JieTu arri knock offs from china????

J

jgardner

Active member
Anybody use, know someone who has used these lights. I'd love an opinion on them. I realize that you often get what you pay for but these look decent. If the HMI's hold up....what a steal!!!!
 
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I have a few of their tungsten fresnels and they're not bad. The build quality is no Arri but it's decent enough. There's actual good customer support as well despite them being based in HK. One of the bulb I had broke in transit and they sent me another one free of charge, pretty quick response as well. For the price I would recommend them.
 
Awesome thanks. Yeah I just ordered a ton of lights. He gave me a discount because of the larger order. 2k, 1k, 3-650s, 3-300s, 2-150s, 2- softbox with grid, 8-light stands, 2 soft cases for 650s and 300s (all light will live on a cart but the bags may come in handy). Also bought 2- 1-4 Edison socket adapter for use with some china ball rigs (with 4 300 watt equivelent daylight CFLs that will be 2 nice soft daylight sources. All this plus shipping was 2,600 bucks. That's pretty good I think.
 
jgardner , you will have to add a few hundred $ for broken lenses as the ones they sell are made out of regular glass and hours spent to fix this stuff. If you have time all good but having some experience with the chinese lights i'm staying away from those. Also as my chinese knock-off all have Germany made glass now do they slowly become arris?
 
Well thanks for the concern but I did talk to many people who were satisfied with the lights. If I can make them hold up long enough they'll pay off.
 
I have had a few Chinese knock off Arri's pass through my shop. They may look like Arri's but they are far from it.
 
Yeah I realize there no arri. I have a little machine/wood shop so I'm not afraid of repairing gear. I also think that an arri is no mole. I need cheap light for my music videos and short film work where there's little to no money cuz I still can't say no to doing them cuz I enjoy it so much.
 
I hear a lot of initial excitement about these lights, but, like Fruit Stripe gum, the reality is that they simply don't hold up. When you purchase a fixture, you should think of it as one of the precious few items in your kit (aside from grip equipment) that will have a useful life nearly as long as your own. Mole Richardson and McAllister fixtures last for generations.

Unlike cameras or many of the other electronics we buy for production, light fixtures don't have to obsolesce out of usefulness and certainly should be designed to operate with little upkeep for a long, long time. Among several other options, you can put the Altman 300L, 650L and 1kL up against the Arri fixtures and not get burned. The LTM Peppers are reliable and long-lasting. Used Mole Richardson, Bardwell / JG McAllister and classic Desisti or Ianiro lights are widely available in the second market.

You can get parts for all of these fixtures if they break. Most tungsten fixtures are pretty simple devices that should have a repair path. If the light you're looking at doesn't have a support / parts path (or you can't reach anyone to ask if they even have a support / parts path), you may want to consider your alternatives.
 
It seems most people think I made a mistake. We'll see I guess. I ended up talking with some people in a similar situation as me and they are satisfied.
 
So far so good! Been using them all week with no issues. Build quality was better than expected! Don't know I this is true but I hear there are different versions of Asian arri knock offs and all of mine are JieTu and they're supposed to be the better ones. I'm happy!
 
jgardner said:
So far so good! Been using them all week with no issues. Build quality was better than expected! Don't know I this is true but I hear there are different versions of Asian arri knock offs and all of mine are JieTu and they're supposed to be the better ones. I'm happy!
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What wattage of lights did you get and which ebay seller did you get them from?
 
I'll respond in more detail later but I got 1-2k, 1-1k, 3-650, 3-300, 2-150, some stands and soft boxes. Actually, message me for more detail and I can tell you about first impressions and my first week using them. I'll probably post it as well just not now cuz its late and I'm finishing up an edit.
 
Hi

I'm just curious how those Jietu lights are working out for you after a few month? I am very interested in picking up a set of the 300s. If you are happy, what ebay vendor did you use? Also, did they come with US plugs, or do you have to use an adapter?
 
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