PBL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LIGHTING KIT 600 WATT FLUORESCENT PHOTO DIGITAL VIDEO by PBL

Reviews of PBL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LIGHTING KIT 600 WATT FLUORESCENT PHOTO DIGITAL VIDEO by PBL

1.) Pro 600 watt "Cool-Flo" Fluorescent Photo lighting kit
Reviewed by: Photo Nut Huntsville, Tennessee
Rating:
Wow...I love these lights. I am an amateur photographer. Ask me a technical question and you will get a stare back at ya! Hahaha! I just do it for fun and have a very nice expensive digital, Photoshop Elements 7 and these lights along with digital backgrounds I use. My neighbors love me...I love to take pics of their babies and kids! It is a win win situation and these lights are perfect if you don't have a lot of money to spend. Very nicely put together with totes to store them in. I just think they are great and at such a reasonable price!!!! Very good service too. I emailed them on how to put together (I am sure they think I am an idiot) but answered me right away with a video instruction attached! What a great company!

2.) Great value
Reviewed by: Our Man Flint Seattle
Rating:
Easy to assemble and with compact flourescent lights it is cool to work with because they don't give off as much heat as regular bulbs. The lights are very bright but cheaper to run than normal because they are CFL. Very inexpensive pair of kits in one box but provided exactly what we needed for home video making for our youtube channel. The tripod assembly even comes with its own carrying bag which helps make it portable.


3.) What a great deal!
Reviewed by: Eric C. Anderson Gardnerville, NV
Rating:
This very inexpensive set of lights includes a great carrycase, and gives beautiful color balance for your video shoots. With the extremely low power consumption. lack of heat generation, and portability with the carrycase, I don't think you can go wrong. When I tell my friends how much I paid, they can't believe it!

I was not aware of the included carrycase, so it was a very plesant surprise. It is large enough to easily carry all of the lighting equipment, plus extension cords and outlet boxes and other stuff as well.

So, if you need lighting to shoot video indoors, and don't want to spend a lot of money, this is for you!

4.) Excellent beginner set
Reviewed by: Business Technology Strategist Washington DC, USA
Rating:
This product has great quality for the price - the light is very intense, and will suffice for most amateur indoors work with a good digital camera. We have used it for high quality You Tube videos with no problems. Very easy to assemble, and a great "bang for the buck"

5.) Great product quick delivery
Reviewed by: Daniel R. Wise Washington, DC
Rating:
I purchased these lights to photograph my artwork. I've used them with my 35mm film camera shooting slides and my digital camera. The results are great. Additionally, everything collapses for easy storage.

6.) An awesome kit!
Reviewed by: David Brown Knoxville, TN
Rating:
I was a bit worried by the other reviews of this items that said that no instructions for setting up the lights was included. This is true, there were no instructions in my kit. However, the only instructions I needed to set up my lights in less than 10 minutes were the pictures of the lights provided on Amazon.

The entire base and stand is one telescoping unit. The light socket attaches to the stand and also holds the umbrella in place. The bulb screws into the socket. There are no other pieces.

Simple to assemble and packaged in an attractive carrying case. I like this item very much.

7.) Cheap Price for High Quality Tool
Reviewed by: Macro-Man New York, NY USA
Rating:
I have to say that I was extremely leary about purchasing this product because it just seemed to be too great of a deal. Well, after receiving this light set I can say that I am very happy with my purchase. The bulb are VERY bright and offer brilliant white light. I take photos of my wife's handmade products and this set is amazing to do just that. The unit came in a box which had a black canvas carry case. Each part of the light lighting assembly was individually wrapped in it's own plastic bags, for the metal parts, and the light bulbs where VERY well packed in boxes with molded styrofoam. I read a few past reviews where people stated they almost broke the umbrella stand and light during the initial set up because there were no instructions. Now, I don't consider myself the be a physicist but with knowledge of how gravity on this earth works I was able to set this light unit up without any problems whatsoever. I highly recommend this product to any photographer who needs crisp light for their shots. All in all, I thought this was going to be a gamble, and I'm glad to see that one of mine finally paid off.

8.) gtreat lights
Reviewed by: robert veach yorkville il.
Rating:
These work great for a white color balanced light source for pictures or movies. My only problem is the actual light bulbs are quite heavy and the umbrelleas needed a counterweight to help balance the load difference.

9.) Very Good Light Kit
Reviewed by: tjg
Rating:
This is a great kit for the beginner. It provides a nice soft white light and is quite bright. I noticed some reviewers said the carry case ranged from one that only held the stands, and one that referred it in the plural sense as "Totes". I am not sure what that means because when mine arrived this week the whole kit was nicely packed in one carry case to carry it all. It's a decent carry case too. If you pick up this kit you will most certainly need to add a couple of extension cords as the power cords are only about 6 feet long and when the stands are set up don't let them stray too far from the outlet. I picked up a couple of 50' cords to give me the flexibility to find an outlet almost anywhere. In an unrelated note this was sold and shipped by Cowboy Studios but is called a Steve Kaeser. Steve Kaeser isn't mentioned anywhere on the product or it's individual pieces however, the light bulbs do say Cowboy Studio right on them....kinda weird.

10.) Great Kit!
Reviewed by: GTNS Bay City, MI
Rating:
The quality is wonderful and the lights make portrait photography for your indoor and outdoor needs a breeze. This kit saves me 15 minutes of Photoshop editing due to the spectrum of light and the soft spread that it puts out. If you have a decent SLR and know how to use it you shouldn't notice a difference from much more expensive kits.

I recommend this kit and will buy from this great company again! I should also add that their same day shipping impressed me and I will now use them for my photography needs.

11.) What you see is what you get
Reviewed by: Robert Wang USA
Rating:
It looks exactly as the picture. I like the fact that it comes with a handy bag with everything included. The lightbulb is enclosed in a case which protects it from damage. Got it on time, and everything works.

12.) Excellent Purchase
Reviewed by: OA HazMatt Hernando, Florida
Rating:
I've dabbled in photography for years, but have only recently gotten serious about it. When some professional work came my way I realized I would need some lamps. This kit was suggested by Amazon and I was not disappointed.

You get everything pictured (and more) and the pictures make the product seem less-impressive than it is. The florescent bulbs are quite large and powerful, about the size of pineapple and lit up my living room brighter than I ever thought possible. When fully assembled and extended, the umbrellas reached the top of my ceiling, easily ten feet, and were still perfectly stable on carpet.

My main concern was how to lug these lamps around, but rest assured they come in a very nice carrying case that leaves everything quite secure and in place.

The only drawback to this product is the lack of an assembly manual, but a few moments of patience and you should be able to assemble the product easily.

13.) Exceptional value and quality for an incredible price!
Reviewed by: Pat Pittsburgh
Rating:
I couldn't be more pleased with these lights. The stands are sufficiently sturdy and, if one uses common sense (and due care), there's little danger of them collapsing or falling over.....unless you allow small children and animals to run rampant in your home. The fluorescent bulbs are a tad bit awkward to negotiate screwing them in but I got the knack for it after several attempts. The carrying case is surprisingly well made. There are straps inside to hold the stands and umbrellas. I saved the styrofoam shipping inserts (and boxes) for storing the bulbs.

I am a fairly accomplished amateur photographer. I use to develop my own photos back in the day. After I got married, the kids came along and they became the focus of my photographic efforts. With grandkids, retirement and digital cameras...I found renewed passion for photography and I set out to equip my home "studio".

I've spent a small fortune on Canon lenses for my digital camera. I could not afford anything but budget equipment for a home setup. I found very reasonably priced digital backgrounds on eBay. I bought [...] PhotoKey3 software from [...]. I did spend the extra $10 to get a CD. I found a reasonably priced, reversible, collapsible Chromakey backdrop but I was overwhelmed by the choices in lighting.

There are a number of low to moderately priced lighting "kits" and it was tough decide which one to buy.....or what I really needed. I got lucky with these lights. Set up is easy. No instructions are needed actually. I wasn't sure how to place the lights so as to get those perfect portraits. However, I found sites online that give free advice about lighting .....and just about everything else that one would need to know about photography.

I do intend to buy a small "hairlight" soon. I will then be ready for the best Rembrandt shots I can get...I hope.

[...]

14.) Excellent Lighting System
Reviewed by: Howard K. Jaecks Tempe, AZ USA
Rating:
This is an excellent lighting system. The system assembled fairly easily but I did manage to run into a couple of concerns. I wasn't sure how to attach the light fixture to the tripod until I realized that I could loosen the light fixture assembly screws and use them to clamp the light fixture to the tripod. Also, the fluorescent bulb is too large for the light fixture. The bulb is large enough that it touches the parabolic reflector support rod. If the fluorescent bulb got hot like regular photo lights, the heat stress on the glass where the bulb touches the rod would no doubt break the bulb. But the fluorescent bulbs run cool so that has not been a problem. Still it gets a bit unnerving when the bulb taps against the rod while the bulb is being screwed into the light fixture. I try to hold the bulb away from the rod while screwing it in and so far there hasn't been any breakage.

The parabolic reflectors provide even light and the color temperature of the fluorescent bulbs provides good color when the camera is set for daylight. Since the bulbs run cool, you can shoot in confined areas without heating the area or blowing circuit breakers. So, I am very pleased with these lights.

15.) grate product, fair price
Reviewed by: ADORAMA GREEN CROHMAKEY USA
Rating:
grate product, fair price... would be nice if they where dimable but for the price you get what you see.... power. portable, simple, clean set up.

and yes, steave kaeser... fast shipment.

16.) Can't be beat for the low price
Reviewed by: S. S. Wilkie Spartanburg, SC
Rating:
Just received my kit yesterday and haven't used it yet but am impressed with the quality of the product. Everything in the kit, stands, bulbs, umbrellas and even the nice carrying case were impressive quality-wise. For the cheap price, I was expecting the stands especially to be rather low-quality but was pleasantly surprised at their sturdy build. I will add to my review after I have actually used the kit.

17.) Photography lights
Reviewed by: Karen J. Moss Indiana
Rating:
Great product. Did have a hard time figuring out how to put together. After emailing my problem the company promptly sent my directions which were very easy to understand and within minutes I had it all put together. This product is very much worth the money you pay.

18.) Excellent quality and quick shipping!
Reviewed by: Anthony Rogers Asheville, NC, USA
Rating:
I ordered this item and received it 3 days later. That's impressive! The quality is excellent, and far exceeded my expectations. The price is very low compared to competitors that I researched, so I'd call this an excellent value. The entire assembly is remarkably sturdy and light. As others have noted, it does not come with assembly instructions, but I was able to figure it out with some minor fumbling. There just isn't that much too it. The only hint you might need is that you need to loosen the head quite a bit to get the umbrella rod seated in it securely. The only possible shortcoming to note is that the umbrella rod touches the bulb. I don't consider this to be a problem, and it may even be advantageous. The bulb is CFL, which is always relatively cool, and it's also enormous, so the 300 watt (equivalent) output is spread over a huge area. It's remarkably cool to the touch, much cooler than any CFL bulb you can buy in stores. The bulb does not heat up the rod, and I expect that it touching the bulb may reduce the chance of it hitting the bulb when the stand it's moved and breaking it. You want the bulb to be centered as much as possible under the umbrella, and this arrangement certainly succeeds at that, and the size of the bulb ensures that it throws off a soft even light. (No I'm not not affiliated with the Cowboy Studios! I just think this product is great.)

19.) Very nice for the price
Reviewed by: Steven S. Allen
Rating:

This light setup if perfect for the budget minded individual. It is not, by any means, a professional quality setup with lighting that will be bright enough to do professional shots. But, for the money it is an excellent little system. The carrying case is also better than I expected it to be. All in all, you can't go wrong with this setup if you are looking for a starter set. Highly recommended for the beginner who wants to get him or herself acclimated to lighting setups.


20.) Great Deal
Reviewed by: RSacky Portland, OR
Rating:
For the money, this kit was a great purchase for me. The kit comes in a nice black carrying case which is easy to re-pack. The stands are sturdy, rugged and easy to use with good height. The reflectors work well to direct the light without creating hotspots. My only complaint is that the reflector (umbrella) metal posts press against the spiral lightbulb. I gently bent the posts a bit which worked but they were obviously designed with a narrower bulb in mind. All said, I am very pleased with this kit.

21.) Great Lighting
Reviewed by: Jarid Schulte Illinois
Rating:
Great lighting set that goes well with the background I purchased. Made the pictures look much more professional.

22.) GREAT PRODUCT GREAT PRICE
Reviewed by: Philip N Chancellor SAN ANTONIO, TX, US
Rating:
I am not a por photographer, HOWEVER i am a Pro sound and light company owner. I deal with Lights that coust 2 and 3 thousand a piece. When i bout these i was not expecting much...I WAS WRONG... they are very bright...well made and i am delighted. Cant miss with these for the money. Its like anything, take care of your stuff and it will last forever. GREAT JOB i say and they also sent the product BEFORE AMIZON had a chance to send a recipt! IM HAPPY!

23.) Excellant Shipment As Advertised
Reviewed by: Gary Ploense Normal, Ill
Rating:
Received shipment day early was in excellant condition, and it is as advetised! Excellant vendor!

24.) Possibly a good value depending what you get. The bulbs are less than 71 watts ea.
Reviewed by: Lakelyb
Rating:
OVERALL I agree with most reviews here - it is good considering the cost, and will fill a need many of us may have. Cowboy Studios is good. I was missing the carry bag and they shipped it with courteous communications.

LIGHT BULBS:
Notice the ad does not say what is the actual bulb watts. So I asked and Cowboy replied it is supposed to be 85 watt bulbs but they sent me 105w because they were out of 85w. My bulb label says "105 W., 5500K, 110V, 60HZ". I measured the watts of the "105w" bulbs as 70 watts using a "P3 P4400" P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor. (Each "105w" bulb is measured as 70 watts, 127 volt amps, 0.61 power factor, while supplied with 120v, 60 hz.) If you get the intended 85 watt bulb, I would guess its actual watts to be even lower. The watts, and equivalent incandescent watts seem exagerated. My bulbs had no indication of where, or who, manufactured it.

LIGHTS AND UMBRELLAS TOGETHER
The color temperture of the lights seems very good for photography - meaning very white, like sunlight. With two "105 watt" lights and 2 umbrellas only 6 feet from my subject,the brightness is only moderate, so I still use fill flash, or tripod. With F3.8, ISO 400, my shutter needs about 1/20 second unless I add flash. If they had shipped the correct watts, I may have been disapointed. The lights are too big to be centered at the foci of the umbrella. Much (or most) of the light is spread around the room and not put on the subject. If you have a white room it will help a tiny bit of the stray light to get to the subject.

THE CARRY BAG:
Notice the ad has no indication that a bag is included at all, or the bags size (the ad may change after my review). I did not recieve one so I asked for one and they sent it. It is a zippered cylinder about 5.3" diameter by 30" long. It is good quality. It holds everything except the big bulbs. For the two bulbs, with their protective styrofoam, you will need another bag about 14x12x6. Previous orders got bags big enough to hold everything including the bulbs and extra cords (see Eric C. Anderson's review and comments).

Please vote if this review was helpful or not. Thanks. Sincerely, Lakelyb.

25.) Cheap, Easy, Effective
Reviewed by: newbie Houston, Texas United States
Rating:
I wanted something cheap to play and learn lighting, mostly to help for indoor on-location shoots at clients houses. Newborns, kids, headshots, etc. Also to use for a photobooth type set-up for events. Works great for all of this and love that it's not hot for my clients to sit under.

Arrived very fast, easy to set-up, issue with one bulb and they quickly replaced it for me, sturdy enough, easy to transport on my own, highly recommend for amateaurs/beginner professionals - but I have nothing to compare it too, so do your research.

Light is natural/daylight - looks good, umbrella is silver inside - not white (not sure if that is good/bad/makes no difference#, reflection in eyes looks like a propeller when close up - Will try to post examples) but worked great even though I don't know what I'm doing.

Great, awesome customer service from Cowboy Studio - will buy from them again.



26.) REVIEW FOR PBL STUDIO LIGHTING KIT
Reviewed by: Michael Quick West Virginia, USA
Rating:
The lighting kit came as promised, although I would recommend not to use standard shipping if you want it within a week.

I have used it mainly for pet photo sessions. There is enough light for the animal's eyes to adjust, so that you capture tight pupils instead of wide open reflections that have to be edited. Without the strobes or speed lights, you also eliminate a lot of the animal's nervousness. White balance is OK.

The 300 watt rated lamps are available at larger home improvement stores, which is nice if you suddenly need one.

Considering the retail price of the lamps are almost $20.00 each, I feel that I got a good deal on the package.

27.) Customer Service is good
Reviewed by: PA CA
Rating:
Its a good start kit. Lights are fine if you are setting up a small studio. I recv both the bulbs broken and there was a tear in one of the umbrellas. Packaging was horrible but their customer service is great they replaced everything promptly.
I gave it a 4 star only cos of the packaging which delayed my setting of my studio cos of the damaged stuff.

28.) Studio Lighting
Reviewed by: J. Maurigi New Jersey
Rating:
I had done a lot of research on some good beginners lighting and decided this equipment made the most sense in my price range.

As it turns out, it's very good stuff. Everything came on time and in good condition. When I got it together the light was great and performed in my small studio as expected. For a beginning photographer or someone on a limited budget I highly recommend the "COOL-FLO" lamps.

The only reason it did not get a 5 star rating is that the mechanics are a little rickety. The stands and umbrellas are great but the lamp connection is on the scimpy side. Also, there are no written assembly direction which is not too critical because it's a very simple set up.

That being said, it's a great product for the price.

29.) Great Product
Reviewed by: Cheryl R. Larson
Rating:
I have really enjoyed using these lights so far. Everything is very simple to set up and use. It was shipped way fast and packaged very well. I use my lights for taking pictures of my family and children and the results have been pretty good. The only reason I gave it 4 out of 5 stars is because the lights are not quite bright enough in my opinion but as I said I am still really enjoying them and have gotten some great shots. Overall, a great value for the money.

30.) Great set for the price, but still not bright enough
Reviewed by: M. Cato
Rating:
These lights are great for small product or head shots, but for overall portraits or group shots, they still aren't bright enough. You'll also need to purchase a back drop light or an overhead boom light to give the extra contrast between the subject and the background. That being said, this is probably the best constant light kit that I've found for this price and is good quality overall. I'd be weary of using these outdoors because they would blow over pretty easily without some hefty weights. And I'm surprised that people are having such trouble putting these together...it's very straightforward, even for people who aren't at all mechanically inclined. I thought that using strobes would be a bigger pain, but I'm starting to think that would have been the best way to go for portraits.

31.) Good value for money, but...
Reviewed by: theberkeleyprofessor Berkeley, CA United States
Rating:
The pair of lights are good value for the money. They were relatively easy to assemble and use (adjust). I am a beginner with indoor lighting. The lights give off a strong white light that brings our details in house interior photos.

__ But

The bulb rests on the umbrella's metal rod. I called the vendor, cowboystudios.com and they said that is not a problem since the bulbs do not get very hot. I agree, the bulbs do not get very hot, but I am concerned that any sudden accidental jerking of the lights when moving could cause the bulb to break because of the contact between the bulb and the metal rod of the umbrella. Those new style florescent bulbs are energy saving, but they contain mercury and must be very carefully cleaned up when you break one.

I wish the lights came with instructions. My first attempt at assembling them almost met with disaster. I grabbed the light just in time before it almost fell over and broke. I did not realize that the light must extend over one of the tripod legs -- not inbetween them.

I guess I could search the web for instructions and tips on using lighting, but I would have appreciated a cheat sheet on using the lights.

32.) Just not bright enough!
Reviewed by: kbjornst Scranton, PA United States
Rating:
I ordered this setup and it put together very well enough. I am happy with everything except the light output. I have to put the lights VERY close to my subject if I want to shoot at less than ISO 400... Is there enough light to shoot a family portrait? I don't think so! Unless I figure out what I am doing wrong, I don't know if I am going to be able to use these lights! I am thinking I will have to replace them with my flash units at times...

33.) Good product but needs improvement
Reviewed by: marathon_runner Miami, Florida
Rating:
I ordered "Pro Studio Light Kit 600 watt "Cool-Flo" Fluorescent Photo Digital Video by PBL" from amazon.com and it was shipped from your [...]. The bulb is "150W 5500k" each so the two will make 300W instead of the 600 watts as it claimed at amazon.com. Is there something wrong here? If not it should clearly say it's equivalent to 600 watts or something. A second question is the kit can't be locked and could be pulled out or fall off. There should be a lock on it to secure it. Instead users have to tighten the bolts to prevent it from falling. But this make the turning of the light and umbrella awkward and also may cause damage to the kit. There is no instruction whatsever and I figured out how to install it myself.

34.) Product works, but....
Reviewed by: J. Tate TN
Rating:
I received this item as a gift. The lighting stands, bulbs, and umbrellas were all included, and I have had no problems with any of the equipment. However, the carrying cases listed in the item description were not included. I contacted the seller to request the cases, and they sent one of the two cases that was supposed to be included. It would hold both tripods and umbrellas, and had a side pouch that would only fit one of the lamp bases, and does not hold the bulbs at all. When I contacted them a second time, they reluctantly filled my request for the second case (as described in the item description), but they sent a different, smaller case than the first one. The second case didn't have the side pouch for the lamp base. If you're going to leave this set up, you'll be fine. But if you are interested in a portable system, be prepared to either buy your own transport/storage cases, or consider a different product!

35.) the bulb and umbrella are at odds with one another
Reviewed by: Sean Dreilinger lake oswego, oregon, us
Rating:
the bulb and umbrella post do not fit together.

you could say the bulb is too wide, or you could say the umbrella socket on the clamp is placed too close to the light socket. in order to assemble this, i had to loosen the light bulb and allow the umbrella post to put a lot of tension on the glass bulb, which makes me very uncomfortable. not ideal or safe imho.

other than the dangerous issue with the umbrella and the bulb, the gear is of reasonable quality for the price, and the umbrella, post, and light socket can all be zipped into the provided nylon carrying bag.


36.) Terrible
Reviewed by: Drollchick San Diego, CA USA
Rating:
So I knew I wasn't buying top of the line, but I assumed things would remain in working condition for a decently long time. Boy, was I wrong. The on/off switch on one light broke the first day, and then another day the second light wouldn't come on at all. So, both units are bad. Don't waste your time with these...find something better, as it seems like you get what you pay for.

37.) BROKEN BULB
Reviewed by: Inaya J. Davis New York, USA
Rating:

I purchased this lighting kit for a friend for Christmas... It is a very decent set up for a beginner. It did not come with any directions however, so if this is your first time, you'll have to do what she did- and figure it out yourself by referring to the pictures shown on amazon. One of the two bulbs was not functional- but because there was no sign of physical damage, I was told I'd have to return it to the seller (Cowboy Studios) so that they could test it themselves. Very inconvenient, but they stated that they would not be able to send me another until they received the defective merchandise. Cowboy Studios stated, "the bulbs are very expensive". -I know they are... I remember since I PURCHASED THEM. Way too much of a hassle for a Christmas gift.

Features of PBL PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO LIGHTING KIT 600 WATT FLUORESCENT PHOTO DIGITAL VIDEO by PBL

100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.This professional PBL video photo digital fluorescent 2 light high output studio lighting kit. These lights produces 600 watts of 5100 kelvin daylight. Now you can have the continuous light you need for your digital video or digital photographic needs without all the heat of traditional continuous lighting. These are photo fluorescent flicker free lights that utilize electricity more efficiently in the production of light and not in heat. Until recently, only big studios could afford this type of technology, but now everyone can. This light works with all cameras, and comes packaged with all bulbs, cords, lighting fixtures and SK306 light stands and carry bags. STEVE KAESER PHOTO LIGHTING.


Package Height x Length x Width: 0 in. x 0 in. x 0 in.
Package Weight: 12 lbs.