What do you think of this kit?

I don't know why anyone would say these are good lights. I bought one softbox setup a while back and it was a total nightmare. Really these lights are junk and will not last long at all. Mine fell apart a couple days after I bought it. It's not the softbox that is bad it's the housing. Not only is it ready to fall a part out of the box, but it also has a really loud buzz. Anyhow I understand I could have got a bad one, but if it was bad enough to never want another one. I jut bought a JTL and it is much better for the low budget guy. Great product, good price. Good luck
 
There is a lot of discussion of amvona's stuff already here on the board. Just search this category for 'amvona', and you'll get more info than you ever wanted.
 
Lighting, grip and audio equipment will be something that will last a long time if you bite the bullet and buy quality stuff from the get go. You will constantly need to upgrade both your camera and your computer as new models come to market or the marketplace (producers) demand newer models. Stick with mole, or arri if you can and maybe some lowel stuff. Dedo's are good but quite expensive. Also, Matthews or Norms for grip stuff. Most of these things will last a lifetime if you care for them properly. Buy good stuff slowly and rent what you can't afford, but buying "cheap" just means it will need to be replaced sooner than you may want to.
 
barkingspider said:
Lighting, grip and audio equipment will be something that will last a long time if you bite the bullet and buy quality stuff from the get go. You will constantly need to upgrade both your camera and your computer as new models come to market or the marketplace (producers) demand newer models. Stick with mole, or arri if you can and maybe some lowel stuff. Dedo's are good but quite expensive. Also, Matthews or Norms for grip stuff. Most of these things will last a lifetime if you care for them properly. Buy good stuff slowly and rent what you can't afford, but buying "cheap" just means it will need to be replaced sooner than you may want to.
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You need to understand that I am 20 years old and at this point in my life, money is hard to come buy. Not only that, there is nowhere around here that rents out equipment. I can not afford to throw around a thousand dollars here and there, so I settle with what I can get.
 
Sorry if I upset you, but you asked for feedback. I understand your situation, but don't know where you're located. I was just trying to give you some sound advice. I've been doing this for a long time and have learned long ago that by purchasing low budget (junk) will just force you to buy again. Buying good stuff (doesn't need to be expensive)from the get go will be monetarily more prudent. It is quite alright to settle with what you can get, it just isn't the smarteset way to move forward in this business. It will be harder to make your product look good or sound good. Look on ebay. If you shop you can get some lowel D's and a few omni's, maybe a chimera , a Pro light. You don't need a lot for small setup, cheap lights just aren't a good investments. And unless you live at the South pole, chances are that there is probably someone in your vicinity that has some equipment.
 
barkingspider said:
Sorry if I upset you, but you asked for feedback. I understand your situation, but don't know where you're located. I was just trying to give you some sound advice. I've been doing this for a long time and have learned long ago that by purchasing low budget (junk) will just force you to buy again. Buying good stuff (doesn't need to be expensive)from the get go will be monetarily more prudent. It is quite alright to settle with what you can get, it just isn't the smarteset way to move forward in this business. It will be harder to make your product look good or sound good. Look on ebay. If you shop you can get some lowel D's and a few omni's, maybe a chimera , a Pro light. You don't need a lot for small setup, cheap lights just aren't a good investments. And unless you live at the South pole, chances are that there is probably someone in your vicinity that has some equipment.
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Oh no, I am not upset. Some people find it simply easy to recommend higher end products when the othe person may not have the money to buy it. If I had the money, I would be buying more quality lighting.

I also live in a desolate province in Canada. I live in one of the larger cities too (with a population of only 40,000). Since there is nothing in the area, I am forced to buy everything online.
 
Morox said:
Oh no, I am not upset. Some people find it simply easy to recommend higher end products when the othe person may not have the money to buy it. If I had the money, I would be buying more quality lighting.

I also live in a desolate province in Canada. I live in one of the larger cities too (with a population of only 40,000). Since there is nothing in the area, I am forced to buy everything online.
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Search through some of the DIY posts here and around the net. You can put together a decent kit for well under 2K canadian. What provence is desolate in Cananda? Will you be shooting in extreme cold?
 
zeke said:
Search through some of the DIY posts here and around the net. You can put together a decent kit for well under 2K canadian. What provence is desolate in Cananda? Will you be shooting in extreme cold?
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Even at $1000, that is too much. Like I said, I hardly have any money to spare.
 
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Morox said:
Even at $1000, that is too much. Like I said, I hardly have any money to spare.
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Well then it's time to start getting inventive. That's the reason people resort to DIY many times.
 
Morox - I hear your pain! I am much older than you are and, as such, have had a lot of time to obsess about how much to spend on lighting and at what price point you get the right mix of price and quality. The "safe" advice - i.e. advice that is patently true, is that "you get what you pay for." But, as others smarter than I have pointed out in this forum, there are exceptions to that and those of us who can't or don't want to "overpay" are constantly looking for those exceptions. That said, I would recommend doing A LOT of cruising on these forums before you leap into something. So far, I have saved a bit of money and some major pain doing just that.

Now - as far as the advice to "rent what you can't afford" goes it is also foolproof advice - except that renting doesn't give you the luxury of playing around with the lights in your leisure time. And that, I believe, is where you are going to learn a lot about lighting - by doing. I have rented several time when I needed to have a reliable, full set of lights but I have really learned the most by fooling around in my garage, at my leisure, with shop lights and other makeshift and low cost lighting solutions.

So hang in there. Do your homework ( a lot of it) BEFORE you spend your money - so you know just what you are getting and to make sure you get the most for your money. Then use the hell out of the lights you get so you can learn the craft. Good luck.
 
What about front and back lights? What would go good with two soft lights? Any suggestions? I am unaware of any good lamps. Can someone help direct me? I checked out some of the stickies but I still need help.
 
I have the larger version of this lighting package, and they are great, honestly some of the best soft box setups I've ever seen.
 
Jason Miller said:
I have the larger version of this lighting package, and they are great, honestly some of the best soft box setups I've ever seen.
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Do you mean the package with the 3 softboxes? Are you just using softboxes for lighting?
 
I have 2 1k kits from them two lights, two huge softboxes, didnt get a bag, but havent needed one yet. will soon enough though, they put out a lot of light, and defuse it nicely, have had no problems with them at all. and for the price, I say for for it.

Jason Miller
 
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