Video Lighting Kit Photo Studio Kit 2000 Watt Continuous Portrait studio lighting kit with Carrying Case - 2 light stands, 2 softboxes, 2 Light Heads w/5 bulbs, 10 photo bulbs by Fancierstudio UL9026S

I decided to give these lights a try because they were so darn cheap for 1000w lights. My workhorse lights are Mole Richardson fresnels so I originally bought these as an infinite white background lighting solution. I run a production company that has done over 450 videos in the last two years so I'm always looking for more tools that I can utilize for a large array of applications. My expectations were low given the low price but I was blown away with the quality. THE PROS: -Good light quality. -Surprisingly durable construction (I decided to take these on some location shoots to work them hard and test their quality. I don't collapse them because I don't have time to waste setting them up with everything else that I have to set up, and they've lasted through the abuse of a lot of shoots over the past 3 months. I'm truly amazed at the quality for the price.) -Great background light AND key/fill lights (after they went through a test phase of shoots I loved bringing them along because they are a fraction of the weight of my production lights and if you don't collapse them then they're immediately ready for action, so these are now my "go-to" lights for budget/quick set up client shoots) -"Variable" power: although not dimmer adjustable, which is ideal, it is at least nice to be able to power off and on the lights individually, it's nice perk. THE CONS: -Cheap lights: after only 1 day one of the lights failed (this is unfortunate but remember that you're getting a steal for 10 cfl bulbs AND 2 soft box setups with fuses: and lets be honest, we're being fed a bunch of baloney about how long cfl bulbs last, I go through so many of these in my house and with my lights...seems like my incandescent bulbs lasted longer, ah incandescents, if only you were more energy efficient. Solution=ALWAYS have spares) -Short power cord (I'm used to 25 foot production light cords so it's unfortunate to only have 10 feet or however long they are. Solution=bring extension cords) -Long setup time (solution=use them in-studio or don't break them down as you travel with them, obviously you'll need to factor in how much space that will take up in your car or trailer). Bottom line: If you are just getting started and need some lights, look no further. If you need a number of soft box lights for your home studio, buy some of these, they will save on energy costs and get the job done (obviously having a variety of lights is ideal, e.x. fresnel, open-face, soft box, kinos, etc.). If you can spare the extra setup time on location shoots or you can haul them around without breaking them down then buy some for location shooting. You can see my video review at youtube .com/thevideomaverick I will be buying a couple more sets of these to have around the studio, lighting is everything for the quality of your image and this is simply the cheapest, most powerful, bang-for-the-buck light set I've found to-date. Best of luck!

Originally purchased to light a green screen for photography, and for video. Stands are flimsy, i almost knocked themn over several times. Lucky for the softbox protecting the bulbs. Low energy, will keep, because i wanted something not hot to the touch. The lights are good and softbox, Be aware that there is no seperate ring. So if you intend to use softbox with another light, you need to purchase a ring. Work ok for green screen, as green screen lumination doesnt have to be to bright, just consistant.

So far, I am super-pleased with these lights. For the price, I was expecting a lot worse but this has turned out to be a great purchase. Stands are the standard inexpensive ones, but not the cheapo super-flimsy ones. The light fixture itself appears very solid and of good quality. The inside of the soft box is reflective and it comes with both an internal and external diffuser, offering several lighting options. While I read some review saying that assembly of the unit was difficult, I found it pretty straightforward, similar to setting up a child's pop tent. Packaging of the kit is nice. You will want to keep all the boxes so that it will fit back together into the bag. Once I set one of these up and turned it on, it lit up the place like a sun. Best of all the reflector/diffusers do a *great* job scattering the light -- my kids marveled at the "magic lights" that cast no shadows. I think these do as good a job as much more expensive 1K lights and the soft box is great quality for the price.

I got these today and considering some of the reviews I read, I was pleasantly surprised. I have owned Chimera soft boxes in the past and although these are not Chimera quality, they were actually a better quality than I expected for the price. I didn't find them any more difficult than putting a Chimera together so I am wondering if some of the complaints about assembly come from people who have not used other soft boxes. There are some videos online that demonstrate the assembly, plus there was a full color quick start sheet included which pretty much covers the entire process. The soft boxes themselves are very decent and I like that they have both interior and exterior diffusion that put out a nice even light. I also appreciate the individual switches on the lamps and can see where this will come in handy to control the amount of light depending on the various situations one encounters, especially when lighting on location. The knobs on the light fixture are plastic and I can tell they need to be used with care and shouldn't be over tightened. The same is true with the stands which could be just a bit more substantial, but they are adequate. I would recommend that you position the soft box in line with one of the legs for a bit extra stability due to the fact that it is a bit top heavy. It also comes with what looks like a decent carry bag. The only issue I had was one of the metal tips on one of the rods came off...which of course shouldn't happen, but I suppose is the type of thing to be expected with a "bargain brand". I guess I will try to glue it in place but it seems to work without it if that fails. I set the lights up at a 45 degree angle on each side of a chroma key screen and brought the video into Premiere Pro. I chose an ultra key, clicked on the green with the color picker, and voila! The key was absolutely perfect, even with my subject using the same light from the soft boxes. Only time will tell how these will hold up, but I figure if I can get 12 paid shoots out of them, then they are basically free at under $10 a shoot. If you are on a tight budget I don't see how you can do better than these.