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Microstock Photography Forum - General => Photography Equipment => Lighting => Topic started by: litifeta on August 10, 2008, 04:56
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I am amazed at the quality of these lights I have just purchased. They are at least as good as my Alien Bees.
There is a short review on my blog here: http://stockphotoz.blogspot.com (http://stockphotoz.blogspot.com)
Gino has been appointed the overseas sales representative and deals directly with stock photographers. You buy these direct from the factory and they change the plugs on site to suit your country's electrical systems. This is a direct email contact for [email protected] He will email you a full price list on request.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_B8-s-j7x9z4/SJ1WHoqA8CI/AAAAAAAAAA4/BIq96m4JF4M/s200/boling1.gif)
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Your blog post says "Everything in the photo above is included in the kit which costs around $265USD."
That almost sounds 'too good to be true', 3 lights with stands and soft boxes, 2 background stands, background, and a case..
does that price u paid actually include 3 lights a background and a case?
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incredible!
I´m waiting for a chinese copy of Hasselblad 40Mp for 500$ ::)
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Does sound too good to be true. When I sent the cash I was not sure and had fully expected it was a scam.
But the stuff turned up very fast. Also Gino stayed in contact all the way. The customer service is fantastic.
Yes everything in the picture is included. Check out their website for other packs.
Of course what happens is a wholesaler buys them, adds 30% margin, then sells them to a retailer who adds 30%. While I have not asked, I believe you can order them in quantities with your own brand name. Which is probably what usually happens.
By the way, the title of the story is the link to the website. There is no referral for me.
Check out their wicked generators and battery packs.
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I did find their website via the email - and browsed around.
lol I thought your blog post might have been exaggerating, - I didn't think you could get all that for that price. thanks for the comments - its tempting...
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it is worth asking for a price list just for . of it.
I have seen this gear before with a famous brand name on it. Interesting. I wonder if they actually make these famous brand names!
I have got stuff from China before and it looked and felt cheap. These lights definately do not feel cheap.
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Are the flash tubes replaceable ?
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Good point Jack. Once had an old set of Smith/Victors
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flash and modelling bulbs replaceable.
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Found one shop in Sydney which sells one of their smaller packages for A$1300.
http://www.photo-shop-studio.com/eng/itemdetails.asp?id=TK%2D1100WS&rec=0&sql=select+%2A+from+Item%5Fe1+WHERE+Status%3C%3E%27Hidden%27+and+ItemClass1%3D%27Studio+Lighting%27+and+ItemClass2%3D%27%2D%27+and+ItemClass3%3D%27%2D%27&PriceCurrency=1
Not such a sweet deal - for about the same amount one can get a pair of Elinchromes BK400 with stands and umbrellas.
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And (the original OP): Thanks, mate, I was not laughing this loud for a long time ;D after reading your blog.
"Australians can now look at Rudd and see if he can continue the work done by his ALP predecessors and drive the economy in the direction it needs to take."
Sure he can ROFLMAO :D ;D ;D ;D
It did not take him long, did it ?
Time to update the blog with something like this maybe:
"Australians are now looking at how quickly they can kick him out in order to save whatever is left of the economy" ;D
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lmao at me ... I tried to delete that blog but it wont let me ...
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Found one shop in Sydney which sells one of their smaller packages for A$1300.
[url]http://www.photo-shop-studio.com/eng/itemdetails.asp?id=TK%2D1100WS&rec=0&sql=select+%2A+from+Item%5Fe1+WHERE+Status%3C%3E%27Hidden%27+and+ItemClass1%3D%27Studio+Lighting%27+and+ItemClass2%3D%27%2D%27+and+ItemClass3%3D%27%2D%27&PriceCurrency=1[/url]
Not such a sweet deal - for about the same amount one can get a pair of Elinchromes BK400 with stands and umbrellas.
Just checked the price list they gave me. This is about $550 direct from the factory. Not a bad mark up hey.
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SNIP - You buy these direct from the factory and they change the plugs on site to suit your country's electrical systems. This is a direct email contact for Gino.--snip
I just got a reply, and gino stated that these are unavailable in 110 v - ie for north america - oh well thanks for the heads up anyway
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thanks for this, nice to see something we can use here, everything always seems to be 110v. been trying to decide whether to save for the elinchroms or buy cheap ones that may need replacing in 6+ months. most of the cheapies really arent that cheap, but I will definetly look further into this.
re blog, feel the same way about the landscapes and
I love the comment
"Then I got the heavy metal son out..."
this involve crowbars :) or bribery :D
Phil
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Found one shop in Sydney which sells one of their smaller packages for A$1300.
[url]http://www.photo-shop-studio.com/eng/itemdetails.asp?id=TK%2D1100WS&rec=0&sql=select+%2A+from+Item%5Fe1+WHERE+Status%3C%3E%27Hidden%27+and+ItemClass1%3D%27Studio+Lighting%27+and+ItemClass2%3D%27%2D%27+and+ItemClass3%3D%27%2D%27&PriceCurrency=1[/url]
Not such a sweet deal - for about the same amount one can get a pair of Elinchromes BK400 with stands and umbrellas.
that set is different one from litifetas, I have emailed for pricing, it will be interesting to see the markup :) coz at that price I drop a light and pickup the elinchrom d-lite 4 kit
phil
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"Then I got the heavy metal son out..."
this involve crowbars :) or bribery :D
Phil
Bribery of course. He is 16. Life revolves around World of Warcraft, wearing smelly clothes, and grunting.
Re Clearview, yeah I know it is a different kit. I got the price for all the kits. But you are right, over $1000 I would not waste money unless it was Elinchrom.
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at the price you paid for yours it looks great, I use a couple of vivitar 285 flash's and I couldn't buy 3 of them for that price let alone stands etc (and not to mention the 10-20sec recycle time :(
thanks
Phil
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They want to be paid by Western Union. There's no comeback with that and I avoid WU like trhe plague for that reason.
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If one wants something which beats Broncolor monolights ;) then look no further than here:
Comparison table:
http://www.dragonimage.com.au/testiomnials.asp?id=12
and some of the flashes:
http://www.dragonimage.com.au/product.asp?id=578
http://www.dragonimage.com.au/product.asp?id=607
(And - this are not HK$ where the price is given).
Well - they look good, but it would take some doing to beat Broncolor at their own game.
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If one wants something which beats Broncolor monolights ;) then look no further than here:
Yah man ... but we are talking about 2 different things. I would love a pro studio kit costing thousands as well.
The stuff I got came direct from the factory. The prices are quoted in RMB (Yuan) and they accept USD which is yuan / 6.8.
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Well - I am not sure. The stuff looks good, has some impressive specs, but God knows how long it will be around and what kind of support one may expect in 5 years time. That's why I am getting "budget" White Lightning set (4 monolights with 300" Ws total).
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just got the price list. The pricing is very impressive across the entire range, obvisously wouldn't expect top brand quality, but looks a lot better than ebay.
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Thanks for introducing us all to Boling. I had a good chat with Gino via email and ended up buying one of the portable kits they sell and a couple of softboxes. It's a nifty little unit and features 2 x 300w strobes that run off a battery pack. You can plug into the mains as well so you could use in a studio.
Quality of softboxes is fantastic, lights seem well made and use standard flash tubes. Haven't used them in anger yet but they recycle quickly just in a test. The package all fits in a nice little box which was supplied.
Communication was good, paying by Western Union was a painful process but the goods turned up very quickly.
I asked why they don't use Paypal and it seems Paypal impose a few restrictions on them because of being in mainland China.
Cheers
Gary
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well, i guess I'm reliving this post.
I'm interested in this kits, have been looking for something cheap to start testing, but i have no idea on light equipment so i wanted to do some "stupid" questions.
will this kit be enough to start shooting? don't i need something else to shoot the flashes, like a remote shooter? are they TTL synchronized with my camera (Nikon D80)? if so, what else do i need to buy? some sincro cable or something like that?
As you would see, I'm totally new at this.
Thank you for your time
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Good questions, actually. Since I shoot with a D80, I will be interested in responses. And, I am just getting over the shock of dedicated flash prices. WOW! Nikon is very proud of that SB-900. :o
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well, i guess I'm reliving this post.
I'm interested in this kits, have been looking for something cheap to start testing, but i have no idea on light equipment so i wanted to do some "stupid" questions.
will this kit be enough to start shooting? don't i need something else to shoot the flashes, like a remote shooter? are they TTL synchronized with my camera (Nikon D80)? if so, what else do i need to buy? some sincro cable or something like that?
As you would see, I'm totally new at this.
Thank you for your time
Does the D80 have a spot to synch cables? (My D70 doesn't, my D200 does). You can buy a doodad that sits in the hotshoe with a synch device in it. Or you can invest in radio triggers (a much better way) so you are free of cables. If the strobes are also slaves you will only need one cable. Make sure the doo-dad (name eludes me at the moment) has a surge-protector. A cable can return a negative charge from the strobe to your camera and fry or confuse the computer inside. Been there, done that.
I will always suggest Alien Bees as a first light. I've got a few cheap lights that served their purpose in the begining, but what a waste of money. Some I can use for hair or background, but really useless otherwise. Bees may cost you a wee bit more, but I bet you will still be using them 10 years from now. If you use the lights regularly you will likely find yourself replacing the cheapos in a year.
Also, if you are in North America, perhaps not, they are a LEGIT business, sell hundreds of lights every day, and have an outstanding reputation. I'm just not sure if you can expect the same from a factory in China.
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Thanks, Pixart. The D80 does not have a sync outlet. I looked for a doodad but adorama search engine doesn't have a doo dad. ;D
I'll try again and also have a look at those alien bees. Thanks for the info.
PS: I'm back with a question. In reading about the basic Alien Bees, it seems their is a built-in slave. Can that be triggered with oncamera flash? ... the built-in D80 flash?
Thanks
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I believe the doo-dad I referred to earlier is known as a safe synch. I have one as a backup to use with a cable and last year my radio triggers failed, so there I was using the cable for a couple months while I decided between pocketwizards and radiopoppers. (Note... cheapish radio trigger $125, lasted less than 2 sets of batteries).
I paid $150 for the safe synch in Canada, but I've seen them on e-bay for around $50 I think. I would say do a bit of pricing before you get one. Low-demand things up here can cost quite a bit more, but with that price difference I question the quality of the ebay ones.
And if you get PocketWizards and Alien Bees, you don't need the safe-synch but do need to purchase a compatible cable for the back of the Bees.
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I believe the doo-dad I referred to earlier is known as a safe synch. I have one as a backup to use with a cable and last year my radio triggers failed, so there I was using the cable for a couple months while I decided between pocketwizards and radiopoppers. (Note... cheapish radio trigger $125, lasted less than 2 sets of batteries).
I paid $150 for the safe synch in Canada, but I've seen them on e-bay for around $50 I think. I would say do a bit of pricing before you get one. Low-demand things up here can cost quite a bit more, but with that price difference I question the quality of the ebay ones.
And if you get PocketWizards and Alien Bees, you don't need the safe-synch but do need to purchase a compatible cable for the back of the Bees.
I found the doo dad at B&H for as little as ten bucks but it is not surge protected. Also, I had amended my previous post to ask about using the built-in flash as the trigger. Can you do that with the Alien Bees? And, I'm thinking the ring flash might be a good starting point. Have you tried that one?
Thanks,
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well, i guess I'm reliving this post.
I'm interested in this kits, have been looking for something cheap to start testing, but i have no idea on light equipment so i wanted to do some "stupid" questions.
will this kit be enough to start shooting? don't i need something else to shoot the flashes, like a remote shooter? are they TTL synchronized with my camera (Nikon D80)? if so, what else do i need to buy? some sincro cable or something like that?
As you would see, I'm totally new at this.
Thank you for your time
the boling lights (at least the ones that I have) can slave and detect another flash going off so you could fire them from oncamera flash but I picked up ebay radio triggers from linkdirect which work well (not ttl though).
With no experience of any other lights (and my goal for this year is to learn how use these things properly) the Boling seems very well made and seem to perform well (they do make different models of different qualities). Gino was very friendly and helpful.
I had AU$1500 to spend including postage (when exchange was better than now) and didnt really know what I wanted and went on a little spree and got
4x 400w lights (of their better quality models), 3 x little guide no 20 lights, 2 (120x 80), 2 (80x 60), 2 (60 x 40) softboxes, 2 x barndoors, snoot, 2 stands (already had some others), big softbox, reflectors and some other bits and pieces (and about half of it is sitting on the shelf untouched :))
phil
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I don't think you can use the on-camera flash, because they pick up the infrared burst that comes out before the flash - It seems to me I read that on a forum and even tried it but the lights trigger out-of-synch. My lights are in the travel case at the moment, but if I think of it this weekend I'll try. I can't remember, can that on-camera flash be set to non-TTL, fully manual should do the trick if that is an option.
Bees sells their own triggers as well.
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Hi,
I somehow missed this tread.
So anybody allready purchased that soft box kit for $300 yet ?
If yes is it O.K. ?
Tks. for the come back to let me know.
Regards
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A few people are contact me about this light set again. I just want to say, I am not a referal for Boling, and there is no exchange of monies of any kind.
I ran across them by chance, and I know they attended PhotoKina.
I have been using the softbox set since around August 2008 and I am having a ball with them.
They have lots of good stuff in kits. But it does not suit North America's low voltage requirements. You would need to buy your own voltage adjustment.
Please contact Gino for enquiries, he seems to know his stuff.
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You can get an excellent Alienbees or Flashpoint kit for just a few hundred dollars more than this kit, and you can buy with confidence. I make that much money in 7-14 days in microstock depending on the month, and that is just a drop in the bucket for high end contributors. My advice is not to go cheap. Stick with quality gear.
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Hi,
Tks a lot for the feedback and help.
Regards
Tom
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You can get an excellent Alienbees or Flashpoint kit for just a few hundred dollars more than this kit, and you can buy with confidence. I make that much money in 7-14 days in microstock depending on the month, and that is just a drop in the bucket for high end contributors. My advice is not to go cheap. Stick with quality gear.
VERY TRUE ADVICE DAN. Trust me on this, if you buy cheap lights and actually use them (and I'm betting that if you are buying lights, you won't soon get bored and stop taking photos) you will outgrow them within 12 months, I guarantee it. Also, I've had some e-bay lights and they were unsafe and would never have been been aproved by CSA to enter this country. You have to be careful.
I also bought the cheapest Bees light to use only on backgrounds and it is a thousand times better than any of my budget lights, even better than the ones NOT from eBay.
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I have searched at ebay for flashpoint strobes but I didnt get anything.
Where is the best way to buy them?
How are flashpoint strobes compared with alienbees (I have 1x AB400 and 1x AB800)?
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Alien Bees are hopeless for Australia. They require you to call them in the USA and their kits are built for low voltage.
I have a set, and they are not as good as this cheap set.
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I live in Spain and one of the ABs is from the USA (110v) bought it in Ebay. I use it with a voltage converter (20€)
I also have a chinese strobe and cant be compared with the AB
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I've used alien bees - first strobes I ever used, and I was quite impressed with the results. Still, if I could pick something cheaper up that would perform comparably, I would. Alien bees run like $250 per strobe, I believe. Then you need stands, umbrellas, softboxes.
How good is the starter studio kit that Adorama sells for $299? Anyone here hear anything, or ever use it?
http://www.adorama.com/LTBK4.html?searchinfo=studio%20kit&item_no=66
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I've used alien bees - first strobes I ever used, and I was quite impressed with the results. Still, if I could pick something cheaper up that would perform comparably, I would. Alien bees run like $250 per strobe, I believe. Then you need stands, umbrellas, softboxes.
How good is the starter studio kit that Adorama sells for $299? Anyone here hear anything, or ever use it?
[url]http://www.adorama.com/LTBK4.html?searchinfo=studio%20kit&item_no=66[/url]
bumped this because I also would like to hear opinions on the Adorama lights.
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Anyone know about the Adorama $299 kit? I haven't seen any reviews on them anywhere online.
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FWIW, Warren, I don't see why your on camera flash would not trigger the slaves in the Alien Bees, but not sure you will want to do it that way. The direct flash from your on-camera flash will ruin the nice directional light from the strobes.
I was triggering my slaves with an on camera flash when I first got them and was really not pleased with the light quality. Fortunately my camera accepts a sync cord so some pocket wizards fixed me right up.
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Thanks Lisa,
I had sorta figured that out. I found a devise for less than ten dollars that will let me use the camera hot shoe to connect the cables.
Now, it's just a matter of selling a few images to pay for new equipment. ::)
Warren
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Thanks Lisa,
I had sorta figured that out. I found a devise for less than ten dollars that will let me use the camera hot shoe to connect the cables.
Now, it's just a matter of selling a few images to pay for new equipment. ::)
Warren
How cool! I am sure you will make it back, and if not - tax deduction!! :)