Lencarta Flash 3 Head Studio Lighting - Advice Please.

snoop69

snoop69

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Rather than start a new thread i have edited this one.

Can anyone advise if this kit would be suitable for a novice?

A little over budget but it looks like a nice bit of kit which is ready to go.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lencarta-3-He...66:2|39:1|72:1690|240:1308|301:1|293:4|294:50


Original thread text.
I was going to order the 3 head studion kit from Stable Imaging but they are
out of stock & closed for approx 1 month :(

My budget is around £300 & was wondering if this kit from a HK seller is
worth a look.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=400050457836

Thanks in advance.
 
snoop69 said:
My budget is around £300 & was wondering if this kit from a HK seller is
worth a look.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=400050457836

Thanks in advance :thumbs:
Click to expand...

No.

It's a mis-match. The 300 J head is probably more or less OK, although the output consistency and colour temperature aren't likely to be great.

The other lights have a different accessory fitting (actually they have no accessory fitting) and are about as poor as you can get.

What are you going to do if you buy them and they stop working? They will cost more to return to HK than they cost to make in the first place, and that's assuming that the seller will honour their obligations.
 
I've no real experience of buying studio lights, but personally I'd rather buy an entry-level kit from one of the well known manufacturers off a UK seller than a "bargain" set up from someone on the other side of the world....
 
Garry Edwards said:
Try it in a day or so, waiting for prices of a new budget range;)
Click to expand...

Just spotted what looks like a nice bit of kit on Ebay.

I have edited the first post with a link.
 
O.K. Now you've edited your post obviously my first reply doesn't apply any more :)
As I'm the customer service/techie for Lencarta I'm probably the best person to reply to your (new) question.

It's a very good bit of kit, of its type - very solidly made, very consistent.
But it's limited because the accessories included in the kit are the only ones you can get for it (except for larger softboxes) and this will limit your creativity in the future, if you want to expand your photography into areas that need more creative lighting tools.

Lencarta are about to bring out a new budget range that falls between this kit and their ElitePro range in price and I'm currently waiting for them to tell me the prices. You may want to hang on a bit longer before deciding.
 
I will vouch for that kit being excellent if you are on a really tight budget, as I was. There is enough in there for some creativity and they are a great learning tool because of the flexibility of having 3 heads and learningthat sometimes you only need one. ;)

I have lugged the kit around in the car several times and its pretty robust too. My only complaint is the soft boxes, they are quite awkward to put together, even with the instructions [which Garry pointed me to afterwards, I had been totally blond and missed the link in the listing] and therefore I wont disassemble them, but thats just me, I have car and storage space big enough to leave them up all the time. They can be put down, just allow yourself an extra 20 minutes initially to do this, it probably gets quicker :lol:

If I ever get to a point where I am using the gear a lot, and I mean daily, I will probably upgrade the heads to the Elite, but for now, its a stonking bit of kit for not a lot of money. Though as Garry says, if you are not in a rush, you may want to hang on for the new stuff.
 
i found the lencarta gear very good, i also struggle to put up the soft boxes and thats simply because they are quite decent quality, i mean after a couple of goes of putting up and down you dont want them to snap. i got the 2 x 200w heads and found them more than enough to shoot indoors, in fact i have never had them above 50% power. and finally lencarta customer services are outstanding, i remember sending them an email (tech question) and had a returned email within minutes now thats the sort of company you need to deal with.
 
Yv said:
I will vouch for that kit being excellent if you are on a really tight budget, as I was. There is enough in there for some creativity and they are a great learning tool because of the flexibility of having 3 heads and learningthat sometimes you only need one. ;)

I have lugged the kit around in the car several times and its pretty robust too. My only complaint is the soft boxes, they are quite awkward to put together, even with the instructions [which Garry pointed me to afterwards, I had been totally blond and missed the link in the listing] and therefore I wont disassemble them, but thats just me, I have car and storage space big enough to leave them up all the time. They can be put down, just allow yourself an extra 20 minutes initially to do this, it probably gets quicker :lol:

If I ever get to a point where I am using the gear a lot, and I mean daily, I will probably upgrade the heads to the Elite, but for now, its a stonking bit of kit for not a lot of money. Though as Garry says, if you are not in a rush, you may want to hang on for the new stuff.
Click to expand...

I also have the 3 head setup and like Yv find it very good value for money. I have added two of the 300ws heads from the elite range for a bit more versatility.
The softboxes I found after a little practise can be done in under 2 minutes but my hair colour is grey:coat:

I do often leave them up though as I have a mahoosive Estate to throw eveything into.
 
Garry Edwards said:
You may want to hang on a bit longer before deciding.
Click to expand...

I think this kit will be sufficient & i thank you for being honest & letting me
know the kits limitations. My budget is tight at the moment as we are saving
for the summer holidays etc so different or more kit can be purchased at a
later date.

Yv said:
I will vouch for that kit being excellent if you are on a really tight budget, as I was. There is enough in there for some creativity and they are a great learning tool because of the flexibility of having 3 heads and learningthat sometimes you only need one. ;)
Click to expand...

PsiFox said:
I also have the 3 head setup and like Yv find it very good value for money. I have added two of the 300ws heads from the elite range for a bit more versatility.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice guys - i think this kit will suit my needs for a few months as it will be mainly be used at home for now.

Im now off to hit the 'buy it know' button :thumbs:
 
Garry Edwards said:
Lencarta are about to bring out a new budget range that falls between this kit and their ElitePro range in price and I'm currently waiting for them to tell me the prices. You may want to hang on a bit longer before deciding.
Click to expand...

any more spec details?:popcorn:
 
fletch5 said:
any more spec details?:popcorn:
Click to expand...

Sorry, not able to say anything yet. But as soon as I've been told the prices the new gear will appear by magic on the Lencarta website
 
any news on the new kit yet Garry?
 
mmcp42 said:
any news on the new kit yet Garry?
Click to expand...

I wish:'(

I was expecting to get this info some time ago. I'll update this thread as soon as I have it.
 
Quick update,

Will defo have the new prices tomorrow, new range will be posted on the Lencarta site within the next 24 hours
 
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