Novatron Constant Light kits

KingVidiot

KingVidiot

Well-known member
Anyone have any experience with these? I'm a lighting beginner, and a local store has the full kit for two 500W lights (heads, bulbs, unbrellas, stands...) for $300.

I don't know about the power options, but I need to get something to start playing around and learning.

The Lowel, Frezzi, and other systems seem very expensive for a novice.

Any pros or cons would be appreciated.

I do enough DIY as it is, so a good beginner light kit would be good to buy.
 
Well, I can say that with cheaper lights, you get what you pay for. No experience with the particular lights in question, but I do know that most likely the stand, umbrellas, and possibly the fixtures themselves will be pretty cheaply built. They will probably work though, and for a novice they may do just fiine. You will most likely want to upgrade if you're workload increases, as cheap stuff won't stand up to the abuse of everyday wear and tear. Check out the rostronics stuff (www.rostronics.com) I have heard good things about those lamps, and you even get a DVXuser discount there.
 
Rosstronics really the way to go?

Rosstronics really the way to go?

Thanks PDX.


Anyone else second his good info about the Rosstronics stuff?

I like what I see on their site, but I just want to be sure. Their prices seem awfully good.
 
KingVidiot, do a serach on this forum for "Birtek" many people, myself included, can't stop raveing about them.
 
I have a couple Briteks and they are perfectly satisfactory... :/

Now that I have 2 of them, I can say that I'll probably not buy more from them, however they've never done me wrong and are a good deal.

If your completely new, do the cliche and spend $100 at the hardware store. My kit is still more than 50% worklights and floodlamps, and if your learning HOW to light, you can get everything today! So that's my advice. Then if you want better lights, either buy some opened faced Briteks, or if you have a little extra money buy 2 fresnels (maybe 150w and 300w?) and a good soft box. The fresnels, softbox and hardware store lights is a pretty complete kit. Just add lights as you find the need and your tastes :)
 
What's a good starter fresnel? I've got some work lights (with diffusion), a Britek 300/600 and a couple floods, but no fresnel.

Fox
 
well, others probably have better advice, but i would again probably say 150w or 300w. Think about your experience and wether you wish you had a 150 or a 300 at the time
 
I bought a Britek kit from Rostronics and have no complaints. The company was easy to deal with and shipped quickly.
The lights themselves are pretty good. Much better than anything else I could find in that price range. The majority of the lamphead is made of some kind of hi-tech plastic that feels really sturdy. These aren't solid metal or anything, but they don't need to be.
The only complaint I have is that the way the softbox is designed makes it really easy to accidentally push one of the support rods through and puncture the softbox fabric. It doesn't render it useless, but it sucks.
Also, I would go for higher wattage than you think you need. I was surprised that when using a 650w light with the softbox on it, it was pretty weak light. I am about to get a 1k watt to use with the softbox.

Good lights, and I like supporting companies that don't overcharge you to death (like most video-related companies do).
 
With regards to the Novatrons, I had a 3-lamp strobe outfit 20 years ago when I was in photo school. The stuff worked well enough for the money. It did, however, have certain limitations and was cheaply made; but it was all I could afford at the time. After several freelance jobs, I upgraded as quickly as possible to a better lighting system. That being said, go w/the Briteks.
 
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