Elinchrom D-lite RX 4/4 to go kit recommend?

jay_rowe

jay_rowe

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What are your opinions on the Elinchrom D-lite RX 4/4 to go kit?

I intend on using this for mobile photography in home environments, portraiture including children & newborns with the following kit:

Canon 5d mkiii
Canon 7d
Canon 100mm f2.8l
Canon 70-200mm f2.8l
Canon 24-70mm f2.8l

This system is within my £650 budget but can anyone give a review on the kit please or indeed recommend an alternative kit?

Thank you in advance.
 
It's a good kit, a bit on the high side of pricing when bought new but the whole package is quite nice (bags, softboxes, skyport etc). It has faults of course, the build quality compared to its peers is not great (although the light weight does make transportation easier), the softboxes while better than nothing are rudimentary and probably too small and it's not hugely cheap.

Regardless of the kit you buy I'd strongly recommend you buy at least a 80cm 5 in 1 reflector and a 70 - 100 cm Octagonal softbox as those should be helpful for what you intend to do and fit into most rooms without issue. I'm guessing you'll also need a backdrop system, they can be quite inexpensive if you need only the basics.
 
D-Lite 4 are good, high spec heads. I really don't know why Elinchroms get criticised for plastic bodies, makes them cheaper and lighter and they're plenty robust enough. No head can take the kind of abuse that would crack the plastic.

The softboxes are nothing special - not quick-set-up type and quite small single-diffuser. Personally I'd get the umbrella kit (keep brollies for emergencies) and buy a couple of nice softboxes separately, prolly Lencarta Profolders.
 
HoppyUK said:
D-Lite 4 are good, high spec heads. I really don't know why Elinchroms get criticised for plastic bodies, makes them cheaper and lighter and they're plenty robust enough. No head can take the kind of abuse that would crack the plastic.
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It's because they feel cheap, pick up a D-lite head and then pick up a Profoto head. Both are made from plastic yet one feels solid and the other does not.

Does the feel matter especially? No in my opinion but my complaint wasn't that they use plastic for the body, it was that the build quality isn't great. I already acknowledged it can be an advantage with weight but it's been made that way to cut costs on construction and is a disadvantage compared to most of the competition at that price point.

I don't feel this is a huge concern for the author but this is part of the reason why Elinchrom gets some flak regarding it, as further illustration consider they've been adding in parts from their older designs to their D-lites as they update them, the tilt mechanism from the earlier D-lites was replaced with the design you'd find on an El250/EL500 (that's over 10 years old?), replacing metal parts with plastic such as the fitting lock/tilt handle etc, the older units having weaker fitting mounts, the fan being placed in a stress point rather than having proper housing etc.
 
If I was buying a kit tomorrow - I wouldn't.

I'd search ebay for all the bits and save money whist getting better quality.

But if I really wanted a kit - I'd buy Lencarta, if only because they'll swap out bits of a basic kit for what you need, and Garry is available to ask questions of.
 
The new Reflecta Visilux Studio Kit 180 from www.kenro.co.uk isn't a bad price and has some reasonable specifications. It's certainly worth having a look at. You get quite a lot of value for your money.

Three 180W heads that can be set from 1/1 to 1/32 with a 6 step modelling light. Complete with softbox, x2 umbrellas and radio trigger, stands and bag £477.60 RRP.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
The new Reflecta Visilux Studio Kit 180 from www.kenro.co.uk isn't a bad price and has some reasonable specifications. It's certainly worth having a look at. You get quite a lot of value for your money.

Three 180W heads that can be set from 1/1 to 1/32 with a 6 step modelling light. Complete with softbox, x2 umbrellas and radio trigger, stands and bag £477.60 RRP.
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Seriously the same kit can be had for less than half that price on ebay (about £150), and even then I wouldn't buy it.
 
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Phil V said:
Seriously the same kit can be had for less than half that price on ebay, and even then I wouldn't buy it.
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Perhaps not, but the OP is asking for alternative suggestions. This is acutely quite a reasonable quality kit. Don't confuse this with the normal Ebay crap. Personally I use a set of Elincrhroms which are still going strong after 20 years.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Perhaps not, but the OP is asking for alternative suggestions. This is acutely quite a reasonable quality kit. Don't confuse this with the normal Ebay crap. Personally I use a set of Elincrhroms which are still going strong after 20 years.
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I don't know why you wouldn't confuse this with 'ebay crap' they're the same 180 Ws units with the crappy built in reflectors and the same 'universal mount' for softboxes etc.
 
Phil V said:
I don't know why you wouldn't confuse this with 'ebay crap' they're the same 180 Ws units with the crappy built in reflectors and the same 'universal mount' for softboxes etc.
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Kenro are well established and respected suppliers based in the UK,

The units may well be available cheaper on eBay. But I have seen them and they are not bad quality. Have you seen them or handled them, or just done a search and found them on eBay and jumped to this conclusion?

I totally except that some studio kits on eBay are extremely poor quality, poor metalwork on flimsy stands etc.
However, I pointed out these are in a different league. Not everything you buy on eBay is cheap and nasty.

You've purchased soft boxes from Ebay in the past and posted links on here so I don't no what your issue is. Presumably these were reasonable quality and not rubbish ?
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Kenro are well established and respected suppliers based in the UK,

The units may well be available cheaper on eBay. But I have seen them and they are not bad quality. Have you seen them or handled them, or just done a search and found them on eBay and jumped to this conclusion?

I totally except that some studio kits on eBay are extremely poor quality, poor metalwork on flimsy stands etc.
However, I pointed out these are in a different league. Not everything you buy on eBay is cheap and nasty.

You've purchased soft boxes from Ebay in the past and posted links on here so I don't no what your issue is. Presumably these were reasonable quality and not rubbish ?
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I once bought something very similar. I buy from Ebay regularly, it's as ridiculous to think that I would believe 'everything on ebay is rubbish' as it would be for me to think that.

I know who Kenro are, and I'd suggest that they're as capable of buying in some cheap kit they think they can knock out at a decent profit as any company, they don't particularly have a 'quality name' to protect.

I was wrong though, the same kit on ebay is £250, not £150. But I still wouldn't recommend it, I could point out some real bargain gear on ebay if you'd like. There are plenty of sellers of Godox S fit heads, which unlike these are quite usable. And that's what I'd get if I was the OP.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Kenro are well established and respected suppliers based in the UK,

The units may well be available cheaper on eBay. But I have seen them and they are not bad quality. Have you seen them or handled them, or just done a search and found them on eBay and jumped to this conclusion?

I totally except that some studio kits on eBay are extremely poor quality, poor metalwork on flimsy stands etc.
However, I pointed out these are in a different league. Not everything you buy on eBay is cheap and nasty.

You've purchased soft boxes from Ebay in the past and posted links on here so I don't no what your issue is. Presumably these were reasonable quality and not rubbish ?
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Let's not let this spin out of control, we've seen these units or ones that look identical to them in the past and there's a few horror stories around them. They're fine when they're priced at £30-40 a head as you're choosing to save a lot of money at the expense of reliability/performance but this kit seems about twice as expensive as it should be.

Kenro isn't making these heads, unless they're doing something to the internals I see no reason to believe they're any different besides the label.
 
simonbarker said:
Let's not let this spin out of control, we've seen these units or ones that look identical to them in the past and there's a few horror stories around them. They're fine when they're priced at £30-40 a head as you're choosing to save a lot of money at the expense of reliability/performance but this kit seems about twice as expensive as it should be.

Kenro isn't making these heads, unless they're doing something to the internals I see no reason to believe they're any different besides the label.
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You did ask for alternatives !

There are loads of kits out there to consider such as Bowens, Lencarta, Rotalight, interfit, and Elincrom which I own and have used for years and are still going strong. Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.
 
jay_rowe said:
What are your opinions on the Elinchrom D-lite RX 4/4 to go kit?

I intend on using this for mobile photography in home environments, portraiture including children & newborns with the following kit:

Canon 5d mkiii
Canon 7d
Canon 100mm f2.8l
Canon 70-200mm f2.8l
Canon 24-70mm f2.8l

This system is within my £650 budget but can anyone give a review on the kit please or indeed recommend an alternative kit?

Thank you in advance.
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Don't buy the kit. Buy the lights and get your modifiers and stands separately.

They are great lights, I love them.
 
JennyGW said:
Don't buy the kit. Buy the lights and get your modifiers and stands separately.

They are great lights, I love them.
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You'd only save £8 buying 2 RX 4 heads, a Skyport trigger and 2 stands but that extra £8 for the kit would get you 2 Portalite softboxes, the head tube bag, stand bag and a 16cm reflector.

The softboxes may not be great and the stands overpriced (despite being good stands) but the kit represents better value than buying separately if you need 2 heads and a beginner is going to need somewhere to store them so the kit bags make a lot of sense.
 
simonbarker said:
You'd only save £8 buying 2 RX 4 heads, a Skyport trigger and 2 stands but that extra £8 for the kit would get you 2 Portalite softboxes, the head tube bag, stand bag and a 16cm reflector.

The softboxes may not be great and the stands overpriced (despite being good stands) but the kit represents better value than buying separately if you need 2 heads and a beginner is going to need somewhere to store them so the kit bags make a lot of sense.
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Those kit softboxes are crap. Better off buying 2 x £30 ebay softboxes - which will be recessed and will take grids, which the crappy portalites won't. Pick up a kick bag for peanuts on ebay. Can even get a s/h hard case for £30-50 which is much better. I got a stand bag for £12 which is doing a good job. What I advise not doing is trying to learn photography with inherently bad items, which those softboxes are - I know, I have one for an occasional background lite.

Edit: ohhh, only £8 quid, might as well get the kit then. But buy some decent softboxes and sell the Portalites!
 
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JennyGW said:
Edit: ohhh, only £8 quid, might as well get the kit then. But buy some decent softboxes and sell the Portalites!
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That's what I'd do, it's just a shame you can't get the RRP (something ridiculous like £100) and while I'm not a fan of the tube bag the stand bag is pretty decent.
 
I'm also looking into starting out with studio flash and am interested in what to look out for in a softbox as I can see from comments above the ones with the Elinchrom kit don't seem to be well regarded. Looking at the pictures I can see the front diffuser seems to be 'flush' rather than recessed which seems to be one of the criticisms (as you can't then fit a grid) - is there anything else to look out for (e.g. an inner and outer diffuser)? I see Lencarta have recessed ones available in their kits which are also fairly cheap to buy separately at £45 - are these better?

This also looks like a good price for an octagonal one with grid:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIXAPRO-1...graphy_StudioEquipment_RL&hash=item3ce3a4a680

In terms of heads I'm thinking of two D Lite RX 4s or two Lencarta ElitePro 2 300s

Any advice please? I'm just thinking of home portraits at the moment.
 
Welcome to TP :)

IMHO the most important thing in a softbox for home portraiture is a quick and easy push-up mechanism - they basically go up/down like an umbrella. The cheaper softboxes that come with all kits have to be constructed and deconstructed one rod at a time (ie, eight in an octobox) and they're all a right PITA. Fine if you can put them up and leave them up, but otherwise you will soon learn to hate them. It's a frustrating job and unless you're careful it's easy to rip the corners when they're under a lot of tension. Instead, have a look at Lencarta Profold, or Bessel.

A recessed front and grid option is nice, double diffusers for even light coverage :thumbs:
 
jay_rowe said:
What are your opinions on the Elinchrom D-lite RX 4/4 to go kit?

I intend on using this for mobile photography in home environments, portraiture including children & newborns with the following kit:

Canon 5d mkiii
Canon 7d
Canon 100mm f2.8l
Canon 70-200mm f2.8l
Canon 24-70mm f2.8l

This system is within my £650 budget but can anyone give a review on the kit please or indeed recommend an alternative kit?

Thank you in advance.
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The only thing I would question is whether you need the 400w strobes. I have a small headshot studio and I found the 400w were overpowered on the fill light even at the lowest setting. You might find the 200w more practical, and save some money. I'm typically using the 200w at around 3.0 on the power setting for main light at f8/ISO100, so there is still power to spare. You're using f2.8 lenses and if you want to shoot with this low dof it's another factor in favour of the 200w.

It's well made gear and I would highly recommend it. Grab a Skyport radio trigger and you can even control the light power.

As has been said already, the default softboxes aren't much cop, so buying the umbrella kit and adding a couple of softboxes is a good option.
 
HoppyUK said:
Welcome to TP :)

IMHO the most important thing in a softbox for home portraiture is a quick and easy push-up mechanism - they basically go up/down like an umbrella. The cheaper softboxes that come with all kits have to be constructed and deconstructed one rod at a time (ie, eight in an octobox) and they're all a right PITA. Fine if you can put them up and leave them up, but otherwise you will soon learn to hate them. It's a frustrating job and unless you're careful it's easy to rip the corners when they're under a lot of tension. Instead, have a look at Lencarta Profold, or Bessel.

A recessed front and grid option is nice, double diffusers for even light coverage (y)
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Good advice Hoppy. I bought my 120cm Pixapro octabox originally for studio use only, but I wish I'd bought one that assembles more easily for when I'm on location. I've been toying with getting a couple of Photoek Softlighters for a while.

Especially for in studio and shooting in small spaces I'd not buy a softbox that doesn't take a grid and enable the light to be controlled, so definitely get recessed.
 
Thanks for the additional advice Jenny - maybe the Elinchrom RX 4/2 kit would be a good option then with the one 400W and one 200W - and the added advantage it comes with brollies so I could add something like a Bessel Octabox Speedbox which seems good value?
 
Heaf said:
Thanks for the additional advice Jenny - maybe the Elinchrom RX 4/2 kit would be a good option then with the one 400W and one 200W - and the added advantage it comes with brollies so I could add something like a Bessel Octabox Speedbox which seems good value?
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Hi Heaf, Yes, the 4/2 is a nice option. I think, not 100% sure, that the Bessels come with a very wide celled grid, which doesn't make it as effective - it certainly looks so from the images on their site.

If you look at the Pixapro softboxes the grid cell is a lot smaller and for that reason more effective.

http://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/category/recessed-softbox/

Modifiers only need to be as big as the subject you need to light. A 95cm softbox is ample for portraits, for example. Big softboxes in small spaces can be a hassle.

To be honest, I'm really torn on which location-softbox to get. The Besell have wide-cell grids which I don't like. Pixapro only have the EasyOpen series for Bowen's s-fit, but I guess an adapter could be added. If you look at the Bessel 95cm octaboxes on Ebay, the Bowen's fit come with a 4cmgrid, which is great, but on the Elinchrom fit the grid size isn't given and it looks wider, don't you think?

If I could buy the Bessel softbox with the grid they put in the Bowen's version, I'd be sold!

I don't want to have to mess about with adapters.

Also, for lighting on location, you don't always have to supply all of the light, as you do in a studio. So also think of using strobes as fill or accent lights to mix with ambient.
 
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Jenny, I vaguely recall something about the Bessel grids, that they have been improved over those shown on the website. Maybe worth checking.
 
HoppyUK said:
Jenny, I vaguely recall something about the Bessel grids, that they have been improved over those shown on the website. Maybe worth checking.
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Only on the Bowens pieces, which is weird as you'd think they'd just have the unit and then add the correct fitting when fulfilling an order.
 
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