Rostronics-Britek Nobody Here Can Agree-Why?

K

Kelly Olsen

Well-known member
There is no product on this site that has as many stories of love and hate. I wanted some low price lights and the Britek/Rostronics really seem to fill the bill but after spending hours here doing a search under Rostronics I find for every "Love them" there is a horror story of melting housing, broken knobs, blown bulbs, etc.

Then the stories of service. "Tom takes care of problems" to "Tom says I have to send them back to factory and deal with them."

It is just bizarre. It really seems like a one to one ratio (or pretty close) of the "greatest for the price" to "don't waste your money."

How can so many people have such different experiences? On all the other discussions there is a general concensus one way or the other about a product with a few dissenting opinions or experiences. But on these lights it is like day or night.

Maybe somebody can set up one of those threads with a pole where people vote and there is a graph. I don't have a clue on how to do this.

But more importantly, how can this be explained?
 
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Can merely be a difference between who can afford better lights and who cannot. I have used the expensive lights and the Britek, there is no comparison.
But if I needed light and wanted to get my project done I'd find a way to use what I could afford. The focusing range on them is negligible at best. They are not far from a common work light. I'd likely get work lights and save for more controllable lights like Arri's, they are wonderful.
 
I understand your feelings, but I believe this to just be a waste of time to have a poll on which CHEAP equipment is better. I'm just playing Devil's advocate here.. I have used both types of equipment you mentioned once or twice. They are not built to last, and they are made of cheap,lighter material that will not stand the test of time. I don't care if you are making your first film, or you work with Spielberg ....If you have heard "Horror" stories about both pieces of equipment, don't buy either. ARRI OR MOLE will last longer.
Your equipment is an investment, treat it well, and it will last a long time.
Can't afford lights, RENT......
 
filmat11 said:
...I believe this to just be a waste of time.. .ARRI OR MOLE will last longer...
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I don't think it is a waste of time at all to discuss which "cheap" or low cost product is better. Half of the discussions on this website are about using products that are cost effective. Have you ever read the audio threads?

Under your scenario nobody should discuss the "Cheap" $170 Oktava boom mike and should save up and buy a $1500 Neuman, end of story. Some can't do that. And there are more people here that can actually afford the Oktava and use it now. I would have never had a decent mike at a reasonable cost if it wasn't for Matt talking about the Oktava.

Why bother having a DIY thread where people make their own lights and steady cam? Just go out a buy the real thing?

That is one of the major values of this site. Sharing information about technique and products that may not be the best but allow you to do the job and still have some value for the dollar.

There are products that people talk about that are low cost and we ackowledge that they have limits because of the low cost but they work out of the box and have some reasonable level of performance.

The Oktava mike is again an example. The best? No. Very good for the dollar? Yes. But I've not heard one story here about the mike falling apart in one week or not having all the parts of it when it arrived or shorting out, smoking or anything.

Even work lights from Home Depot don't have the same level of stories from people here.

The Rostronics/Briteks have stories of people saying for the money they are great and an equal amount saying that they were broken and dead on arrival, burned up and melted in a week, blown 10 bulbs in 2 days etc.

I don't think it is fair to say "well, they are not Arris so what do you expect". Nobody is saying that they should last as long or be as durable as Arris but why are there so many stories about the disasters right away and then so many stories of people saying that they get used all the time with no problems?

No other product here has such a night and day set of experiences. I find this curious. I have a Rifa 55 and spent a lot of money on it because I wanted my key light to be the best quality. I want a kicker and background light which to me are of lesser importance so since I spent most of the budget on the key and I have less for the other lights.

Rostronics seems like a good deal considering my budget and needs. But I'm spooked by the night and day difference in the tales of people who own them and was trying to figure out why this line is so different in experiences.
 
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Don't know what to tell you. Jarred and I both got in early and have been very happy with 'em. They're not Moles, and they're not Arris, but they're very good for the price.

As for the discrepancy: maybe the factory had some turnover and hired some real klutz who ruined a production run, and that's when the bad stories started coming in?

I only ever bought two of the silly things, and they've been bulletproof for what I've used 'em for. Not enough focusability, otherwise they'd be gold.

I know there are others that have been happy with theirs, and I've seen that people have had problems with 'em too. It is weird. I can only assume that either success got to their heads so they started making 'em cheaper to really pocket some coin, or they had some bad employees, or something like that.

The bigger question is: what do RECENT buyers say about 'em? If they're making them well, like they did about three years ago, then they're fine and absolutely a thousand times better than any lame-o Home Depot worklight. But if what they're turning out currently is junk, then there's no way that spending money on junk is a good idea.
 
Kelly, sorry I sounded off like an A hole....I guess it's my age.. "You kids and your rock and roll!" I'm in my 40's now(gulp)And started off in still photography. I used only strobes for over 15 years. While making the transition to film and video , several years ago, I used every light on the market, one time or another.
One of my close friends has a set of the Briteks, he has used them many times on his indie films. He carefully puts them away after each shoot, he keeps them clean, and handles them like he was putting a Panavision camera on a tripod. He's happy with them...Even despite the fact that he blows a bulb every 5th or 6th time he turns them on. In my personal bag, I always keep a Lowel Tota-light, just in case, to use for a mutitude of purposes.
Now that I work fulltime on commercials,films,documentaries ect. I have come to expect , and respect the quality of good equipment that you can count on, on a daily basis. I own, and rent Arri and mole lights when I need more.
My intention was to save you from buying inferior equipment that won't last . The Briteks, when they work, are indeed a very good light source, they are a good set of lights that can give you some pro results...To some, they last as long as their last girlfriend, to others a couple of years....It's not should I get the Ford fiesta, or the Porsche.. it's.... get the Volkswagon....LOL
 
filmat11 said:
Now that I work fulltime on commercials,films,documentaries ect. I have come to expect , and respect the quality of good equipment that you can count on, on a daily basis. I own, and rent Arri and mole lights when I need more.
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I couldn't agree more. Since shooting more and more I now have a small collection of entry level gear that just sits on my shelf - while my quality pro gear works all the time. In retrospect it might have made more sense to save the money and start at the top to begin with. Good quality gear will last and you can probably get a decent reselling price should you need to get rid of it.

That said people's pockets are tight and sometimes you have to make do with what you can afford until you can move onto the next level. For others it works just fine and they never feel the need to get anything better. If I had to do it all over again I'd probably buy a couple of decent lights (a 300 fresnel and maybe a redhead with a chimera) and a couple of practical sockets and bulbs. I still use household practicals to light things - they're portable, cheap and with some black wrap make great eye lights, or fill lights.
 
I've got 4 Briteks. I bought 3 of them about 2 years ago and picked up another last year. The new design of the 200w light rocks. It has heavy duty barndoors like the 600w and the 1k now. I haven't had a problem with any of them. I've since added an Altman 650L (usually lamped down to 300w) and a mini mole. I find myself using my new fresnels a lot more than the Briteks, but I'm glad they're on the shelf when I need them.
 
Kelly, I own a couple of Briteks that I've been happy with and I'm still frustrated with the problem you describe! I bought the g-300 kit and they've worked fine for me. I considered buying some of the 650w lights, but I kept reading the blown bulb posts as well and got worried. In the meantime, I lucked into some great deals on used moles and lowels, but I still wouldn't mind a having a 600w britek with a softbox. If I knew it would work as well as my g-300s, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

It does seem, though, that the 650w "focusable" light is the one that gets the most complaints if you go back through the threads. All I can say is that my 300's have performed great for the money.
 
I have a bunch of lights of varying price levels from Lowel Omni's up to Arri and Mole Fresnels and I recently decided I wanted some softboxes. I looked here and read all of the threads good and bad about Britek. I was about to buy 2 Chimera Video Pro Plus 1 Softboxes and Speed rings for my Lowel omni and Dp lights at a cost of about $750ish. I happened to be looking around on Ebay and saw a set of 3 used Britek's 2 1k and 1 500w with 2 32x32 softboxes which I ended up buying for $235. I just got done using them for the second time and I an really happy with my decision, the wuality of them is actually surprisingly good especially compared to what I expected based on some of the horror stories here.

If you are looking at lights you are just going to put a softbox on, I would recommend the Briteks. I do however agree with everyone who says the stands suck, they do they are flimsey crap. I don't know if this helps at all or not, but I figures I would put in my 2 cents.

Good luck on making your decision. I would suggest looking at used Arri or Mole Fresnels on ebay too to save you a few bucks.
 
bcheong said:
If I had to do it all over again I'd probably buy a couple of decent lights.
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A second vote for that approach. If you know you're going to be in this game for a while, it's worth considering.

I tested the 300w Britek against a 300w Arri fres, and there's a big difference (obviously?). The Britek leaks light out the side of the barndoor, and the Arri obviously produces that gorgeous, soft light of a fres. That said, I really like that each of the Briteks from 300w up is available with a softbox.

The 1k is just HUGE, and just too awkward for my purposes. I now have the Lowell DP because I couldn't find bulbs for 240v land for the britek 1k...and Rostronics just sent me on goose chases to locate them. The DP is better but comes with its own set of issues (non-standard design for soft box and barndoors which leads to longer setup times and overall fiddlyness).

On the subject of service, it really seems to be a case of cross your fingers. They (he?) just seem to be too busy to give good service. IMHO.

Re bulb failure...as far as I can tell it only happens in the 650, and only when using bulbs other than Ushio (and maybe Philips)

See raytracers post here...

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=53990&highlight=britek+bulbs
 
Barry_Green said:
The bigger question is: what do RECENT buyers say about 'em? If they're making them well, like they did about three years ago, then they're fine and absolutely a thousand times better than any lame-o Home Depot worklight. But if what they're turning out currently is junk, then there's no way that spending money on junk is a good idea.
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Yes, this is the key question.

I appreciate all the comments about saving or just going ahead and getting the good stuff that will last, but some of us need lights that are reliable in that they work but don't use them every day or even every week.

I work in TV and film on the producing side and don't make my living yet on shooting. I'm building my kit so that I can shoot a Doc of my own but my income is not yet from my camera and lights so spending $350 on a light that is made for every day use is not a good option when a $85.00 light used twice a month will work. I don't want to rent because I want to be able to experiment a bit and get to know how to light different situations so having access to the light is important.

When I know more about what I'm doing and start making money with the lights I'll gladly spend on better. Just like what I'm doing with the DVX. When the time comes, I'll move up to the HVX. But right now the DVX does what I need it to.

So as I said before, I got the Rifa 55 for the quality key light and an $85.00 fill with barn doors bounced and and $69.00 rim light with barn doors and a similar back ground light fit really well. Britek makes these in the G-200 and G-300. But Barry is right, if they don't work or can't be relied on then they are a waste of money.

So back to Barry's important point.

What is the experience with people who have bought Britek/Rostronics recently? Has the product line quality gotten back up to where it was before or not. Especially the 200 and 300 for my purposes, but really any of the lights like the GY-650.
 
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I have a 3 light 2650W Britek kit and never blown a bulb or had a problem. Not as rugged or durable as Lowel but on par with the lower end Arri Kits (read LOWER end). I had to invest in a nicer case but for the price, they are great. Anyone seen the stands on the lower end Arri kits? They are no better than the Britek, but neither is very good.



ash =o)
 
Well, I'm receiving my gear from Britek tommorow. We've got 3 650's, a 200, a 1k and a 2k coming and we'll see how it works out. I'll post reviews as to how the equipment works out on my shoot starting next week.
 
fleaguit said:
Well, I'm receiving my gear from Britek tommorow. We've got 3 650's, a 200, a 1k and a 2k coming and we'll see how it works out. I'll post reviews as to how the equipment works out on my shoot starting next week.
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Would be really interesting to get your impressions. Look forward to see what you have to say about the lights.
 
Well, the UPS guy just left my house. He informs me he left the packages in the yard. Low and behold when I get outside, there are two boxes filled with stands. No lights, no extra bulbs, no softboxes, and no cases. Just stands. I've emailed Tom asking for the tracking numbers on the other packages, hopefully the info will be coming in soon, he's been very good about taking care of my questions so far. I'm hoping the lights just shipped seperately. The stands are decent, not super heavy duty, but they'll do the job. I bought the heavy duty stands, and I'd say these are about average compared to other light stands I've used.
 
Ok UPS just came back, delivered the first kit, received 2 650's and a 200. The construction seems pretty solid, not totally heavy weight but at least on par with the tota's we already have. Similar enough in design to an arri, I'm pretty happy. Plugged everything in, they all worked. On off a couple of times, no bulbs blown yet. I'm still waiting on a 1k, a 2k, another 650, and all the barn doors and soft boxes.
 
I have been using the Briteks (2 650's, 1 200, 1 300/250) and for the most part they have been good. the 650's and 200 have worked well, while the 250/300 light was a complete dud as soon as I got it. It has never worked right. I would recommend them definitely above work lights.
 
emergent pictures said:
I have been using the Briteks (2 650's, 1 200, 1 300/250) and for the most part they have been good. the 650's and 200 have worked well, while the 250/300 light was a complete dud as soon as I got it. It has never worked right. I would recommend them definitely above work lights.
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Kevin,

Is the dud one of the G-300's that are curently listed on the Rostronics website? How long have you had this model?
 
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