britek or not to britek? I'm a noob!

slinks

slinks

Well-known member
I'm pretty new to the whole lighting thing, have just been using home depot lights but I want to start looking more professional and get some decent lights with barn doors and most likely i would like a light kit that would be able to light outdoor night shots as well. plus those home depot lights are a pain.

http://www.rostronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=dual600W3lightkit

anyone have this kit? I know a lot of people on these threads have suggested britek lights but does anyone have any experience or even footage i can see with these lights? Are some of these britek lights better than the other? such as dual power lights (600/300w) vs non dual power (650w) and are the focusable lights really make a world of difference?

Thanks for the help in advance!
 
slinks said:
I'm pretty new to the whole lighting thing, have just been using home depot lights but I want to start looking more professional and get some decent lights with barn doors and most likely i would like a light kit that would be able to light outdoor night shots as well. plus those home depot lights are a pain.

http://www.rostronics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=dual600W3lightkit

anyone have this kit? I know a lot of people on these threads have suggested britek lights but does anyone have any experience or even footage i can see with these lights? Are some of these britek lights better than the other? such as dual power lights (600/300w) vs non dual power (650w) and are the focusable lights really make a world of difference?

Thanks for the help in advance!
Click to expand...

There have been a lot of negative posts recently about the Briteks... as much as I love the ones that I have already bought, it sounds as though there are some quality control issues as of late. I might consider the other alternatives; if you're bent on open face lights right now (they ARE cheaper) then try to pick a few of the Lowels off of eBay. I'm a big fan of the fresnels... they really are worth the extra money.

As for footage shot with the lights, I don't have any with me. But that being said, they're tungsten lights; they look no different than any other tungsten light.

And yes, focusable lights are far more flexible, especially if they have a lens in front.

David Kuznicki
Production Manager, WGTE-TV30
 
I heard Rostronics might not even be carrying briteks anymore. Something about them raising their prices, so you may not even have a choice but to spend more. Like mentioned above, I've heard some great things and I've heard some really negative things.
 
I think Rostronics was able to work things out with Britek. Their site is back up and their prices don't appear to have changed.

I've been really happy with the Britek stuff that I have. Never had a problem with them and I don't feel you can beat them for the price.
 
I JUST won today a $1,400+ dollar kit from Amvona for $426 via E-Bay: http://www.amvona.com/v7/shop/?page=...roduct_id=2445

I've never really heard of the brand, other than through Amvona, but you can usually get these kits for less than $500 through E-bay. I mean, how badly can you go wrong with this kind of kit, softboxes, travel bag/box, etc. for THAT price? The only thing it appears to be lacking, in my opinion, is barn doors ... which hopefully I can find some 3rd party stuff to work with them, or manufacture something that works well.
 
Thanks for the responses everyone.

I think im more indecisive than ever lol. right now i have about maybe 700 to blow on lights. I guess i wouldn't mind saving for some good lights but those briteks are very tempting. I'm supposed to get a gig soon (supposedly). So, maybe ill wait till some money comes through for that.
 
oh and one more thing, are there any lights out there that competes with the arri lights? like the whole AMD vs intel deal :P. Those arri lights seem nice but jeez they kick me in the pants.
 
The Britek's do look GREAT for the money. But I'd also compare them to those Dynaphos that Amvona's selling. Sure, they're a heck of a lot more through their retail website, but I've tended to get stuff for at LEAST 1/2 off through E-Bay (people RAVE about their C-Stands for the money), and in this last case got them for about 30%.
 
hmmm thanks Envision, I'll look into it.


edit: I looked at the site but for some reason I couldn't find any lights with barndoors. Envision let me know if you find any 3rd party barn doors for those lights. Is it just me or does the bulb on those dynaphos look humongous?
 
Slinks-- LTM makes some nice lights. Their peppers are really solid, focusable lights. If I were you I'd wait for Envision's imminent-and-oh-so-anticipated-by-yours-truly review of those softboxes (which supposedly come with a grid/honeycomb/whatever-you-call-it to throw on the front controlling the light some more). In the meantime keep an eye out for some LTM peppers, or any cheap fresnels. Also maybe a pro-light from lowel; the Pro's aren't as nice as a proper fresnel, but they're compact and handy and are more controllable/focusable than some total crap open-face light. I bet they'd be well worth what they go for used off e-bay.

If those Amvona deals turn out to be worth it, for ~$700 you could put together a kit with a couple of their softboxes, and one or two used LTMs/Lowel Pro/or something-- and that seems like it could be a VERY sweet set-up for the money.

Don't forget to budget in for all the miscellaneousnessities... stands/clamps/gels/scrims/blackwrap/extension cords/bulbs/etc. You want not only the right light, but the right light in the right place at the right intensity and the right color. A sweet Arri laying on the floor unplugged w/o a bulb isn't going to look nearly as flattering as a couple Pro lights tweaked just so. :P
 
My Briteks worked for a bit and were useful in complementing my DP's Arri kit for a short film I directed, but they didn't go long without developing problems; in one, the bulb burned out after maybe three or four days' use, the other light quickly developed a nasty habit of smoking (damn those tobacco companies :) ) whenever its been on for more than two minutes. Unfortunately, because I only used the lights sporadically over the course of a year or two, the warranty was up before I discovered the problem.

Moral of the story, you get what you pay for. Two lights for under $700 may seem like a good deal, but you're better off getting one good light (like an Arri), because it'll last you for years.
 
i love my briteks.. great lights.. great price.. no issues whatsoever since i bought them a couple years back. definitely buying from them again.
 
thanks for the feedback again all.

yea I'm still trying to decide on lights. I'm deciding on whether to maybe even get MattinSTL's home made lights which look FLIPPIN SWEET but im not sure yet. I am still interested in those briteks but i get a lot of mixed reviews and it seems some of the briteks are good and some are not? I don't know how to distinguish which of the briteks are the "good" ones.

Lastly, I just got my B&H catalogue in the mail today and i saw these lowels which look pretty damn nice especially since I will be doing a lot of night shots soon the extra power will help a lot.

what do you guys think?

edit: i ust ran into these as well. what is the big difference with these? They seem to have the same lights but are $400 more. Is it the hardcase and stands? besides that most everything seems to be the same except for a scrim or 2.
 
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i got the briteks as well.. well worth the price (i use the 650s), solid lights.

I kinda moved to the whole fluro thing lately but still pull em out every once in awhile.
 
Thanks Jarred, those Briteks are looking quite nice now. Whoa whoa, how come only 4 posts only Jarred?
 
Depending on how you're powering stuff... that 3K kit will start running you into some serious power issues/blown fuses/old house burning down. :P

Plus 3K watts is a whole lot for video unless you're trying to light some really big scenes. Plus, a "better" low-watt light (fresnel or something) will actually "seem" brighter for the wattage, b/c you're focusing the light right where you want it instead of flooding rampantly around and throwing all your wattage into your barn-doors. Plus, MattSTL's flouro's do look like a really solid piece of kit, as do Briteks and/or [potentially] Amvona's stuff. Plus, well-built lighting stuff is pretty sturdy (except for the bulbs of course) so you're probably better off buying nicer used stuff rather than crappier new stuff.

So in my humble opinion... that Lowel kit doesn't look too hot. :P

And yes, B&H sells various kits with different details as far as accessories/cases... just check the "Item includes" list carefully.
 
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