Linco Flora Fluorescent Light Bank

2019-08-03T06:27:21

As others have noted in their review, two sockets did not initially work. By changing around bulbs beween the sockets, they all worked. Per Adorama, the dedicated Linco softbox may not be reordered for a few months!! I will return this product very disappointed in it! Btw, this is not the only negative review of this product, why does Adorama continue to sell it?????

MARVIN G.

2019-05-22T16:50:10

No complaints. Good for continuous lighting applications.

ellen g.

2014-01-27T19:00:00

I use this as a portrait light, for product photography, and for video productions. The great thing about this light is that it is super cheap, and it works after a bit of tweaking. It provided 3 safety bulbs. And the light output is OK enough. The bad thing about this is that initially I had 2 light sockets (out of 6) failed to work. After 5 minutes of inspection, I had to use a screw driver to tweak the metal connection in the socket which connect to the light bulb. Finally got it to work. The light is some what weak. I tried with 6 100w light bulb (the cheap energy saving, day light color lights from home depot). This one light is just enough, and needed 2nd one to add extra lighting. But overall, I think it is worth the money.

HAN S.

2012-10-24T21:00:00

Arrived yesterday & used on location for a standing talking torso. Build quality looks very good. Although I am used to a heaver build on the angle clamp, which looked and felt very light plastic, the body has some heft and does not feel plastic. The body is made of nylon and is supposed to very tough and heat resistant. I used this with 6 85w CFLs and a 60" umbrella. The 6 enormous CFLs almost look comical in the unit. Like a space alien. But the laughing stops when you see the light produced. The 60" umbrella, white satin with a removable black rear (not silvered) gave a beautiful soft and bright light that filled a very large area. I shot about f5.6 @1/30 with ISO 100 on a 5DMkii. I used a Flashpoint medium sized single CFL soft box as a fill, and a Flashpoint 4 CFL bowl reflector as a kicker. The soft box shielded the camera from the kicker. I had no heat problems over 45 minutes of shooting and the bulbs cooled quickly enough that there was virtually no waiting period after shooting to disassemble. The kelvin was a little cool on the flesh tone but I think I can warm it up a little in post. I'm so used to shooting RAW stills that I sort of neglect to color balance on video (there is no white balance in RAW). This setup would also be great for shooting fashion or ADHD kids if you are willing to turn up the ISO to 800 or so to get a fast shutter. The big advantage I see of this is no flash recycle time. You can shoot as fast as your camera will allow under this light. The disadvantage is how to go on location with the six giant CFL bulbs. For my first shoot I used the individual cardboard boxes with the styrofoam inserts and filled a good sized corrugated box. However, I have on order a six-bulb divided soft carrying case specially for these large bulbs. That will save a lot of time on location over boxing and unboxing the individual bulbs. Five stars! if the angle clamp was as beefy as the rest of the unit

Richard C.

2012-08-10T21:00:00

This light is very fragile. The first Linco Flora I orderd arrived damaged, so I returned it for another. The second one was great for 3 days, and when I went to turn it off the on/off switch came off in my hand, and I was unable to get it to work again. Too bad, because it's a great idea, and the soft box is super easy to use. I say save your money and buy a Spiderlite. It costs a lot more but seems to be solidly built.

ZELDA Z.

2011-12-18T19:00:00

nice, easy to install

DONG L.

2011-10-02T21:00:00

After reading several reviews I bought the Linco Flora, mainly for video. At first it appeared to be a reasonably well made device, but having used it a couple of times I now have some reservations. My primary complaint is simply the cheapness of it. A few minor upgrades would go a long way, as it is otherwise a very cool product. More on all that later. The good is that it is a cleaver design and it really works well. The size is about as compact as possible given that it holds rather large CFL bulbs. I bought 85W JTL bulbs and they just barely fit. They rub each other slightly at the base, but do not stress the sockets too much. I suggest that a slightly smaller base would be better. Even with six lights installed the overall weight is not too bad. The swivel seems strong enough and I don't have to over tighten to prevent drooping. I like the flora design and mounting an umbrella is easy and works well. Mounting the flora softbox is easy too, though it is easy to think it is properly mounted and later have it slip out. The switches are positive and decently placed. The light sockets are ceramic and should withstand heat. I have heard complaints about the foam grip on the handle, but mine appears to be improved in that respect, as it does not slip. Now for the bad. Out of the box one of the light sockets was missing a mounting screw and the other was also loose. Screws in other sockets were loose too. Obviously a quality control issue. The thumbscrew for mounting an umbrella, softbox, and the stand mount appear to thread directly into the plastic. The result of this is that the softbox threads have begun to strip. I am quite concerned that the plastic light stand mount will some day strip. One of the on/off switches stopped working, stuck on. Rocking it back and forth got it working again, but for how long? I have some comments about the softbox, which works, but I question the lack of vents. I will cover that in a separate review. Overall I do like the flora design quite a lot. It kicks out an amazing amount of light for such a compact unit, and being able to use it with my 60 inch Softlighter is great! For the money (or anywhere near this price) there isn't anything that comes close in terms of functionality and portability. I just wish they would beef it up for more serious users. My wish list in order of importance is this... 1) Beef it up for serious use. 2) Better Quality Control. 3) Socket for power cord. 4) Would be very cool if it could mount conventional softboxes. I'm not sure if the size would allow this, but mounting my large Photoflex box would be very cool indeed.

GENE L.

2011-09-19T21:00:00

Sorry Folks, *I myself* am the reason for Adorama being temporarily out of stock since I bought the last head unit. I just received it in the mail along with all of the accompanying softbox, stand and bulbs and I've got to admit, the quality of the construction is superior to what I anticipated for this price range. I searched high and low all over the internet for months for less "overpriced brand name" softlight setups with absolutely no consumer feedback on this product since it was so new to the market. I decided to take the leap and invest my hard earned $$ in this product, and MAN, am I pleased with the construction build, light weight durability and gorgeous perfect daylight balanced light that glows on human skin and chromokey work. As a professional L.A. film cinematography vet who has worked on numerous tv sitcoms, network specials and countless national spots, I am looking forward to testing out this light with an already elaborate personal grip setup of HMI's, fresnels, nooks and cyc's and run some film through my Arri 435BL rig to test for balances. So far.....my light meter is beautifully resting at a perfect 5400K without any silks, scrims or gels. This light will soon go up in value once its popularity takes off, so the time to order is NOW!

Eireactor

2011-04-14T21:00:00

I have seen this product from online source, don't remember the site, but decided to purchase it to try it out, realize this is one of the best deal you can get for continuous lighting on the market.

Jimmy S.