Westcott Photo Basics 200 Strobelite Plus

Simple and well built.

I'm not a professional photographer, but I am a serious hobbyist. When I take the plunge into something, I always do it right. This holds true with photography. I like taking pictures, and had the space for a small portrait studio, so I endeavored to put one together. When choosing lights I had to decide if spending thousands upon thousands of dollars would be worth it for what I'm doing, and I just couldn't justify it. So I ordered a pair of these, knowing if the quality was bad I could always return them. I am happy to report that these work great. I can stop down pretty far to get crisp shots at f/16 with ease. Instead of only having 1 super-expensive big name brand light, 2 if I *really* wanted to break the bank, I now have a total of 4 of these for the price of 1 big-name brand light. With this many lights I have a completely flexible studio, and all my lighting needs are met. I made the mistake of trying some REALLY cheap-o lights just for backdrop lighting, and what a mistake that was. If you're going to do budget lighting, this brand and model is probably the least amount of money you can spend without sacrificing quality if you're choosing to go through Amazon Prime (I very rarely buy anything outside of Amazon Prime.)As far as set up and usage goes, it's very easy. There's a knob on the back to adjust power output, and two switches. One switch controls the modeling light, which is either on full blast, variable according to the power setting of the flash, or off. The other switch controls the power of the unit - either on or off. There are three push buttons also: one turns the ready beep on or off, one turns the slave sensor on or off (a slave sensor triggers the unit when the unit detects the flash from another flash unit or from the hot shoe/built-in flash on a camera), and the red button is the test button to fire the flash manually for setting exposure, etc. There's also a ready light on the back that lights up green when the flash is ready for discharge. The other thing on the back that looks like a light is actually the slave sensor. Lastly there is a standard connector jack for physically connecting the strobe to a trigger via a trigger cable.At low power the cycle rate is pretty fast. You won't be taking 5 frames a second or anything crazy like that, but it does charge reasonably fast. When it's at maximum power it does take about a second to fully charge. I don't have experience with the more expensive flashes, but I would imagine this is one of the main differences. Also keep in mind that as far as lighting goes this does not provide a power-house punch of light. It's 200 watt seconds of power. The more expensive lights are double or more in their output, so the flashes can be placed farther back and you can use extreme apertures if you desire.Bottom line: if you want a good flash at a very attractive price and don't need to shoot over incredible distances and/or super-high f/stops, and don't mind a small pause using high power then this light can't be beat. Nothing on Amazon Prime is even close to this light.

I've used this light for my one light setup and it works great.The problem that I have with it is that the sync connection can be off at times. You have to wiggle the cord and tape it to the side so it doesn't get loose.

Strobe sensors are very limited. Other than that, nice lights

I have used this strobe in my home studio as well as in the field. So far I am very pleased with it!As far as I can tell, the light output is consistent: I have been photographing a pregnant lady each week to show the progression of her pregnancy. Each week I set up the light to the same settings, dial in the same exposure settings on my camera, and the pics have been spot on.Also, I have a 24" x 36" softbox which I often use on this light. The clamping mechanism on this light (the "Plus" model) is capable of holding the box in position, whereas the non-Plus models can't hold the weight (allowing the box to swivel or sag down).I have also packed the light in a duffle bag which is only slightly padded and taken it on location. So far it has held up to the traveling I have put it through, including a few shoots at a beach.

This light works great, especially if you have low budget.

I have always heard goog things about this company however I have ordered two of the plus's and they both malfunctioned relatively quickly! The irony is I ordered the strobelite that was only $150 for a back light and it has out lasted both of my plus's! As much as I like this brand I am hesitant to order another Plus! 🤔But... While they lasted they were great!! Lol 😏

Disappointed that it has no internal nTteries