Anybody ever used Kaeser lights?

smpproductions said:
I'm looking at buying a kit and I am considering one of Steve Kaeser's kits. Anybody have any experience with them?
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do a search for steve kaeser......you'll find it. I finally buckled down and reluctantly bought one of the soft boxes. I say reluctantly because so far I've had horrible success buying cheap lights. I've heard that these lights are ok, we'll see. I should be getting mine on monday. I'll keep you posted.
 
yes, i've seen his lighting website and some of the products he has. I am thinking about going with a 2 light kit, with softboxes, stands, and carry bag. I think the total is under $400 so that's nice, but I wanna know if they are actually good. Let me know what you think when you get them.
 
zeke said:
His Cool Flo kits look interesting. I want to do green screen work and they look like they would be a good fit.

I'm waiting for feedback from them on this kit

http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Detail?no=447

Joe C.
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Let me know what you think. I was considering that kit but then I realized that each fixture has an individual cord. That's something like 23 separate electrical cords to deal with.

I did buy a background kit (stand and chromakey) and I'd say the company is great to deal with - prompt shipping, everything as promised.

TVH
 
Steve's kits have been sold on Ebay for a while, with a superb feedback rating. There was a discussion on here some weeks ago about them and they got mixed reviews, though people said Steve was a great guy. I think it's a case of getting what you pay for. He sells decent cheap lights, not Arri's, so that's what you get.
 
His video lights with the softboxes are just briteks do some research on this site and you'll find tons of info on those.
 
I have bought from him and he's fine to work with and his lights are fine. I bought a set of Briteck flash lights from him and for digital work there fine. He now carries JTL which is a better brand. I would have bought them if he had had them when I bought mine. The Flo lights seem to be a good buy at the price point.

Good luck.
 
LighthouseMedia said:
His video lights with the softboxes are just briteks do some research on this site and you'll find tons of info on those.
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In the relatively short time I have been participating in this forum, I have seen a lot of questions and comments about Steve Kaeser and his lights. Rarely, though, do I see people differentiate between his hot lights and his fluorescent fixtures. My interest has been in his fluorescents and I have pretty much scoured his site for information.

I see a lot of comments like this about his being Briteks and other comments as to how how Briteks have fuse problems and are cheap and fall apart, etc, etc. The truth is, I am not sure if many or even any of his flo lights are from Britek. (BTW, I recently purchased a Britek flo softbox - from Britek - and so far I actually think it looks pretty good.) And even if they are, I wonder if the flo lights have all the same issues as the hot lights. I think the failure to specificy which lights - flo or hot - is giving rise to confusion about his lights as well as Britek's. Simple request - can we be more specific about the merchandise when we are commenting on the various Kaeser and Britek configurations? It would avoid some confusion and potential misinformation. Thanks.

Best,
TVH
 
tverhaar said:
In the relatively short time I have been participating in this forum, I have seen a lot of questions and comments about Steve Kaeser and his lights. Rarely, though, do I see people differentiate between his hot lights and his fluorescent fixtures. My interest has been in his fluorescents and I have pretty much scoured his site for information.

I see a lot of comments like this about his being Briteks and other comments as to how how Briteks have fuse problems and are cheap and fall apart, etc, etc. The truth is, I am not sure if many or even any of his flo lights are from Britek. (BTW, I recently purchased a Britek flo softbox - from Britek - and so far I actually think it looks pretty good.) And even if they are, I wonder if the flo lights have all the same issues as the hot lights. I think the failure to specificy which lights - flo or hot - is giving rise to confusion about his lights as well as Britek's. Simple request - can we be more specific about the merchandise when we are commenting on the various Kaeser and Britek configurations? It would avoid some confusion and potential misinformation. Thanks.

Best,
TVH
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wooohooo I guess we hit a soft spot on TVH. Really I know how frustrating it can be to feel lost when researching. I still haven't got my JTL SOFTBOX(: yet it should be here today and I'll be posting about the quality etc.....
 
Jtl

Jtl

I have used JTL's extensively over the last few years.
Specifically the 1K super-lights. The fixtures themselves
are great lights and I lived having built in dimmers into
the lights, they served me well with reflectors and barndoors.
Now the softboxes I couldn't stand. They are a pain to setup
the rods that hold the box up are made in pieces and have to
be assembled and then carefully placed INSIDE the softbox.
Fishing two piece rods inside a softbox and getting them to get to
snap into the speed ring proved problematic for me often taking a
good 5-7 mins to assembly just the softbox.
 
dlang said:
wooohooo I guess we hit a soft spot on TVH. Really I know how frustrating it can be to feel lost when researching. I still haven't got my JTL SOFTBOX(: yet it should be here today and I'll be posting about the quality etc.....
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Not so much a "soft spot" (not really sure what that means). I have just been hoping to narrow the information I was collecting to be specific enough to make actual use of it. When people comment about blowing fuses with 750 or 1000 watt Britek hot lights, or about plastic housing that warps in the heat, or about poor quality tungsten bulbs, I am not sure I can translate these issues of quality to a discussion about a flo light operating at a quarter or half of that power, without the heat, with different bulbs - and very probably one that comes from a different manufacturing source.

I really value the information available here - I just want to be able to clearly understand whether a given comment is relevant to what I am trying to find out. Believe me, I don't yet have enough money invested to be anything more than curious. But then, I'd rather use the wisdom here to save myself from wasting money going forward. (Wouldn't we all?)

Maybe to be clearer - my current understanding from the consensus on this forum (and others) is that Britek hot lights are of questionable quality and consistency. I am eager to hear comments specifically about the experience folks are having with Britek (or any other) flo lights (and have diligently followed the various threads here that discuss this issue).

Thanks.
 
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dlang said:
wooohooo I guess we hit a soft spot on TVH. Really I know how frustrating it can be to feel lost when researching. I still haven't got my JTL SOFTBOX(: yet it should be here today and I'll be posting about the quality etc.....
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OK I just got my 500w softbox kit. I have to say so far I am really impressed. As most have said already they are a great company to work with. They have delivered promptly and everything that was supposed to be delivered was in tact (more than I can say for Andromena): anyhow the only thing I didn't like was setting up the soft box was confusing at first, but once I figured it out it's brainless to do, probably 2, 3 minute setup. As far as the actual light goes they seem to be made out of the same material as the briteks...it's a thick plastic housing with a plastic and metal speed ring (only for JTL). The most impressive of the kit was the light stand. It is ver durable and light. I would say I like it better than my Bogens. Overall it seems to be a great deal. hope this helps
 
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smpproductions said:
Any comments on this kit http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Detail?no=400

I am also thinking about 2 of these http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Detail?no=452

The first kit comes with soft boxes. If I get 2 of the Flo Lights, I won't get the soft boxes. Do I really need soft boxes for the Flo Lights? If I do get soft boxes, will these fit the Flo Lights I am interested in getting http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Detail?no=451
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Kaeser seems to have a pretty good reputation for service (I bought a background kit from him and was very satisfied) and he offers a wide variety of light kits - most on the "budget" side. He has offered up a bunch of different flo configurations over time. I would be interested in hearing what you think if you get the flo lights. They look interesting. From my own experience (below) I am a little skeptical about the claim of 600 watt output for these bulbs. I assume these are 40 or 42 watt bulbs and I think everyone who sells these claims about 150 watt output for each of these spiral flos. So, I don't think his claim is any more hype than anyone else.

I just bought a Britek flo light - 4 bulbs, somewhat like the Kaeser one, but it is housed in a softbox. In my opinion, the softbox diffusion itself isn't necessary for the flos but in my Britek the softbox acts as the reflector. Mine has a very sheer diffuser on the front but it really isn't necessary as the light is pretty diffuse already - doesn't really hurt either but it appears to cut the light by about 1/10 of a stop (I measured the output on the EV scale with my photo light meter). Also, when I compared the total EV of the 4 bulbs to that of a 500 watt tungsten shop light, it came in just a little lower. Can't be sure the tungsten light was a good standard of comparison but that was just one experience, for what it's worth.

Keep us posted!
 
Thanks for the info Tverhaar. I think I am going to get 2 of the Kaeser flo lights and test them out. Since he has a 30 day money back guarantee, if i don't like them, I'll send them back. It may be a few weeks before I place the order but I'll keep you posted.
 
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