stock :(

...possible but for sure diffucult as you need to boost the igniton voltage...but there are flash servos firing studios by your cams flash...maybe an option?

Most studioflashes has optical triggers. So the light from one will trigger the other/s

I use a simple $30 IR transmitter to trigger all my cheap china flash

The camera flash can most likely trigger them to but I dont like to have light coming from the camera, as you constantly move when shooting..

I read about those 30 US$ IR triggers, but the review said they weren't that practical and lack stability, is this the case??

They havent failed me yet. They are only for studio use though. Outside they are no good. Then I use the cheap Cactus triggers.

Remember to factor in the cost of a lightmeter, a wee sekonic flashmate will suffice. I think you could get one for <$100

For me, shooting 5x4, 300w would be too little but on a 40D I think it'll be ideal. People only really spend masses amounts of money on studio flash heads and generators for reliability and accuracy. If it's for learning in your own time and place, if it flashes... you're good!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by el-Ignoramus

also do I need to buy any more cables to attach t the camera, or I can fire them through my Camera's own flash??

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You won't want to be doing that. You will need a PC to 1/4 mono jack sync cable to fire one flash, and the other will be synced up optically. (if the 40D doesn't have a PC sync (the small circular socket) you can buy a hotshoe to pc sync adapter)

If the flash heads don't have optical slaves you can get a 1/4 optical slave adapter pretty cheap. Or you can DIY them for next to nothing.

Robbie to the rescue, thanks for the info man, appreciate it, the 40D comes with the PC connector, but to be honest, I'll try my luc with the IR trigger first, if not then it's the RF one coz I'll be moving around and last thing I need is more cumbersome cables in my way

I'll probably go tonight to see if they have restocked the kit once more

Will keep you guys posted, thanks everyone

...did you ever think about a light set fired by a generator?...maybe too expensive but at least it fires them all ;)

Freakos, I haven't thought of that one before, any links???

or you mean a Set of Separate lights powered up by an electric generator??

coz that would suffocate my models in 1-2 hours tops ;)

http://www.foto-walser.biz/shop/Kate...e_Lighting.htm

http://www.elinchrom.com/

:)

A generator still involves lots of cables and is probably overkill for 300w heads. I generally only need to use a generator when shooting f64.

Look into the cheap radio poppers on ebay. They can be modded to be pretty reliable.

Also look into elincrom skyports. Great brand and a hell of a lot cheaper than pocket wizards!