Interfit Venus 300

pbucks

pbucks

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Paul Buckley
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Hi
I am wanting to invest in some lighting for a home studio, but I have no experience of studio flash.
I have tried using strobes, but the results don't seem that consistent.

I am completely Googled out from researching what to go for.

Has anyone on here got any personal experience of the Interfit Venus 300w kit

http://www.interfitphotographic.com/Lighitng/Product Pages/Venus flash.php

It seems to be what I am looking for and is at the top end of my budget.

I don't want to buy online. I would much rather go into a shop.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers, Paul.
 
It's easy to get bogged down and confused - studio flash isn't a complicated subject but you do need to understand the terminology and the specs for it to be simple:)

You say that you don't want to buy online - fair enough, that's your choice, but be aware that the retailer's markup will add around 40% to the cost. If you really want to see before you buy, get in touch with me and check out the various flash heads in my studio, most of them are Lencarta and Elinchrom. You can't buy them on the spot, but you can play with them as much as you like. And, with all possible respect to shops, I'll be able to answer your questions much better.

OK, back to the Venus. It looks OK, but the spec is very limited.
I'm assuming that it doesn't have a cooling fan, it doesn't say that it does have one and the fact that the modelling lamp is only 60 watts indicates that there is no fan. 60 watts is useless unless you're shooting in a dark room, you should really be thinking in terms of 150 watts minimum, 250 watts is better.

The specs say that it has 4 stops of power adjustment, but in fact it only has 3 stops (it adjusts down to 1/8th power). Most decent quality flash heads adjust to 4 stops (1/16th power) or 5 stops (1/32nd power). With 300 Ws of power you'll need all the adjustment you can get.

This article in the Lencarta learning centre, may help.

Take a look too at the Lencarta ElitePro kits - same power but much better spec, and a 2 head kit with 1 umbrella and 1 softbox is only £425.
 
Thanks for the feedback Garry.
It has made things a bit clearer.

The ElitePro kits look good, but are over budget.

Do you have any thoughts on the SmartFlash 200 range?
 
pbucks said:
Thanks for the feedback Garry.
It has made things a bit clearer.

The ElitePro kits look good, but are over budget.

Do you have any thoughts on the SmartFlash 200 range?
Click to expand...

The SmartFlash will be fine, but there are only a few left in stock, so unless you can order immediately... :'(
 
Cheers Garry
I've just ordered a set this morning.

Is there any backlog with the couriers at the moment?
 
The couriers are affected by the weather but not by the Xmas rush, so hopefully you'll get it on Monday - unless you're buried under snow there...
 
I'll keep my fingers crossed about the weather then.

Cheers.
 
I use the Interfit EXD200 flash units and they are pretty damn good for the money ..

I also have 2 300w Interfit Venus lights which i have not tried as yet ... ill let you know when iive tried them ..
 
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