Rostronics - Tom - Britek

PaPa

PaPa

Major Contributor
This has been posted a thousand times before but i just wanted to reinstate whats been said becuase i am having the best time dealing with these guys.

My mother ( i still live at home, only 20, don't hunt me! ) Got me some 500w/1000w flood lights with barned doors, softboxes and large stands for me for X-mas.

Now, seeing how there had been issues with quality, and pieces missing, in the passed, we decided we should open it upon a few hours of arrival to see if everything worked, or if anything was missing.

Everything that was ordered was in the boxes, however unfortunately, upon turning one of the 500 watt switches on, it burst.

BUT!!! I e-mailed rostronics and Tom right away letting him knwo what happened. I just gave him a little comment saying i was from dvxuser, forgot to use the dvxuser discount, but that i had a problem with the bulb as soon as it turned on. He responed to my e-mail within 2 minutes.

TWO MINUTES

and said no problem, we'll be more than happy to fix it. He gave me a number to call and things will be fixed as promised.

So far, i just want to say that these guys have been a pleasure dealing with, and i will undoubtedly go back to them in the future for other things.

That being said, i have heard comments on this board about being warry of using Rostronics because of quality issues, service issues, and what not.

I just wanted to put my own two cents in there that everything was perfectly dealth with, and i am more than satisfied with the equipment i got, for great prices, if i may add.

I am also in film school right now and have had the luxury of using lowel lighting kits that the school provides. The reason im saying this is cause i have also read comments on how the britek lights are not soo heavy duty, not long lasting, and you pay for what you get, and let me confirm that these things, for the price, are a HUGE bang for the buck. They are solidly made, i checked all the joints, for any weakness signs, and everything is rigid, solid, and so on.

The lights produce a great controlled lighting with barned doors, and i am just thrilled about these new pieces of my collection.

So, for those few wondering, give them a shot, cuase you get what yo upay for and more. Great service, great products, great prices. Go for it.
 
Tom has also been supportive in trying to sort our myriad problems with these crap fixtures. I just don't know how else to describe them. Crap.

The fact that Rostronics sells the Britek fixtures at all is shocking. Speaking of... do these failure-prone lights actually have a registered CE and UL listing?

DO NOT BUY BRITEK FIXTURES. That is the bottom line.

e
 
Now Overland do you say that from a professional "these things get thrown on the truck day in a day out" point of view, or from an indie "I only shoot a short film once a year" point a view?

I wonder because personally I don't make a lot of movies anymore. So I don't use my equipment everyday and when I do use it I tend to be a little more careful with it.
Just curious. People have different standards based on their use.
 
I think these are for the most part, good beginner lights. I have 5 of them, but am planning to supplement/replace with Arri, Mole, etc. I took apart one to fix the other day (a halagen based 500/1000) and discovered the back was just plain old molded plastic (I had thought before I took apart it was some sort of compound). I have not take apart one of my regular lights, but I do have a 650 that keeps blowing bulbs and fuses to I plan to take it apart. Again good starter lights but you have to baby them.
 
This is alot of the issue that i have been hearing from the boards, and i don't really understand why.

Do some people haev a problem/issue with taking care of their own equipment? dokes the mere fact that these lights need more care turn you off? Sounds more like a responsability problem than the actual lights. Regardless of their build, i would take care of a britek, just as much as i would take care of an arri.

But what should be focused on here is not the quality of build, because they do work, and well, its the quality of performance. And to be blunt, as ive stated before, ive used now both these briteks and lowels, and the results in a studio setting, are identical.

save the cash, don't blow it on the flash.

(may be starter, but only in the sense of what... the quality of their craft and endurance? I have spoken to those who have had briteks for years without fail, maybe some should reconsider how careful they are with their own equipment and treat them as if they are golden gems )
 
The problem with these lights is they either ship (still apparently, after one year of known issues) with faulty wiring or bad globes or both.

Our lights travel in the Britek soft case or in a padded Storm Case at minimum.

The Briteks are bad out of the box. It is not normal to receive a light fixture and have these problems on first-strike.

I've used Altman, Arri, Bardwell & McAllister, JG McAllister, Mole, Kino, LitePanel, Lowel (DP) and others and NEVER HAD TO REPLACE FUSES, GLOBES or REWIRE the fixtures upon first use.

It's asinine to suggest the problem is a maintenance issue when you just received another set of fixtures that was bad out of the box - regardless of whether you think they're "beginner" lights or "professional".

Again. Britek is crap.

e
 
in terms of durability, i agree with you, the yare not made from the most stellar pieces i have ever seen, but answer me this.

Do you deny that using a britek on your site, versus a lowel or something else will result in a less "good" performance for a light? If yes, how so.

Because at these prices, i dont mind taking a bit more care of it, and the issue of the bulb blowing right off the bat doesnt bother me too much because the yare taking care of it very professionally.
 
PaPa said:
This has been posted a thousand times before but i just wanted to reinstate whats been said becuase i am having the best time dealing with these guys...

...Now, seeing how there had been issues with quality, and pieces missing, in the passed, we decided we should open it upon a few hours of arrival to see if everything worked, or if anything was missing.

Everything that was ordered was in the boxes, however unfortunately, upon turning one of the 500 watt switches on, it burst.

BUT!!! I e-mailed rostronics and Tom right away letting him knwo what happened. I just gave him a little comment saying i was from dvxuser, forgot to use the dvxuser discount, but that i had a problem with the bulb as soon as it turned on. He responed to my e-mail within 2 minutes.

TWO MINUTES

and said no problem, we'll be more than happy to fix it. He gave me a number to call and things will be fixed as promised.

So far, i just want to say that these guys have been a pleasure dealing with, and i will undoubtedly go back to them in the future for other things.

That being said, i have heard comments on this board about being warry of using Rostronics because of quality issues, service issues, and what not.

I just wanted to put my own two cents in there that everything was perfectly dealth with, and i am more than satisfied with the equipment i got, for great prices, if i may add.

I am also in film school right now and have had the luxury of using lowel lighting kits that the school provides. The reason im saying this is cause i have also read comments on how the britek lights are not soo heavy duty, not long lasting, and you pay for what you get, and let me confirm that these things, for the price, are a HUGE bang for the buck. They are solidly made, i checked all the joints, for any weakness signs, and everything is rigid, solid, and so on.

The lights produce a great controlled lighting with barned doors, and i am just thrilled about these new pieces of my collection.

So, for those few wondering, give them a shot, cuase you get what yo upay for and more. Great service, great products, great prices. Go for it.
Click to expand...

You see, you said it yourself. You lost a globe on first strike. I'll bet you continue to lose globes each and every time you strike the fixtures. Or every 2nd time you strike the fixture.

This is a known issue, and Rostronics and Britek do nothing to remedy the situation? Why is Tom still selling these faulty fixtures? That is the question.

e
 
I have a few Briteks that I got about 2.5 years ago. I've never had a problem with them. With the stories I've heard lately, I wouldn't roll the dice again on them. I plan to stick with fresnels in the future anyway.
 
Well if the bulbs blow right out of the box that's not a good sign. But I remember reading here and elsewhere not more then a year ago how satisfied people were with their briteks and how great they were. As if they were a budget filmmakers lighting gift from heaven. I had plans to buy a whole slew of them. Then suddenly they were out of stock and then people started saying they were crap and always have been. So what gives?
What happened to all the joy joy feelings people had about them?
 
Cryogenic Filmworks said:
I think these are for the most part, good beginner lights.... but I do have a 650 that keeps blowing bulbs and fuses to I plan to take it apart. Again good starter lights but you have to baby them.
Click to expand...

Cryogenic, this is what I'm talking about. You're describing a $100 fixture that continually blows $20 globes. Not expensive to the point of breaking the bank, but it doesn't change the fact that the fixture is a complete and total liability.

If I receive complaints on any product we sell - especially within the first days of operation - you deal with me. Rostronics steers you back to Britek. This might be the norm, but it begs the question - how much does Rostronics really care about your satisfaction if they simply bump you to the mfg. when it came broken on delivery. Poor.

e
 
roxics said:
Well if the bulbs blow right out of the box that's not a good sign. But I remember reading here and elsewhere not more then a year ago how satisfied people were with their briteks and how great they were. As if they were a budget filmmakers lighting gift from heaven. I had plans to buy a whole slew of them. Then suddenly they were out of stock and then people started saying they were crap and always have been. So what gives?
What happened to all the joy joy feelings people had about them?
Click to expand...


After reading what everyone wrote, i can understand the concern, Why the hell would one want to save money on a half decent lighting fixture if the bulbs are incosistant and break right off the batt? And i agree, i would never want to do something like that.

However, this may be the case for some, perhaps faulty hardwiring within the briteks themselves.. But if this is not the case, and some were just unlucky, then why the hell not save hundreds of dollars and buy a whole Slew of beginner lights, as i said, these are gemstones for the price if the dont indeed blow as many lights as you say.

Ive done a few tests with the other light i got, and no problems yet, flickering it on and off, keeping it it on for a while, doing it outdoors where its cold. No problems yet.

And if there are no problems, then i just got myself a few brand spankin new beautiful lights for cheap, and i can go on making videos at a better price.

Not to say that ill never upgrade, but for entry price DV makers, this is gold.

obviously if problems persist wit hthe bulbs, then yes ,there is a serious issue, but we sometimes forget that its rare that we hear about the good things that britek have done, because no one posts anything about them when there is no problems. All we hear are the few negative comments people make because the selected few have had horrific problems with them. Yeah, that sucks, but its not the case for everyone who buys em. And if they aint broke... sick.

So i would say go for it, get yourself a nice kit. God forbid, if anything happens, you just have to get a hold of Tom and he should take care of it for you.
 
True.... true. Here's another example of some well-built used gear that sells for half of what it did new, but still has literally years of service left on it. Take a Norms, American or Matthews stand out on location, even one that's a little rough around the edges, and the grips won't gripe.

e
 
Last edited:
so there seems to be quite a bit of biase on these lights.
I wonder how many have purchased/used these lights compared to those who are keen to determine their own opinions based on word of mouth. Again only hearing the negative.

ill let you guys know how these lights work out, and what do i do if nothing breaks? Will you allow me the satisfaction of laughing? :)
 
Jonathan,

It is broken. You said so when you lavished praise on the company who you bought it from when they referred you back to the mfg. That was your first broken light. Your 650w.

This isn't bias, libel or slander - this is people reporting their issues. These are FACTS from from people who know how to handle fixtures, change halogen globes and have a great deal of experience - in my case AS A MOTION PICTURE ELECTRICIAN.

Some people are reporting no issues. I've seen a few who indicate this. I would like to know how often these users are changing their globes. If it is every few uses, then the globes or fixtures are defective - possibly unsafe.

There are known problems with Briteks fixtures from people who OWN them. Why on earth are you defending Britek when you just opened the box and the fixture required service and support immediately?

I know you to be a logical person, but, in my mind, you're ignoring logic in this particular instance. As was stated before, please come back to this thread and report your findings after operating the fixtures for fifty hours. I'm willing to bet, that even in a locked-down setting (as in a permanent install of the light, with no jarring transportation between uses), you will not have a globe last even fifty total hours in your Britek 650w. I'm so certain of this, that I'll wager the $20 cost of that miracle globe on it.

I would encourage Tom with Rostronics or Michael at Britek to contribute to this thread and advise us on what we need to do as customers to achieve at least a measure of baseline performance and reliability that should have been delivered upon purchase.

e
 
Last edited:
its not that i am trying to be illogical as i completely understand everyones experience and worries, but its like death sentencing to me. If its wrong once, then a innocent man has died. People have had alot of trouble with these lights as i've seen, yet on the other side of it, others have had them for years without problems, therefor there is light at the end of this tunnel, pardon the pun :)

So im just trying to be optimistic with the idea that perhaps these lights are not the best quality, but if you can afford them, and they come to your door completely in working order, then whats the problem? Obviously one needs to take into concideration the regular life of a halogen tungsten bulb, which is something i am not particularly knowedged on (if anyone cares to venture into that and inform me better).

But no doubt, i will run tests. I imagine there is some sort of customer satisfaction. I will run the bulbs, and if i begin experiencing problems with them, i don't see why they would not accept a return, as i've seen up to now, the service has been great and efficient.

But if i got a pair of lights that may not eat away at the bulbs, then the result is that i got away spending hundreds less on lights that will provide the same lighting as more expensive lights.


Also, i am not concidering these lights as a solution to lighting in general. These are introductory lights and i am very aware of this. But as intro lights, if they work, which i am still waiting to see, then i have made a very smart move.

But again, i shall wait and see if they perform properly.

More specifically, i ordered the britek flood lights that have two bulbs in them, both 500watts 120v. which they call the 500/1000 watt lights.

Upon opening them i saw that the bulbs installed were two 600 watt lights, which was a surprise, but i asked tom and he said those lights are the upgraded models to the older 500/1000 watt ones, so who knows? Maybe ill be lucky wit hthe upgrade.

That being said, one of the 600 watt bulbs blew upon turning them on. So i will install another bulb come christmas, and let them run a bit. It would be foolish of me to make a decision over one day, or even a months of use, but if the bulbs persist and keep trucking, then i would not be foolish in concidering myself "set" for now, so to speak.


All that being said, in all due respect, i would rather hear from those who have owned them and use them as opposed to those who truly know the knowledge behind these cheaply made lights, and the myth that surrounds them ( i use myth because the reality of them being **** 100% of the time is a falty statement ).

So i would very much like to hear from those who own them and have been using them over a lengthy period of time, get an idea of the ratio of those who have had success versus failure with them. I am a person who is all about logic and clearly developped thought, which all of you have proposed, but for this instance, i really do need fact. and not ( FACT: these lights are ****, here is why ) i want to know from those who have touched them.
 
Last edited:
Looking back on it now, I could have gotten a couple Arri 650W frenels and good stands for all the money I spend on initial costs and then globes for the Briteks. The things that kills me is down time on set, or them not working at all. In that situation, I would rather hav the $25 worklights from home depot.

I hope they work well for you, just be prepared for less then stellar performance.
 
Well I bought the three of the 650's. One is just totally shot after 10hrs. of use new globe and fuse...nada. I've gone thru 10 globes in under 35 hours easily. Maybe its the brand of globes...I have quite a few different brands and the GE's have been the best. Needless to say I would not use them for a critical paying client gig, but for personal indie stuff they're ok. I would never spend $20 on a DYS globe by the way, they're all over the bay for cheap.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top