Photo Basics 403 uLite 3-Light Kit

When the product arrived in Italy (shipped from the US) I had to pay some 80 USD import tax. Then I discovered several pieces were missing and the umbrellas were ripped.I contacted the seller immediately and they were very good in sending out replacement parts. Very courteous and efficient. However, when the replacement and missing parts arrived I had to pay a further 50 USD import tax on them. I contacted the seller again and they immediately refunded the additional 50 I paid.So as for the lights themselves well since this is an American product they came with 120 volt bulbs and American style plugs (of course this isn't their fault; I should have thought about this beforehand). I changed the plugs and blew the bulbs and set up the system. Very decent. It's not expensive and works fine for my studio green screen. The quality is pretty good all round and sure this isn't top of the range but for a starter kit which won't get bashed around in transit too much, I'd recommend it.If you are buying from Europe then you might be better of getting it from a local Amazon rather than the US however. Check this out for less hassle! In the end, however, with the import tax I found it just about the same price as buying from the UK.

I needed a three point lighting set of lights for a minimal budget to do some video filming for the company I work for. I'm an amateur videographer with solid experience in video editing, but not a lot of knowledge on equipment, so this looked simple enough for me to use for my video shoot.All three lights come on lightweight tripod-like mounts that can be adjusted for height. It's easy to adjust the height, but collasping the tripod frame for travel requires some muscle to close the three legs. Setting up the soft boxes was easy enough (the top part that holds the light and box has to be pushed into the tripod frame. Then push the umbrella like hinges all the way back behind the light bulb mount until the are fully expanded. Screw the lightbulb in and cover with the diffuser that attaches with velcro. The two soft boxes give off the same amount of wattage, so for true 3-point lighting, the fill light should be bounced off a wall or positioned farther back from the subject.All three come with fairly long cords so I didn't need an extension cord for indoor filming. The three lights are relatively light and easy to carry. They aren't heavy duty lights, so if you need something that holds up after frequent use and travel, I'd recommend something else.Lastly, I needed to get a storage case for them and didn't want to break the bank, so I got one of those hard, plastic golf club travel cases and the lights fit in the case perfectly with room to spare.

Very good set for the price. I've used these lights several times.The one piece of advice that I'd offer is this - Don't use the included bulbs. They're big, VERY HOT, and burn out fast. Instead, buy two 4-socket adapters, and get the brightest LED bulbs you can get (with a warm color temp.). It won't be quite as bright, but will also not get as hot, and the bulbs will last longer.The third light fixture (without the softbox) is not very helpful. You can either use it to illuminate a backdrop (which it doesn't do very well). Or you could somehow find a way to hang it from above your subject, and use it as a 'rim light' to give definition to the back of someone's head. (However, the stand is not designed for this). The real value is in the 2 softboxes.

These lights are small, be warned. They're not large enough for family photography. You can't illuminate four people (or more) well. It'll work for individual shots and product photography.The softboxes are 24" by 24" and if you use two lights on either side of a person to illuminate their face and bust, their legs will get dark.On the whole, these lights will work very well for small to medium product photography.The third light that's supplied doesn't seem to be useful for anything much at all. Not sure what to do with that.

Easy to assemble and use, this sort of set is a must for basic lighting. We're using it for a video podcast that we're trying to get off the ground.If you didn't already guess it, 500W bulbs put off a lot of heat. Make sure you have ventilation for long shoots.I'd give five stars, but took one off because the stands themselves are a little chintzy. Not at all bad for setting up indoors and never moving them around again, but these wouldn't work so great for uneven ground or a traveling photo shoot.

The lights are way too hot so read the other reviews and get the 4 socket and switch out the bulbs. Also, one of the bulbs was broken and the small lamp shade was bent. So, shipping is less than desired.

I like this set up only problem was the amount of heat it put out and that I needed a natural daylight look rather then the tungsten light bulbs it arrived with. So I purchased a separate 4-in-1 socket adapter and used natural daylight bulbs and it works just fine with no heat. I've had no problem with my kit everything works very well.

We ordered the Photo Basics 403 4 light kit and it has a short in it and bulbs not only burn out but fall completely out of socket and have burned our kit and floor. I wish they had a way to contact them so we can get a replacement of this product or our money back.