Anyone familiar with Amvona or Dynatran?

Alex H.

Alex H.

Moderator
Staff member
Howdy, all.

A friend of mine has an 8x8 butterfly kit he may be looking to sell, but we cannot figure out what it's worth. He's had it for a few years and bought it from Amvona, which apparently went out of business in 2010 (the website is now owned and run by a religious organization). So, there's no record of original sale price.

It's in nearly-new condition and hasn't seen a whole lot of use. Frame kit with silk and black fabrics, plus clamps for stand mounting. So is anyone out there familiar with these names? Any idea how sturdy it is, or what the brand reputation is?

After poking around the Googles, I found a few older posts on photography forums about Amvona/Dynatran, and there seems to be quite a bit of love/hate. Looks like they were an early adopter of inexpensive gear models that now flood out of China under several different names. I see some posts talking about territble tripods, and others lauding their light stands. This butterfly kit is not lightweight, but I just don't know anything about the particular name.
 
i bought one of their c stands years ago on a recommendation. wish i hadnt. feels "cheap", the first one they sent had some of the wrong parts (two of the same leg---yes i had to assemble it myself), grip arm wouldnt stay up with any weight put on it no matter how tight. would not recommend. maybe theyre different now, this was years and years ago.
 
Josh Bass said:
i bought one of their c stands years ago on a recommendation. wish i hadnt. feels "cheap", the first one they sent had some of the wrong parts (two of the same leg---yes i had to assemble it myself), grip arm wouldnt stay up with any weight put on it no matter how tight. would not recommend. maybe theyre different now, this was years and years ago.
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Thanks, Josh. That's what I'm gathering about Dynatran: it's really hit and miss. Wondering if this butterfly is hit or miss. As for them being different now, well... again, they closed up shop in 2010.

rob norton said:
All you can do is make up a price and see if anyone bites.

Good luck!
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What I'm really looking for is input from folks who have firsthand knowledge of and experience with Amvona/Dynatran, especially regarding the quality of this particular kit.
 
I've got one of their StarLite knockoffs with a large softbox and grid. Works OK, but their implementation of rods should have been copied like everything else. But I can stick an HID in it and run it from a 400 ballast, so it's pretty useful still. Softbox is heavy-duty and high-heat, well made.

Got one of their c-stands and the main turtle base casting broke. Crappy magnesium casting I guess. Just kinda crumbled one day. And it had that silly "air spring" thing that just screams "amateur" to me.

I imagine they were all over the place - it was the early days of China hitting the video and photo biz. For a while, they had an absolute ****-ton of gear, cases, bags, heads, gadgets.

If the butterfly is sturdy and the stand mounts aren't proprietary, may be fine. Like the Westscott Scrim Jim system, you can always find a granny to make you more fabrics if you have one to go by.
 
Michael Carter said:
... and the stand mounts aren't proprietary...
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Aye, there's the rub. The mounts are hinged and tubular, clasping around the butterfly frame. Though, there may be some universal replacement solutions out there. Not sure the diameter of the frame tubing offhand.

Thanks, Michael!
 
I still have a bunch of Amvona softboxes, though I admit to painting over their massive logos with flat black paint a long while ago. Not sure I would get much for them if I sold them but they worked well and traveled the world for a couple of years along with the Lowell Dps and Totas and Pros.
So if your kit works and is complete and well taken care of, then you should get fair money for it. The DigitaJuice kit is $699.00 and I don't expect that it would be top quality but probably works fine.
 
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