Current Opinons of BluLine/ImageWest?

Dick Campbell

Dick Campbell

Veteran
I've read all the threads, and there is no good review (IMHO) or current assessment of the Bluline lights as a product, or dealing with ImageWest, (except one negative and one positive).

Being in the market for a light kit, and having just found this product, what is the general consensus?

1. Are the lights adequate/suitable for a budget studio? Anybody have any on-set experiences?

2. Is ImageWest a reliable vendor?

thanks for the help
 
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Based upon what I have read, ,,,,,,,,,,,,(retracted)
You might try Steven Studio on ebay. I have a couple of their flo units and they are decent. I would expect their fresnels to be the same.

edit: comment regarding Image West based upon old info--- retracted.
 
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A scam? What are you smoking?

I bought some lights from them.

They are very responsive with emails, and easy to deal with. Shipped the products fast, and made sure everything arrived ok.

Everything is still working fine to this day.

I would buy from them again. I don't know anything about the BluLines though. Look like decent lights to me. They come with stands and accessories which makes them a better deal than Cool Lights, but i'm not sure about the construction.
 
gco said:
Easy on that trigger friend.
If they have changed their tune, that's good.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I did not mean to come off sounding angry. The comment just took me by surprise.


Dick Campbell said:
infurno, I saw your July post about Imagewest. Did you buy thru ebay or directly?
Click to expand...

I bought using e-bay. I thought it was a safer bet since I was not sure about the company at the time, and ebay gives me some leverage because I can leave feedback in case something went wrong.
 
I have bought from imagewest(directly), the bluline fresnels, and they pretty decent. Its nowhere close to the same build quality as arri, But it produces the same light, and for a cheaper price.
It gets the job done well. As for the company it self, I never a had problem or anything.

If you looking for low budget lights, then I would recommend them as the way to go.
 
an update. I bought a Bluline kit from Imagewest. here's the up and down:

up - they were backordered on the 650W fresnel, so they upgraded me to a 1000W fresnel no charge.

down - they charged my CC immediately without telling me they were backordered, when I ordered. Two days later they left me a voice mail informing me of the back order, but then they did not respond to my e-mail. 10 days later, still no word, so I had to call. Customer Service was polite, but I had to call every day for three days until I could get a shipping confirmation. After all was said and done, it was an OK transaction. The only negative I have is about the CC charge before shipping, and Cusotmer Service said that is company policy.

The kit itself: arrived complete, and they even threw in spare bulbs. no instructions for assembling the fresnel mount or the softboxes, but I figured it out (no downloads on the web site I could find). Someone mechanically challenged might have a different experience.

The lights are pretty nice, not Arris of course, and the stands are lightweight but adequate. The wiring appears adequate, and all three lights have barndoors, in addition to the two softboxes for the floods. I haven't had an all day on the set yet, so I can't speak to durability, but 2600W for $500, with carry bags so far looks like a good deal.
 
thanks for posting the feedback. sounds like they might be a small operation and a little disorganized but they definitely made a good faith effort by upgrading you to a 1K.
if you feel like posting a pic or two, would be curious to see what kind of build quality is inside of that 1K.
 
ok - I'll get something this weekend.

Added: The Fresnel is cast and extruded aluminum, very beefy, the electrical is beefy enough for the current required. I've only played around a liitle bit so far. Will be taking on the set later on this month.
 

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Does anyone know how to mount the softboxes on the ImageWest Bluline lights? I just can't figure it out? There is no manual included with the lights. Thanks.
 
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