CowboyStudio 2275 Watt Digital Video Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit/Boom Set
by Cowboy Studio
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: Cowboy StudioModel: 2000wboomkit
Product features:
- Two (2) Top Quality Light Stands, One (1) Support Boom Stand
- Two (2) 20" x 28" Softbox, Two (2) Premium Light Socket, Two (2) Power Cord
- Ten (10) 45 Watt 5000k Compact Fluorescent Daylight Balanced Photo Bulbs, One (1) 65 Watt 5000k Compact Flurescent Daylight Balanced Photo Bulb
- One (1) Quick-Setup Softbox with AC Socket, Three (3) Carrying Pouches for Softbox
- One (1) 2 Section Boom Kit with Grip Head,One (1) Sandbag,One (1) Carrying Case
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of CowboyStudio 2275 Watt Digital Video Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit/Boom Set
Customer Review: Great lights at a GREAT price!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been around expensive kits for years...Arri, Kinoflo, Rifa...so I really wasn't expecting much for my money. Believe me, I was pleasantly surprised!
First, I got the kit in an amazingly short period of time, which was nice. It came double-boxed, with a soft case inside the double box. Inside the soft case were carefully packaged all the various boxes...the CFL lamps, the stands, the soft boxes themselves, and all the power cords and accessories. Also included was an instruction sheet...more on that in a moment.
Everything was quite intuitive to set up. It helped that I had gone onto the Cowboy Studio website ([...]) and watched the assembly video. It's a bit tricky to build these soft boxes, but no trickier than any other brand. The very nature of the beast makes all of them a bit of a pain. The backlight is an umbrella arrangement that opens quickly and locks into place..so it's not bad at all. But I experienced none of the poor quality that another reviewer mentioned. Everything assembled quickly and easily, and all the parts were included. One thing I noticed was that great attention to detail was given to things like individual sleeves for the umbrellas...there's a place for everything. And all the CFLs are individually-boxed for shipping...sadly, in styrofoam that will be unusable. But I had planned to buy a pick-n-pluck foam case for the lamps anyway, so that's not a huge deal.
The boom stand is sturdy...make sure all the heads lock into place on all the stands. They're a bit of a firmer fit than you usually find, so make sure everything's firmly seated. I was a bit disappointed with the stands for the two soft boxes...their bases don't spread out much, so when you have the head at the upper limits of the stand, it's a bit wobbly...you'll want to be sure to bag the bottom of the light stands (which you would probably do, anyway).
I love the heads on these lights...each of the five CFLs per head, has its own toggle switch. This will make it SO easy to dial in the amount of light you need. Plus, as soon as you plug in the head, a pilot lamp on the back lets you know you have power, without turning on any of the CFLs. That's a nice touch. The back light has just one socket, so its power switch is an in-line switch. The switch feels like it might be a little flimsy, but again, at this price you accept a few shortcomings here and there.
The coolest thing? I fired up all the lights (10-45 watt CFLs and the backlight, a single 65-watt CFL) and the entire setup draws only 253 watts! That's amazing! Your whole light kit on one extension cord's worth of power, with tons of amps to spare (253 watts is less than 3 amps out of the 20 you usually have to work with).
One thing that could use a bit of help is the instruction sheet. I've never understood why companies don't re-do the Chinese-written instructions that go into their products. There's one photo that's even wrong (it illustrates the right way to screw in the CFLs [using only the base, not the tubes themselves], but labels it the WRONG way.) But as I mentioned, watch the video on the Cowboy Studio site, and you'll know what you're doing before the product arrives.
I was considering trying some of the "build your own" softbox things on YouTube and such. My recommendation? Don't bother. Spend the money and get something that's well-thought out and professional looking. It'll make a difference to your clients, and you'll walk a little taller at the shoot.
All in all, for the price, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value than these lights (and no, I don't work for the company!). I was looking for something to add some "production value" to my shoots (I've been using daylight CFLs in hardware store clamp-on lights), and these will certainly do the trick. Don't be fooled by the off-brand ones on eBay...they have only four CFL sockets per light, and don't have the individual power switches. If you're looking for a compact, inexpensive way to get into 3-point lighting, don't hesitate for a moment to buy these lights. I'm even considering getting a second set to have around...they're that good a value.
Thanks for reading!
More CowboyStudio 2275 Watt Digital Video Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit/Boom Set reviews:
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1 2 3 4 5
Description of CowboyStudio 2275 Watt Digital Video Continuous Softbox Lighting Kit/Boom Set
This kit is the perfect set up for web retailers or anyone wants to get a high quality videos and shots. It provides very higher power, total output is 2275 Watt continuous lighting.Lighting Stand: Black anodized aluminum backlight stand, Maximum height is 7 feet. Stable & Quick Setup.
Photo Bulb: 45 watt fluorescent light bulb = 200 watt Incandescent light bulbs, color temperature 5000K, total output is 2000 Watt. These high-output daylight balanced compact fluorescent bulbs are ideally suited for digital photography. They also have very low heat so they don't get hot like the more common photo bulb choices.
Light Socket: It mounts on standard light stands. You can control each of the light bulb on/off.
Boom Kit:Solid quick release lever, fully adjustable. Max fully extended height is 7 feet with a 5/8" stem, 26" foot print, 42" min height, 40" when close, max load is 16 lb. Boom arm telescope extend to 5.6 ft. Screw on tip is 1/4".
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