Smartflash200 or Elite pro 300?

Garry Edwards said:
I've just got hold of him on the phone, he says that he is refunding you now - I would have preferred to have been able to deal with it myself, but don't have anything to do with the Ebay sales
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Thanks Garry, I just got confirmation by email, so thanks again for your input on this :clap:

Of course I'll be ordering an UltraPro 300 just as soon as the funds have hit my account :)

Darren
 
=ReBeL= said:
Garry, I'm not sure what do you mean when you say 'essential accessories'. If you mean stuff like light stands, reflectors, etc, then I have included all of that.

I'm after a set of lights (2 x), stands, umbrellas, large sofbox, backdrop system, etc. I was really hoping the ElitePro would be available, as the price suits me better.

I need to price it all again against Elinchrom kit and other suff, and decide then.

I'm also waiting for my XZ-1 to sell, before I can shell out the cash. I hope I will be ready to order all the stuff I need on monday. I'm sure I'll call Lencarta first to talk about stock levels and few other things before I make the final decision.
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By essential accessories, I mean the accessories that you'll end up buying - you may want to compare the cost of things like softboxes, beauty dishes, umbrellas and so on.

I'm not saying that Elinchrom is a bad choice, far from it. What I am saying is that the cost doesn't stop with the kit, and it's a good idea to factor in all the costs, not just the obvious ones, before deciding on which is best for you.
 
Oh yes, I got it now. I'm a bit slow sometimes.

I will call Lencarta either tomorrow or monday to talk about various options.

Thanks Garry.
 
This is my first time on this or any forum.

I have ordered a LENCARTA SMARTFLASH 200W STARTER KIT (WITH 1 UMBRELLA AND 1 SOFTBOX) which I didn't notice at the time of ordering was on back order.
My questions are (if Garry or anyone else knows):
1) When are new stock arriving.
2) Does it come with a flash trigger? There is no mention of it on the website but sure I have heard Garry on some video saying every starter kits does?

Many Thanks
 
Well after visiting the Lencarta stand today I must admit I'm impressed by the whole range, spoke to Michael about the li-ons and I'm very very tempted, will have to see what's left in the piggy bank after I have bought my 5dMkIII. ;)

Scott
 
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I hope you didn't buy it from Photomart. Shocking company.
 
Don't tell me that I have bought from another dodgy company
 
Colski said:
Don't tell me that I have bought from another dodgy company
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Hi de Ho neighbour, not dodgy, just not the best service I've ever had, and you will love the light. Awesome build quality and recycle time.
 
Do you know if I will get a flash trigger or is it an extra that I will have to buy
 
I got the Smartflash 200 and bought a reflector too. No trigger, I'm afraid. If you dont get one I've got a spare you can have.
 
Is the Lencarta opened until 5pm only? I called but nobody answered, couldn't find opening times on the website either.

I will be calling again tomorrow morning.
 
They're probably all at In Focus....
 
Oh, OK. Thanks.

Hopefully they will have few spare minutes tomorrow.
 
Woohoo! My Lencarta UltraPro 300 was delivered today, I'll be giving it a test drive tonight :D
 
Looking forward to your initial thoughts, Darren. I plan to order two of those tomorrow (if I can get hold of somebody at Lencarta that is).
 
=ReBeL= said:
Looking forward to your initial thoughts, Darren. I plan to order two of those tomorrow (if I can get hold of somebody at Lencarta that is).
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I've just got the Smartflash 200, and it's a great piece of kit. The build quality is amazing and it's a joy to use.
 
Thanks Martin. I was thinking about the 200's as well, but I think I'll go for 300's. Elite's would be ideal, but they are out of stock.
 
I liked the look of the 300's, but my wallet wasn't so keen!!
 
=ReBeL= said:
Looking forward to your initial thoughts, Darren. I plan to order two of those tomorrow (if I can get hold of somebody at Lencarta that is).
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Initial thoughts are good. Build quality; appears to be very sturdy and well made.

No instructions in the box, in fact no paperwork of any kind. That's probably fine for people who have used studio flashes before, but no so good for first timers, like me. There's a 4-page instruction manual (pdf format) in the Lencarta website, which tells you what each button controls, as well as a couple of words about each the areas on the LCD display. It was enough for me to roughly figure out what's what. I'm hoping Garry will put together an instructional video on YouTube in the not too distant future, as he did for the ElitePro.

Hooked it up to one of my RF-603s and it's firing fine from my 350D.

That's as far as I've got so far, but all seems good....


Lencarta UltraPro 300 by BubbleDouble, on Flickr
 
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Thanks very much Darren. Can't wait to use them myself :thumbs:

A bit shame about the instructions really, but glad there are some online. Off to download them now.

EDIT: The instructions are extremely short. Just finished reading it.
 
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=ReBeL= said:
Oh, OK. Thanks.

Hopefully they will have few spare minutes tomorrow.
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The problem is more to do with the environment of Focus. It's quite loud, so we don't hear the phone ringing, and even if we do, there seems to be very few times we are not talking to somebody at the stand.
To be honest, firing an email off would actually be better. It'll likely be the evening before the emails will be answered, and quite likely late evening too.
 
You all have a rest from me until Friday, when I get back.

I do answer the phone when I hear it but I can't usually hear it. And emails are slow to answer on a phone.
Sorry
 
I understand that you all are trying to find new customers on the show, but I am also a new customer. I want to order a set of lights, but you actually telling me not to call, but send an email and then that the email won't get replied anytime soon. That's a bit disappointing really.
 
I'm sorry but we're all doing our best. One of our competitors has actually closed for a week because of Focus, we're sending out orders and talking to customers whenever we can, and we are much smaller.
 
I understand and no problem Garry, as I managed to get through. Order placed. Looking forward to using the stuff.

Many thanks :thumbs:
 
=ReBeL= said:
I understand and no problem Garry, as I managed to get through. Order placed. Looking forward to using the stuff.

Many thanks :thumbs:
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What did you order in the end?
 
I ordered the UltraPro kit, large softbox, background and background stand system. Can't wait to get it :thumbs:
 
=ReBeL= said:
I ordered the UltraPro kit, large softbox, background and background stand system. Can't wait to get it :thumbs:
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Nice! I'm already tempted to buy another UltraPro 300, but it's going to have to wait until payday....
 
I'll be buying some more stuff at some point in future. Probably few more backdrops, the batter pack, wireless trigger, few more light accessories, etc. For now though, this should be enough.
 
As the OP, When Garry and co gets back I wouldn't mind asking a few questions about the new ultra 300 head. My original questions didn't take into account the new model.

If anyone else knows in the mean time, how does the 300 compare to the other two models and what's the bit about being able to use it outdoors with batteries?
 
Blasted said:
As the OP, When Garry and co gets back I wouldn't mind asking a few questions about the new ultra 300 head. My original questions didn't take into account the new model.

If anyone else knows in the mean time, how does the 300 compare to the other two models and what's the bit about being able to use it outdoors with batteries?
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Sorry for hijaking your thread recently....

Not having owned other models, I don't know how the Ultra300 compares to them.

Where did you hear about being able to use it outdoors on batteries? I believe it's mains powered only, can't see anything on the website which says otherwise.
 
That battery pack is for the Safari heads, the Ultras are mains only (or from a battery system with inverter to provide mains voltage).
 
vaizki said:
That battery pack is for the Safari heads, the Ultras are mains only (or from a battery system with inverter to provide mains voltage).
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Thanks for that Jukka. The clue is in the name and all of that :bonk:
 
Blasted said:
If anyone else knows in the mean time, how does the 300 compare to the other two models
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This is all from memory but I spent 4 days talking to hundreds of people about the ultra - note that I've not used it myself except to demo on the stand...

Ultra vs Elite....

metal body
moveable stand mount to counter balance heavy modifiers
stand mount can be reversed to hang light from track
digital power control in 1/10 stop increments
auto dumping via firing of flash
extra modelling light setting - giving 4 total - off, on, proportional and independent
optional (£50) remote unit will control power/modelling light/slave/test fire for up to 99 flashes from up to 20m
modelling light CAN'T be set to dim while recycling (Elite can)
30 quid more than an Elite
 
Thanks,

As it stands I could go for two of the cheaper ones and some basic light modifiers, or go for a single better one with a decent light modifier, then when funds allow, back up with a second.

The thought was possibly get an elite with a pop up box (octaganal) and grid, plus a beauty dish, but then this new one came along.
 
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Shame you weren't in the NEC yesterday at about 5pm.

Pretty sure there was a 20% off Elite Pro left when I went home....
 
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