Inexpensive Lighting Kit

[Aaron Shirley]

I needed a lighting kit that could be packed up and taken on location for 'light' use. At first I was just looking into work lights on collapsible stands and tough frost to close pin on the cages. After searching ebay, I realized that I could get an actual professional-looking lighting kit with far more light control for the same cost as the work lights on sale.

I ended up getting this Julius Studio lighting kit for $155. It comes with a carry case, 3 stands, soft boxes with various light control options.



I had a chance to try it out yesterday, and it works well. For the cost, it's a great kit. Having said that, it would not stand up to heavy or moderate heavy use. It is best suited for light use or moderate light use if you are careful with it.

The one stand with the extension arm is pretty solid. The stand works with or without the arm, but it is beefed up for use with the arm. The other two stands are a bit flimsy even though they are aluminum, but not too bad if they are not fully extended for better support.

The plastic connecting parts and lock down screws are not that solid but do the job. The softbox materials, heads and lights aren't bad and the carry bag is great.

Overall, great value for a decent lighting kit for someone if they needed a cheap kit that would not get heavy use. I'm building a home studio in my finished basement next year, and plan to leave the lights and gear set up to film stuff at a moments notice. I plan to use the kit to take family photos at home as a bonus.

I'll see how it holds up over the next year or two. Hopefully well if I baby it and my rambunctious young son doesn't get to it lol.

[cgbier]

I have a similar kit from SKaeser.

What I don't like about these kits (besides the flimsiness):
- no chance to get any hard light out of them.
- they are a b!tch to flag
- color temperature is all over the place (the daylight lamps I got measure in at anywhere between 4000 and 4800).
- CRI is not the best
- wattage is over rated. Better check the Lumen value (and take that with a grain of salt too)
- light falls off rather fast with them pig tail lights.

For general interview settings they are fine, but to really do some creative light magic, they are close to useless. The only bonus I see in them is the power bill at the end of the month, and that they don't produce a lot of heat (important here in the tropics).

I'm too spoiled by my Arri kit though.

[Aaron Shirley]

Yes, they are not that bright, but good enough for what I'm doing. There is no way they are 6500k like they say. I don't need creative lighting, just one subject speaking at the camera. You get what you pay for, and this kit is decent for a cheap kit.

[cgbier]

For that task they are perfect.

I use normally one light from the side, a reflector as fill, and a second light (down to 1/4) as hair light. Main problem is spill.