2009-01-17T19:00:00
Rated 2 out of 5
Kit needs a better lightstand
?A chain is only as good as it weakest link. This is the problem with the Smith Victor FL160, One Monolight Lighting Kit with Softbox, Boom & Stand by Smith-Victor. The biggest issue with this kit is the Raven light stand. It can not support the weight of the monolight softbox and boom.?
When I first assemble this lighting kit the monolight and softbox was really shaky. I first thought there was no enough weight on the counter balance. It turned out it was the light stand was strong and stable enough for the monolight and softbox.
Kit Items
1 Flashlite 110i Monolight, 1 60 watt Quartz Modeling Lamp, 1 Sync Cord, 1 16"x16" Softbox, 1 MB110 Mini-Boom, 1 Raven RS8 8" Black Aluminum Light Stand, 1 TB 990 Carrying Case, 1 Imaging with Light GuideIt was to unstable even raised only about 4 ft. In order to make this kit work I had replace it with a 13 foot Talon light stand.
The boom is well made and strong enough to support the light and softbox for prolonged periods without bowing.
The softbox is made of strong material the one minor complaint here is the struts tend to bend. So after use I tend to straighten them out with my Leatherman tool.
The light is slightly under powered but workable. It would be better at 200 watt or 150 watt. It only has two power setting full and half. It would be nice if it had slightly better controls even if they added quarter setting. For the price the light and softbox do the job well. The boom works extremely well. As a kit I can not recommend this set up because of the poorly designed and weak light stand. As individual pieces it does work well.
FullMetalPhotographer
2007-02-04T19:00:00
Rated 1 out of 5
Smith Victor FL160
I had to replace the lamp several times (4-5) in this last year. The lightbox plastic frame melted and is unusable. I feel this product is just not worth your time or money.
ROBERT R.
