ePhoto 3 Photography Studio Continuous Lighting Kits 4500W Digital Photography Studio 3 Softbox Lighting Kit Light Set + Carrying Case H9060S3

I mean seriously, I got these for under $200, including next day Amazon Prime shipping. You can't beat that. Are they going to be as well made as $500 Westcott Spiderlites (over $1500 for three without bulbs)? Of course not. But that's not what you're buying. You're buying a 3 light kit with softboxes, stands and bulbs for under $200. That's freaking amazing. If that's not worth 5 stars. I don't know what is.So yes, the softboxes are a pain to set up for the first time but, I just gaff taped the rods to the softboxes, now they only take a minutes to assemble. Despite the carry bag it's not very convenient to take apart and put together because there are like over 20 boxes to pack and unpack (the bag is basically a big sack and if you don't use the boxes, it doesn't hold its shape and is pretty much useless). The softboxes fairly small, thin and likely to tear with repeated use (the bag the softbox comes in is already tearing and I can already tell the zipper on the carry case will be the first thing to fail). But, from the looks of it, the base--where the rods attach to the light--should be able to use any softbox (as long as it's not too heavy, so no 7' octas) that will attach to a speedring. The lights are bright, do their job and are close to daylight from what I can tell. It comes with a user replaceable fuse and a universal power cord so those are easily maintained. It uses screw in type bulbs so there's no ballast inside the base unit to go bad. I've tried it at 24 and 30 fps and I haven't noticed any flicker (I haven't tried it at 60fps yet). So overall, for under $200, I'm a happy camper.[Edited for typo]UPDATE 2012-12-26:Still using these lights, no problems so far. I just though I'd share that I found a really cheap Pelican 1650 case on Craigslist and this kit (minus the stands) fits perfectly inside. Using a hard case saves me about a 1/2 hour of unpacking and packing time. I highly recommend it if you're using these on location.

these are not the best quality lights but they do the job for now. compared to more expensive lights the whole system is rather loose. the defuser is not tight across the front, nor is the black plastic and interior reflectors, everything is kind of wrinkled and loose around the fixture which would not be a problem if the whole apparatus was not so top heavy the screws can not keep the light locked in the correct position. The fixture adjustment knobs can only tighten so far and still after a few minutes the whole light starts to slowly bow its head down. I may be doing something wrong but the whole system for attaching the stand to the light does not work very well and the light will not stay in position.the quality of light is fine, the build quality is quite low.

Contents:15 daylight balanced flourescent bulbs3 roughly 7 1/2 foot light stands3 5 socket light heads /w 5 switches3 soft boxes (includes detachable diffusions) (includes 3 sleaves for softbox pieces)1 large carrying bag.I gave this 4 stars because I have worked with professional lighting in my jobs over the years, and there are merely amatuer lights. Although, like everyone says, you get what you pay for. Professional light kits (with lower wattage/foot candles) can cost a minimum of 800 dollars (for a lowel kit) and upwards to 2 to 3 thousand dollars for a good kit like arri or kino flow.The soft boxes material is pretty sturdy, I would advise as many have, that this kit isn't for numeral break down and build up. It does take a good amount of time to construct them. As I went through I found that putting the 2 bottom rods in first, and then the top 2 works best. keep in mind the rods are made to flex when isntalling them. Also, loosening the the velcro will help you get the rods in place. My suggestion is, if you need to tear them down (like I do), is to keep them assembled, take out the cfl bulbs (which I put back in the original packaging, and stack the assembled softboxes on top of each other (be sure to remove the diffusion). The bag can easily hold all the bulbs, light stands, power cables (which are removable by the way) and sleaves which are made to hold all the contents of the softboxes.I would advise sand bags for the light stands, or if you can afford them, get better light stands. these are cheap stands, they aren't the best materials nor are they constructed in the best way. They are usable until you can manage to get better ones. I personally, will probably use them for atleast a year before investing in better ones.The light fixtures are made of pretty good quality. The actual secton that connects to the stand is made of plastic and it clicks into position (I'm guessing this is to help it's sturdiness) I'm a little iffy on it's durability. Also all the knobs made for tightening are not of the best material, so I'm afraid to overtighten and breaking them. So if you purchase this product be careful and only tighten as you need to. The actual sockets are ceramic and of good build. I had one issue which I'm going to call ephoto about, or possibly open up the head and check the wiring. One one of my heads, the first and third light switch turn on the same 2 lights like they are wired together. I haven't been able to find any repair or documents supporting repairs on the web yet. I'm hoping it's an easy fix that won't involve soddering or anything. I'll contact ephoto first to see if it is a hassle to get the head replaced.Edit: I contacted ephoto through Amazon. It's a great function through the "Your Orders" page. They were very quick to respond and I was even able to bounce back and forth emails. I returned the light head only (had to pay for shipping) and they sent me a new one via UPS. I was very surprised by how fast this transaction was. I made sure to include a very short letter which had my amazon order number on it for them to reference. I also wrote down who I was in contact with via email and the problem I had. They sent me, what looks like a new head (might be refurbished) and it functions properly!.Final words: These lights have a great light output, very controllable with different levels of diffusion, and 5 lights which can be individually turned off (except for one of my lights, which will hopefully get replaced or fixed). The light is day light balanced so it can be used with natural light (like from a window). I would like to see what tungston gels do to these lights and see if they match well with my buddies Lowel set of lights.

ePhoto gear is either hit or miss. This light kit is a miss.• Terrible light stands. Can hardly hold the weight of the head and the soft-box.• Softbox takes longer to put together than it would to do a standard three-point light setup for an interview.• Carrying case is soft and provide little protection to the 15 lamps.• 15, styrofoam encased, cardboard-boxed, screw-type fluorescent lamps, which require a lot of time and space to unpack and then repack. This really sucks unless you plan on never having to move these lights...and I mean never.• Very short power cords. Better also buy some stingers.• The soft-box materials is incredibly cheap and already has holes worn in it from the poles.• Individual bag for the soft-box poles are also cheap and have all ripped.Seriously, there are a few other, much better priced and higher quality fluorescent light kits on Amazon. Go look at them, this is not one product that you should buy. I can't even sell this kit on Craigslist for $50.