are there inexpensive lights that dont have quality issues like britek?

FiddlerMD

FiddlerMD

Well-known member
I've read the many bad reviews of briteks, but they're at a real sweet spot in terms of price. from a logical perspective, it doesnt seem terribly difficult/pricy to put a bulb into a socket, stick a can around it and call it an open faced light.. put a lens in front and it's a fresnel, etc.. of course i realize this is a huge over-simplification and i understand that briteks' reputation is as is because of the whole "you get what you pay for"... thing like solder joints, the gauge of hte metal used, tolerance of crimp connection etc all play a big role in reliability.
Reliability, however, is different things to different people. If i worked on sets all day every day i wouldnt even think of using anything but top end stuff, but for those of use who shoot on occasion (say 1-5 shoots per month), is there an option somewhere between a britek and an arri or something like that?
same goes for chimera - really expensive stuff.. and a softbox isnt exactly rocket science - whats a good inexpensive softbox solution for us occasional shooters?

thanks
 
Britek lights are poo poo. I have owned a couple, they are plastic and poorly constructed. They are cheap, but not disposable cheap. I still own every light I have ever bought except for the briteks. Maybe the new flou lights are better since they wont melt. Fotodiox makes some interesting stuff on the cheap but I have yet to try them.
 
FiddlerMD said:
If i worked on sets all day every day i wouldnt even think of using anything but top end stuff, but for those of use who shoot on occasion (say 1-5 shoots per month), is there an option somewhere between a britek and an arri or something like that.
Click to expand...

What I did was buy used lights on ebay. It cost me probably $300 more than buying cheap lights, but they are well worth it. The beauty of Arri/Mole-Richardson/LMT is that they are built like tanks and if needs be, can easily be rewired.

I spent $150 a piece for 2 200 watt Mole-Richardson Mini-Moles, and $200 for a 1k Baby Mole. Add in 3 stands for about $175 and it cost me about $700 for a Mole-Richardson 3 point light kit.

A job is much easier if you have the correct tools--there really is no substitute.

Matthew Rogers
 
i've been scouting ebay almost every day - it seems so are a lot of other people .. used stuff goes for almost as much as new..( and is sure a good reason to invest in quality equipment i suppose)
 
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