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In my eternal quest to get a flash kit for next to nothning, I stumbled up on the
Lencarta Studio 3 Flash Kit
on EBAY
Seems a lot of kit for your money, which leads me to assume that the quality is diabolical.
But I thought I'd see if anyone's had expeience with this kit before I disregard it immediately.
It's over my budget - but there's loads of kit with it...
Factory in China churns out loads of unbranded low end lighting equipment ready for someone to give them a name and flog 'em on. I can sell you a Henson Kit if I buy 500 kits in the first place.
They work...but not very good. Light values are unreliable, they take all day to recharge and are made from rice paper.
confirmed what I thought there Keith - cheers
Was an awful lot of kit for your money there.... were it any good 
I'll probably only use this kit for a week, put it away (cause I'm short of space in the house) and never see it again for ages, so I'm really only looking to spend £100-£200.
It's just to learn a bit about how studio lighting works, not for any specific use you see.
I've seen the "Twin 120W Lighting Kit TLK120 #51" and the one Conrad's got, as well as the Elinchrom 150 EX. All possibiles - and of course EBAY!
Seems to be a stockist un in Harrogate with loads of stuff in a Unit in some industrial estate!
Flash centre's not open on a weekend according to their site :-(
Don't blame them - though it makes a visit for anyone with a "normal job" a little more awkward!
I did email to see if they'd any 2nd had kit, but never heard back.
sod it - I'll get 1000000000000 times more use from a 17-40 so I'll get that instead
Is kelso off ebay the best place to get them in the UK then?
Hey ade
Brought the said Lencarta Studio kit just over a week ago! noticed the thread so... the kit is good, the lights are solid as are the stands. The rest of the kit is a little on the fragile side but it all works.
My favourite thing is the instructions someone obviously did a straight chineese to english translation on the net and it's total giberish!
But the kit seems great used it a couple of times and all works well.
Hope that helps.
Alex
Some of the answers above are a bit strange...
Firstly, unlike some Chinese imports the Lencarta isn't an unbranded no-name, they're made to spec, not available from anyone else.
Secondly, flash power is expressed in Joules (or watt seconds, same thing) not in watts, and the figure here is 200, not 120.
Third, the power consistency is spot on, within 1/10th of a stop.
Fourth, they're made of metal, not rice paper.
I ought to mention that I'm a commercial photographer who has a number of these units in my studio, in Bradford. Anyone who wants to try them is welcome to visit by arrangement. The reason I have them is that Lencarta asked me to carry out thorough tests for them both on these units and on their Ring Flash - which is why I;m able to give an accurate answer.
Hi, can you please help, I am just about to buy a lencarta kit, see below, it has got a big octogonal softbox can you please let me know if it's worth it and what is the difference betwen the square and octogonal soft box? I am new with lights, never own any studion lights.
..................................
"These kits each contain two heads, with a choice of either 200ws/200ws, or 300ws/300ws. Each kit contains the following items:
1) 2x flash heads (either 200ws or 300ws)
2) 2x spring cushioned light stands (sturdy, up to 280cm tall and fully adjustable)
3) 1x radio trigger (works the entire system)
4) 1x snoot (in Bowens S-fitting)
5) 1x set of barndoors, honeycomb and colour gels (in Bowens S-fitting)
6) 2x 90cm octagon softbox (in Bowens S-fitting and fits the supplied flash heads)
7) 1x 80cm 5-in-1 multi reflector
8) Heavy-duty, padded bag for the heads and holdall for the stands.
6) 2x Sync leads (included, but not needed if use radio trigger)
Specification of the flash heads:
a.. Stepless adjustment
b.. Vairable modeling lamp (100w for 200ws, 150w for 300ws)
c.. 0.3-1 second recharge speed
d.. 1/1200s flash duration
e.. Flash colour temp 5500K +- 200K
f.. Flash power accuracy +- 0.1EV
g.. Fan cooled
h.. Full metal construction
i.. Bowens S-fitting compatible
j.. Auto power dump feature
k.. Heat protection circuitary
l.. 5v safe triggering voltage (safe for all cameras, digital and film)
a.. 30 day no-quibble return promise
b.. 1 year product warranty
Price (for the entire kit including VAT)
a.. 200ws/200ws version: £349.00
b.. 300ws/300ws version: £399.00
If you buy one kit each, i.e. four flash heads in total, two 200ws two 300ws, we can offer a 12% overall discount.
P&P: £23.99 next working day by courier anywhere in UK
Quote: "We"? You know Garry then?
I'm getting tired of your slurs...
Why don't you ask the moderators to check to see whether 'Photoion' is posting from the same computer, the same ISP, the same email address as me or whether there are any other similarities to link me with him/her?
FWIW, I answered another question, which was on continuous light -v- flash, and I think I must have scrolled down and looked at a few other theads at the same time.
Just think about what you're implying - I was lighting moderator on Photo.net for years, and frequently advised people to use flash instead of continuous light, and to use proper lighting instead of light tents. I still do so (to a lesser extent) on PN and I still do so on other forums, including this one - and yet Lencarta sell both light tents and continuous lights.
How does this gel with your apparent belief that Lencarta are paying me to promote their products on forums?
Anyway, this 'conversation' is boring me, answer if you wish but as far as I'm concerned the subject is closed.
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