Comments about Flashpoint Flashpoint 620M Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit, with Two 620M Monolights, Portable Battery Packs, Stands, Umbrellas, Set of Snoots:

I have read a lot of posts on the net about the 7 year warranty with flashpoint monolights, but this apparently isn't true. [...]

Comments about Flashpoint Flashpoint 620M Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit, with Two 620M Monolights, Portable Battery Packs, Stands, Umbrellas, Set of Snoots:

Let me start off by saying I am Flashpoint user. I have a carbon-fiber tripod, several ball heads, light diffusers, a gimbal head and other devices from Flashpoint/Adorama. I completely understand they are not top dollar items. But these and other Flashpoint items worked fine for my non-pro uses.I spent hours on the internet looking at product reviews and supplier's catalogs to find what I was looking for. The Flashpoint 620M w/PP Portrait-Wedding kit seemed like a good value, so I bought one set. I shoot mostly outdoors so the battery packs would be great. There are a lot of components involved so there are four shipping boxes.The kit came with FP2SN Snoots and some honeycomb for the snoots. The case showed up a few days later. I did not find the gels shown in the website photo, they may have been inside the snoots. The website excludes the barn doors shown in the photo, but makes no mention of the gels in the picture.I plugged in the first battery pack and it seemed to charge. It came in a nice white box with the AC line cord and the DC car charger cord, including the carrying case. The second unit was defective out of the box. It did not come on. Not satisfactory.The next day I set up one of the 620M AC DC monolights on a stand to test it. It looks very nice out of the box and I liked it. There was a protective cap in-place for the flashtube and later, the modeling light. There is a manual and a guide to studio lighting that I thought was very nicely produced and a nice touch, despite a need for being professionally edited. The reflector seemed nice. The umbrella slot seems poor but in fact seems to work ok. Everything works ok but when enabled, but the slave sensor does not fire the unit unless the flash is less than 2'' from the sensor. The second unit was exactly the same, including the slave sensor. This is a problem with the installed sensor being insensitive to flash, when selected. This is a factory problem. Not satisfactory.I went to plug in the by now charged battery pack and found out that the connecting cord from the battery to the moonlight was not included in the battery box or the monolight. I was disappointed in not being able to test my new system. A quick review of the battery pack and wedding package listings on the website, including photos, included the connecting cord. The parts list in the manual does not include the connecting cord. Not satisfactory.The umbrellas and stands were as advertised and seem to work well.Had everything been functional, I would have delighted with this purchase. The lighting basics book was a beyond my expectations, but the lack of testing at the factory is really disappointing.[...] Up to that point I was almost ready to live with the units, but then I decided to return the whole kit. I had no confidence that the replacements would work any better than the originals. The accessories seemed nice but three out of the four electronics units did not function properly on arrival, and would not be tested prior to shipment to me which is unacceptable, despite the new seven year warranty. [...]

Comments about Flashpoint Flashpoint 620M Portrait Wedding Monolight Kit, with Two 620M Monolights, Portable Battery Packs, Stands, Umbrellas, Set of Snoots:

The lights themselves are a fantastic value, and comparable to the ProFoto and Speedotron equipment I use in the studio but in a monolight product. Unfortunately for me, one of the main reasons I purchased this kit was because it came with battery packs, making this a (supposedly) mobile kit for remote shoots at a great price. When the kit arrived, I followed the instructions for charging the packs, did some test shots, and packed up for my first remote shoot with them the following morning. The packs were DOA, and had not held a charge overnight. I was able to work out some power for my shoot using extension cords and some stolen juice (less than desirable, I assure you). I forgot about the pack problem until my next outdoor shoot the following week. Same scenario, same outcome. I've attempted to test these to verify where the problem lies (EX: if they discharge within an hour, three, six hours - etc.), but the packs won't charge, hold a charge, or even function. I cannot tell you what a disappointment this was. [...]I've indicated that I would recommend this to a friend, but only with the caveat that they fully test the battery packs immediately, checking that they not only charge, but hold a charge longer than a couple of hours, and are reliable over several shoots before even considering them to be a working piece of equipment.