Are any of these ebay lighting packages any good, or are they all junk?

i want to get some lighting, and want to take advantage of the ebay 30% off thing.

$275 for this?
http://cgi.ebay.com …1318&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14


$400 for this?
http://cgi.ebay.com …1308&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14


$250 for this?
http://cgi.ebay.com …1308&_trksid=p3​286.c0.m14

i know they're obviously not the greatest, but that's pretty good for the price, isn't it?

i'd like something with 2-3 lights, softboxes, and background support.

If someone had an alienbees setup with BuyItNow, i'd be all over that

:dunno:

I have a two strobe kit that looks similar to the last one you posted (mine lacks the 110w/s third strobe).

It is a cheap setup, no question about it, but its "good enough" for my needs right now.

Your prices all seem off though.

The first is $389, not $275.
The second is $569, not $400
The third is $349, not $250

Personally I approached the kit as a trial balloon that wouldn't break the bank. The nice thing is if/when I upgrade to better lights I can still use them for misc. (background, hair, etc) lights.

The only big negative in my mind is that the flash bulbs are not user replaceable.

Honestly though, with Calumet releasing the Genesis line I would seriously look at those. Two 200s will set you back about $350 + tax, you can get the background stand and backdrop on fleabay for under $100 more. Had they been available when I was looking I probably would have jumped on them.

30% off anything on ebay with a buy-it-now auction:
http://forums.slickdea​ls.net ….php?sduid=4825​9&t=937306

those prices are minus the 30%.

so, if a bulb goes out, what do you do, throw the whole light away?

ace3 wrote in post #6429947
30% off anything on ebay with a buy-it-now auction:
http://forums.slickdea​ls.net ….php?sduid=4825​9&t=937306

those prices are minus the 30%.

Very cool. I've been contemplating a couple fleabay acquisitions.

I'll check it out, but if history repeats itself PayPal "business" members won't qualify.

ace3 wrote in post #6429947
so, if a bulb goes out, what do you do, throw the whole light away?

Yup. Unless you can find a replacement (tough, but not impossible) and happen to be handy with a soldering iron.

Most flash tubes are rated for at least 5000 flashes. If I haven't gotten good by then maybe I should just give up on lights.

no opinions?

I had a cheap light set like this at one time and I have to disagree about using them for background, hair, ect when and if you upgrade. I basically gave mine away when I switched over to photogenic strobes. The cheap ones I had were way to inconsistent in both color and output. Another note about the output was that they were nowhere near what they were rated at with mine. Side by side tests with my 320w/s lights showed them to be about 80w/s when they were rated at 160w/s (if I remember right). They are nice to get you started but the stands mine came with I wouldnt trust to hold my camera flash on a bracket and all the accessories you get with them will pretty much go out the door if you decide to change strobes. My thought on this type of kit and my continued thinking is that if you have money to throw away and dont mind seeing it go if you decide to upgrade later on then this type of kit is not bad. I personally would recommend you getting one of the other lower priced brand name kits. Check out the reviews on the Calument Genesis kits here on the boards. People seem to really like them. Alienbees seems to get a good rap as well. I like my Photogenic Studio Max's and they can be had for a decent price on ebay from time to time.