Honl Photo Accessories - Starter kit

Rob.Marsh

Rob.Marsh

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Hi all,

I have recently been reading up on the above mentioned kit. Its basically a set of snoots, flags, grids etc for strobes. See HERE.

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with any of the kit and if its worth buying or to stick with the DIY solutions?

Also, anyone seen where to buy them in the UK?

Thanks

Rob
 
never used them but can't get over the price of that stuff. It might look more professional and be better lasting than the DIY stuff but £6+ for a bit of velcro! sorry I mean speed strap? That's enough to put me off buying straight away out of principal.
 
I saw that kit in this months Practical Photography, the honeycomb grid was also in Amateur Photographer a few weeks bag. The website was (IIRC) www.flaghead.co.uk

The kit seems pretty good, if a little expensive. I am waiting for my home made honeycomb grid to be completed before I decide whether or not to plump for a real one.

I wouldn't bother with that speed strap, just get some velcro sticky strips from your local newsagents or post office. That will do the trick.
 
pretty much echoed my thoughts there peeps.
It would be interesting to see the kit put through its paces vs a DIY kit, with a side by side comparison though.
 
Well, I finished my homemade honeycomb grid and it works amazingly well. It gives a nice circle of light with a feather fall off. Looks like it will come in handy, and completely free and all. I used some black cardboard that protected my prints from DSL labs and used some free straws from the pub, a bit of glue, velcro and black electricians tape and it looks the job. Don't know if I'll bother with the bought version, I'll see how much I use this one first.
 
Kev M said:
never used them but can't get over the price of that stuff. It might look more professional and be better lasting than the DIY stuff but £6+ for a bit of velcro! sorry I mean speed strap? That's enough to put me off buying straight away out of principal.
Click to expand...

:agree: as soon as you add "photographic" to a product's description it seems to add at least 300% to the price.

Noticed a three-section "light tent" being advertised recently, for £25, that looked suspiciously like those white, hanging laundry baskets that you can get in the pound shops :suspect:
 
Grrr - I paid a whole £6 for my Light tent come Softbox from Ikea that they were calling a 'Laundry Basket'

They saw me coming...:suspect:
 
I am not a great fan of using hotshoe flashes as pseudo studio lights. I much prefer "real" studio strobes; even the less expensive Chinese models are better for studio type shooting because they incorporate a modeling light and are powered by A/C current which maintains a steady and fast recycle time.

However, I am sure that these would work well. The barndoor/gobo would be nice for cross lighting of a subject in front of a Christmas tree. You could place a strobe on each side of the subject and shield the tree from the light with the barndoors. Snoots might be more difficult to work with since you do not normally (unless you desire to do the stroboscopic effect) have a modeling light to tell you where the light is falling.

On the other hand, if I were working with hotshoe flashes, these would give me an idea of how to fabricate some light modifiers rather than to pay the rather high prices for this equipment.
 
Hi all, I have been away for xmas and not got to a pc so sorry for not replying.

I think I'll stick to the DIY and save my money. Cool idea with the ikea laundry basket barlines!

rpcrowe, using strobes instead of a studio kit is down to storage, budget and portability but thanks for your comments. Like you mention, i'll use them as a basis for my own "designs"!

Rob
 
On a similar note this.

I recently had the opportunity to check out the similar accessory kit from Viewfinder Photography.

big_thumb_200802061853231248210903_18.jpg


Can't comment on Honl, but this kit was a total gimmicky joke.

Build quality is absolutely appalling. As for usefulness - it would be more at home selling in Toymaster. A real second rate bit of kit.

The only thing possibly plausible was the gels, but they're too small to use with any other reflector.

Avoid at your cost!
 
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