PBL PHOTO STUDIO VIDEO LIGHT KIT 4 LIGHTS WITH NEW HIGHER OUTPUT BULBS Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting
by PBL
List Price:
Our Price: $89.95
You Save: $109.05 (55%)
Availability: Usually ships in 2-3 business days
Category: Digital Camera
See more product details
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: PBLModel: 600w
Product features:
- 4... GENIUNE PBL PHOTO HIGH OUTPUT 50 WATT 5100k Daylight FLUORESCENT BULBS equivalent to a true 150 watts incandescent each, total 600 watts
- 2... PBL PRO UMBRELLA HOLDERS WITH UMBRELLA MOUNTS, 12' Power Cord and On/Off Switch
- 2... PBL Light stands extends 6 1/2 feet, made from aluminum alloy with black matte finish
- 2... PRO 33" BLACK WHITE UMBRELLAS, softens and diffuses the light. Gives every image a pro finish.
- 1... ONE CARRY BAG. YOU CANNOT PURCHASE A BETTER QUALITY 600 WATT 4 BULB LIGHTING KIT ANYWHERE AT THIS PRICE. WE GUARANTEE IT.
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of PBL PHOTO STUDIO VIDEO LIGHT KIT 4 LIGHTS WITH NEW HIGHER OUTPUT BULBS Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting
Customer Review: A cheap and useful setup, but may not be sufficient for indoor portraiture
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted to get a beginner kit to try out indoor lighting for portraiture, and this is a good bargain with a few caveats.
Pros:
1. Much easier to control/preview final lighting outcome than flash. I would very frequently get blown highlights with my Canon 580 EX II and/or 7D flash. Minor changes to the positioning of the flash units would produce vastly different results and every picture was essentially the roll of the dice. With this, the results are always in the ball park of what I preview.
2. Cool! Does not make subjects uncomfortable, or startle them.
3. Hooked to a remote/wireless switch, I can easily turn them on and off at will or selectively turn one pair on.
4. Cheap! The price for this kit was the cheapest in all my searches. The cost of the 4 bulbs alone exceeded the kit price.
Cons:
1. Not sufficient: Even this high power 1200w (equiv) CFL could be insufficient for lighting. Without the bulbs on in my roughly 25'*16' living room with 2 * 40w (150w equiv each=300w total) CFLs, I used to get about 1/10 shutter speed @ f/5.6, ISO 3200 using my 20-year old 70-210mm f/4 lens (optically very similiar to current 70-200 f/4 L non-IS) and 7D. With all the four bulbs on, the shutter speed went up to about 1/80 resulting in a roughly 8 fold increase in shutter speed for the same aperture and ISO from my existing 300w (equiv) setup to this 1200w (equiv) setup. While this made my portraiture much more possible at f/5.6 that I use frequently, it may not be sufficient if you use larger apertures or have slower lenses. Cowboystudio also sells a 600w kit that I cannot imagine will be sufficient. My flash on the other hand can get me much higher shutter speeds, but very difficult to handle and frequently resulted in underexposed or blown highlights.
2. Color correction: In addition to setting a custom WB using a translucent light-through while balance cap, I had to additionally set a white balance shift to the red to correct the cool color of these bulbs. Not a big deal, but a bit of work is involved to get the colors that you are comfortable with. I got quicker results using a Tiffen FL-D filter, but given the filter dropped my shutter speed by half and I had to forgo it and use white balance shift instead.
3. Poor build quality: This is to be expected for the cost, but it is flimsy for the size of the bulbs and I support the umbrellas against the wall to be on safe side (in addition to making sure that one leg is directly under the umbrella's arm/bulbs). This is not to be used outside without weights to pin them down. The screw to hold the umbrella arm is mounted on weak plastic threads which gives away at the first turn. The umbrella arm is essentially held in place loosely by a metal spring since the screw is useless.
4. Umbrellas: As indicated in another review, it is a reflective silver umbrella without a pass through option. The bulbs do not have enough power for soft diffusion or pass through. The light output is already diffused.
Additional notes:
1. I also bought the cheap cowbodystudio strobe kit to mount and remotely flash my 580 EX II with my 7D. I switch between these two systems for my needs/different effects. I am currently working on using the setups together for chromakey portraiture.
More PBL PHOTO STUDIO VIDEO LIGHT KIT 4 LIGHTS WITH NEW HIGHER OUTPUT BULBS Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6
Description of PBL PHOTO STUDIO VIDEO LIGHT KIT 4 LIGHTS WITH NEW HIGHER OUTPUT BULBS Steve Kaeser Photographic Lighting
Make sure you receive genuine PBL lights. This is a PBL professional 4 light fluorescent digital video photo high output studio lighting kit. This kit produces 1200 watts of 5100 Kelvin daylight. 2800 lumens per bulb, average bulb life is 10,000, these bulbs are flicker free and designed for photographic use, 90% less heat than incandescent lights, these lights work with all cameras. Kit includes: 4 PBL photo high output 85 watt 5100k daylight bulbs that equal 1200 watts of incandescent 2 PBL double umbrella light holders. 12' power cords, 2 white/ black umbrellas 43" 2 light stands 6'6".Lighting
Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
Bestsellers in Lighting
Smith Victor ULM45 Umbrella and Light MountSmith Victor; Digital Camera
Best price: $21.95
Price in other shops:
Smith Victor 402010 DC-1 Dimmer Variable Wattage Dimmer for 2-Prong CordsSmith Victor; CE
Best price: $22.09
Price in other shops:
Photoflex Light Weight 7.7' Lightstand with 5/ 8" Mounting Stud, 4 Sections with 3 Risers, Black Anodized.Photoflex; Digital Camera
Best price: $68.95
Price in other shops:
Photoflex Litedisc 12" Circular Collapsable Disc Reflector, White / Gold.Photoflex; Digital Camera
Best price: $17.95
Price in other shops:
Lastolite LL LR3686 3-Feet CubeliteLastolite; Digital Camera
Best price: $114.90
Price in other shops:
Manfrotto 123 Super Boom Pivot ClampManfrotto; Digital Camera
Best price: $39.95
Price in other shops:
Scrim Jim Gold & White Medium Fabric, 42" x 72"Scrim Jim; Digital Camera
Best price: $89.90
Price in other shops:
Manfrotto Balance Counterweight 10 Lbs. as supplied w/ 3085 and 3385 BoomManfrotto; Digital Camera
Best price: $36.75
Price in other shops:
Avenger E2001-1/ 8-Inch to 5/ 8-Inch Stand AdapterAvenger Products; Digital Camera
Best price: $15.88
Price in other shops:
Sony HVLIRM Battery IR Light for DCR-DVD101, 201, 301, 105, 205, 305, 405, 505, DCR-HC21, 32 42, 26, 36, 46 & 96 CamcordersSony Digital Imaging; Digital Camera
Best price: $299.89
Similar Digital Cameras & Photo Products
Rode VideoMic Directional Video Condenser Microphone w/ MountRODE; Rode; RODE; Release date: 2008-07-23; Electronics; Musical Instruments
Best price: $149.00
Price in other shops:
Chromakey Muslin Backdrop 10' x 20' plus Background Support System by PBLPBL; Digital Camera
Best price: $99.95
Price in other shops:
PBL BACKDROP SUPPORT SYSTEM BACKGROUND STANDS PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO VIDEO 10'X12' HEAVY DUTY BACKGROUND STAND BACKDROP SUPPORT SYSTEM WITH NEWLY PATENTED CROSS BAR Steve Kaeser Photographic LightingPBL; Digital Camera
Best price: $69.95
Price in other shops:
PBL Photo Studio 10 Universal Pro Clamps by PBLPBL; Digital Camera
Best price: $16.95
Chromakey Green Muslin Screen 9'x15'Britek; Digital Camera
Best price: $27.00
Price in other shops:
Westcott 301 Photo Basics 40-Inch 5-in-1 ReflectorF.J. Westcott Co.; Release date: 2006-11-25; Digital Camera
Best price: $39.90
Price in other shops:
Three Prism 10x20' 100% Cotton Muslin Backdrops and The Ravelli Full Size 10x12' Background Stand SetRavelli; Digital Camera
Best price: $153.89
PBL BACKGROUND SUPPORT SYSTEM 9'x15' BLACK WHITE MUSLINS by PBLPBL; Digital Camera
Best price: $131.98
Price in other shops:
Two Prism 10x20' 100% Cotton Muslin Backdrops and The Ravelli Full Size 10x12' Background Stand SetRavelli; Digital Camera
Best price: $139.69
3.75" Muslin Clamps, Pack of 6Britek; Digital Camera
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops: