Anybody use Britek lights
 

I'm looking for an affordable light kit w/ softbox for some interviews. I found a pretty good deal on Britek. Any advice from Britek users?

thanks.

I've been looking for answers as well...

I found a review here, for what it's worth...
http://www.photographyreview.com/......7_4203crx.aspx

those are just the photo studio flash lights.... or am I missing it?

They aren't what you are looking for, but the review gives a general statement about quality, and most important, support.

I guess you did miss it ;)

Here's a thread on DVXUSER.com that talks about Briteks.

http://www.dvxuser.com/cgi-bin/DVX2/...num=1084814927

Phil, thanks for the link to DVXUSER.com. That was some very insightful thread. I think I'll take the plunge and post the results in a few weeks.

Follow the pictures on the DVXUser thread and make sure you're getting the right ones.

I used the flat-faced "worklight" versions, and they performed well, about on par with the JTL's, maybe a bit better. But the newer ones that Jarred has look to be significantly better lights.

significant doesnt even start.. these are very nice lights, better then Arri barndoors, and are focusable.. The best thing that I was originally concerned about was the composite frame, but was happy when the lights cooled down very quickly after shutdown.

I've had a chance to use the Briteks more extensively, and even bought a couple of the 250's.

These lights are, in my limited experience with both, a much better deal than the JTL Everlights.

The Briteks are a better design. They're an open-face unit which is focusable, they don't get hot (or at least they cool down quickly), and the barn doors that come with them are just excellent. They're perfectly usable as standalone pseudo-fresnels, which is something the JTL's can't do (you have to buy barn doors and "reflector" assemblies separately for the JTL's.)

When using the softbox, the Britek softbox is a better design: it's larger (32 x 32 instead of 24 x 24, so you get almost twice as much surface area for much softer light!) There are also no light-leaking "cooling flaps" on the Britek boxes.

I used to think the JTL Everlights were the best bang for the buck, but the Briteks (in my opinion, having used both) are a much better design, for about the same price, and more usable. Make sure you get the new design, the ones with the focusable lens.

I said I would come back and let you guys know how my Britek light kit worked out.

First, I purchased them from Rostronics.com and had an excellent experience. Tom there was very helpful and willing to put together any kit you might want.

Because I purchased two 600W lamps w/ barn doors and soft box, I will compare to the Lowell Omni.

The negatives first:
-The light head does not fit well on the stand. It shakes a little bit. No big deal.
-The lamp doesn't quite tighten enough to keep it from tilting down at times.
-Not nearly as light and portable as the Lowell Omni.

The positives next:
-The barn doors are fantastic. Very well made, light, and durable. They blow away the Lowell Omni barn doors.
-The soft box, as well, is very well constructed.
-There is room for scrims.
-The floot and spot mechanism is superior to the Lowell Omni light.


Perhaps, I should be comparing to an Arrilite because it is shaped and works more like the arrilite than the Omni.

If you are going to keep this light in a studio, it's great.

If you are going to be taking this out on interviews, as I am, there are some compromises. It's not as light as the Omni or Rifa Lite, and it doesn't set up as quickly as the Rifa, but it's much less expensive than either a Rifa or an Omni with a soft box.

I'm very pleased.

Thanks for the review Bryan.
That's very helpful.

For anyone else who might be interested, we've got one of the new 250watt Britek's coming our way this week.

Once we get to play around with it, I'll come back and add my impressions of that model.

-Luis

I've got a couple of the 250's. The most directly comparable light to them would be probably the Lowel Pro-Lite.

Both are small, 250-watt fixtures, with barn doors and focusable assemblies that simulate, but are not, fresnels.

The Pro-Light is much smaller and puts out a more intense beam. The Britek is bigger, but has several advantages: it's got real barn doors (including nifty gel clips), it puts out a softer beam, it has a frame that would accomodate scrims, it doesn't get hot, and it costs half as much.

Very impressive light for the money, because the money is not a lot at all -- $76 (after dvxuser discount) for a focusable 250-watt light fixture, with lamp and barn doors.

Nobody should ever use a "worklight" again, now that these Briteks are here -- they're infinitely better than worklights, and amazingly inexpensive.

<<<-- Originally posted by Bryan Litt :
-The light head does not fit well on the stand. It shakes a little bit. No big deal.
-The lamp doesn't quite tighten enough to keep it from tilting down at times.-->>>

Bryan,
When you bought these, did you order the stands as well, or are you using your own stands from another source? I'm wondering if the problem is the head or the stand.

I mounted the 250 on a standard c-stand and it fit just fine...

Jack,

I bought the Britek light stands.

Well, I guess you should check the size of the stud on the stand. Maybe it's not the 5/8" stud. Some stands come with a reversible stud - 3/8" on one end and 5/8" on the other. You just take it out and flip it over. If it's 3/8" only, you could send the stands back (after notifying everyone here, of course), or you could try a layer of electricians' tape to the stud. Pain in the a** either way.

<<<-- Originally posted by Barry Green : I mounted the 250 on a standard c-stand and it fit just fine... -->>>

What exactly is a C-Stand???? I know what a C-clamp is, but a C-Stand?


Greg

The best-designed light stand in the world.

Also called a Century stand ("C" stand is short for "Century" stand).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=5802

Thanks Barry.

To my untrained eyes it appears to be a typical telescoping light stand with three legs and large handles at the leg junctions. The next time I need a light stand I'll order one of these and see what other differences abound.

Greg

Incredibly usefull on a shoot. Not only will they hold lights, with the grip head, they hold flags, scrims, bounce cards, microphone booms, backdrops. The legs fold flat, and because they are staggered, they allow you to set several stands right next to each other, with their legs overlapping. Very handy when you set a ligh, and need flags or cookies. Nothing beats them.

<<<-- Originally posted by Greg Matty : Thanks Barry.

To my untrained eyes it appears to be a typical telescoping light stand with three legs and large handles at the leg junctions. The next time I need a light stand I'll order one of these and see what other differences abound.

Greg -->>>

Well, as Richard points out, nothing does beat them, but you will pay a premium for one, which you may have already noticed if you visited B&H via Barry's link.

They are not fold-up like a regular stand - you have to put them together and take them apart when you're finished, but they are very rugged.

I posted earlier that I had a minor problem with the head being loose on one of the stands. It was actually the stud itself which was loose and could not be tightened.

I called Tom at Rostronics and he said no problem. He shipped me out a replacement stand and I'll ship this one back.

So I'm not only happy with the light kit, but the service has corrected the one minor fault in the kit and put a smile back on my face.

A c-stand without the attendant grip arm and head is a sad and lonely thing... not much more than a glorified light stand. But add the arm & head and it becomes an amazing multifunctional tool.


? The legs fold flat, the arm collapses down... there's nothing that needs to be assembled or disassembled. What do you mean?

Okay, I have now had the 250 watt Britek in my possession for
about 15 minutes. Here are my first thoughts:

The head looks to be a solid, well contructed piece of gear.
It gives a nice, even beam.

The flood to spot focus is not as drastic as I would have liked, but
given the price, this looks like a great little light.

As others have already mentioned, the barn doors are very nice.
The only problem I see with them is that there is a bit of light leak
from the sides. Then again, that's probably only because there is
a tray for scrims, which is a plus. So I can live with a little light
leak (that's what blackwrap is for anyhow, right?).

The only complaint I would have on the contruction is the joint
connecting the light to the stand. It is a 'vice' type connection
(not sure exactly how to describe it). When you loosen the knob,
it opens up the joint, then you tighten it around the stud on the
stand. The only problem with this is that you have to loosen that
same knob to adjust the angle of the light. So if you loosen it a
little to angle the light, it loosens the grip on the stand. Not too
big of a deal, and it does not seem to be in any danger of falling,
just something I thought was worth pointing out.

Also, the power cable is hardwired into the back of the light.
It would be nice to have a removable cable. But that's just a
personal preference, and really not a big deal at all.

Overall, I have to say I was very impressed with the construction
of this light, and I was already expecting quite a bit after reading
the reviews on here. It feels solid, gives off a nice light, and
offers decent control with the well constructed barn doors.

My first impression is that for the money, these lights are more
than worth it. I'm looking forward to checking out the 600w
model.

-Luis

I just used my 250's on a 5-hour shoot yesterday. At strike, I was able to turn the light off AND HAND-HOLD IT. It was quite warm, yes, but not so hot that you couldn't actually hold the thing in your hand! Try that with a regular fresnel and you'll melt your flesh off. Amazing. No more waiting a half-hour for lights to cool off!

I think I'll order a couple of the 600's as well. These lights have proven to be quite impressive for the price. They're not Arri Fresnels, but then again the 250's are $76! (after using the "dvxuser" discount at Rostronics.com).

"These lights have proven to be quite impressive for the price"

I completely agree Barry, and apparently so do a lot of other people.

Rostronics is currently sold out of the 250's, and unsure when they will receive another shipment.
I guess the word is spreading.

Thanks for the info on these lights. I already have a good compliment of lights, but if something goes down, I'll consider Briteks.

Scott

Hey Scott,

I think these Briteks are good enough that you might want to consider revising your low-budget lighting article to at least advise people that if they have a little bit to spend, they'll get a whole lot more usability out of the Briteks than they would from worklights.

They're not gold, they're not Mole or Arri Fresnels, but they do work and they're surprisingly inexpensive.

I just got mine. I picked up a 1k and a 600w. I couldn't be happier with the contruction. The best part is not burning yourself when you touch the damn things.

This is truly the market responding to consumer demand.

The price tells me that the cost of the composite body is very inexpensive, yet, as everyone has said, completely impressive.

I have nothing more to add to the positive statements about the actual engineering and performance of the light.

What I do have to say is that there is no reason that anyone of us out here can't pick up a decent DV camera (XL1/XL2/DVX100), but several of these britek lights and go shoot a movie.

Subtracting some obvious production costs, this new product has lowered the bar we have to clear to go out and make a solid piece of work with very little money.

And damn, that's cool....

I agree with Barry's request to revise the low budget lighting guide. If you're going to go spend 30-60 bucks on worklites, stop, skip the next six pack and buy a 250. Or better yet figure out a way to scratch up another 100 bucks and for about 160-200 you can trick out that 600w light, with a soft box and a stand.

Just one GOOD light for a key seems to produce great results, even if you have to use a chincy bulb and relfector to do highlights or fills.

Brian is right that the Briteks are clones of Arrai and look and act similarly. But Britek makes several different models and only one is focusable like Arrai. The others look like square shop lights. The Brifocus model is the clone. and comes in 500, 1000 and and 2000 watt versions all of which have barndoors and gel holders available. The 500 and 1000 watt lights also have softboxes fit to them.

The G-2000 & G-3000 heads are focusable and come with barndoors, but no gel holder, however I use an NRG 12x12 gel holder in front of mine. These might be called clones of the Lowel ProLight and I find the G-3000 (300W) especially useful.

The 250, 600, 1000 & 2000 Studio Lights are also focusable, with barndoors and they do include a gel holder. I don't particularly see the similarity to Arri.