excalibur light kit - is this any good?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/co [...] 512&is=REG

Could someone help me determine if there is a better light kit for $400 or
$500? I want a light kit to connect to my Nikon D70, to use for family
pics with a backdrop. I light soft light pictures, like what you get
outside at sunset, and not big bright "high school yearbook" pictures.
I've never shot with anything except the SB800 flash that goes on top of my
camera, so I have no idea if this is a good kit for the money. The specs
on the heads that come with this kit are here:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/co [...] o_itemInfo

Is there something about this kit that -- one year later -- I would really
wish were better? Or is there a better kit for the money in your opinion?
(if yes, why)

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"AFN" <newsDELETETHECAPSgroupaccount@DELETETHISyahoo.com> wrote:

> Is there something about this kit that -- one year later -- I would really
> wish were better? Or is there a better kit for the money in your
opinion?
> (if yes, why)

I regret spending too little on my monolight kit each time I use it,
and while it's a different brand, I would guess my kit is of roughly
the same quality as the one you're looking at:

http://www.adorama.com/SVFL240.html

What I learned about lower-end monolight kits:
-- The recycle time is marginal for the way I shoot portraits.
-- Weak modeling lights are a real liability (my kit came with
100w modeling lights, the SP uses 60w).
-- The stands tend to be flimsy.
-- 1/4, 1/2 and full power doesn't cut it, at least for a 320w/s
monolight. I needed an 1/8 power setting. (the SP is 160w/s).
-- My kit arrived with damaged and missing pieces, which took a
while to correct.
-- If you expect to travel with your lights a lot, forget about
the kit case and buy a real ATA-rated case.
-- The output from my lights is consistent and of good color.
Some owners of other low-end brands don't seem to be as lucky.

The kit you're looking at has a couple of advantages over mine.
The umbrellas are larger, and the stands are air-cushioned.
It comes with a brolly box -- I bought a 2x3' softbox separately.

I apologize for the "do as I say, not as I did" post. I don't
have any major projects planned right now, so until I do I'll
keep what I have. But had I to do it over again, I would have
gone with a medium-grade setup (such as AlienBees), possibly
buying only one light to start.

--
Michael Benveniste -- mhb-offer@clearether.com
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

AFN wrote:
>
> "Michael Benveniste" <mhb-offer@clearether.com> wrote in message
> news:31p1jaF3eqj27U1@individual.net...
> > "AFN" <newsDELETETHECAPSgroupaccount@DELETETHISyahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Is there something about this kit that -- one year later -- I would
> really
> > > wish were better? Or is there a better kit for the money in your
> > opinion?
> > > (if yes, why)
> >
> > I regret spending too little on my monolight kit each time I use it,
> > and while it's a different brand, I would guess my kit is of roughly
> > the same quality as the one you're looking at:
> >
> > http://www.adorama.com/SVFL240.html
> >
> > What I learned about lower-end monolight kits:
> > -- The recycle time is marginal for the way I shoot portraits.
> > -- Weak modeling lights are a real liability (my kit came with
> > 100w modeling lights, the SP uses 60w).
> > -- The stands tend to be flimsy.
> > -- 1/4, 1/2 and full power doesn't cut it, at least for a 320w/s
> > monolight. I needed an 1/8 power setting. (the SP is 160w/s).
> > -- My kit arrived with damaged and missing pieces, which took a
> > while to correct.
> > -- If you expect to travel with your lights a lot, forget about
> > the kit case and buy a real ATA-rated case.
> > -- The output from my lights is consistent and of good color.
> > Some owners of other low-end brands don't seem to be as lucky.
> >
> > The kit you're looking at has a couple of advantages over mine.
> > The umbrellas are larger, and the stands are air-cushioned.
> > It comes with a brolly box -- I bought a 2x3' softbox separately.
> >
> > I apologize for the "do as I say, not as I did" post. I don't
> > have any major projects planned right now, so until I do I'll
> > keep what I have. But had I to do it over again, I would have
> > gone with a medium-grade setup (such as AlienBees), possibly
> > buying only one light to start.
> >
> > --
> > Michael Benveniste -- mhb-offer@clearether.com
> > Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
> > address only to submit mail for evaluation.
> >
> >
>
> Thanks for the reply. I don't understand enough about modeling lights.
> For soft light, do you think I'm better with the Excalibur 3200 head which
> has power of 320 w/s, modeling lamp of 100W, and steps to 1/8?

look at alienbees.com, and the specs for the flash units.
they give sample exposures for different lights
and reflectors/softboxes.