Impact Two Monolight Kit without Bag (120VAC)

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I like everything except unswitchable charge-ready BEEP sound.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I purchased this setup from B&H a year ago, and use it to shoot portraits for my part-time photography business. While it certainly could be higher quality, I have NO real complaints considering the price. It has been set up and torn down about 20 times, including to client homes. The light stands are much higher quality than I expected. Power more than sufficient for portraits of 1-2 people. Lightboxes are not easy to put together, and probably would not take repeated setup/teardown. I have chosen to keep them assembled for that reason.

Best features: low cost, infinitely variable power, reliable firing, overall value.
Cons: small lightboxes, loud beep can't be turned off, zipper on padded case failed quickly, reflectors can be a challenge to lock on. Note that these would be major complaints on a more expensive kit, but I can live with them for the cost of this item.

If I had to make this decision again I would not hesitate to purchase this product again.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

i bougth this kit but the monoligths doesnt sync anymore! the one that is with the cable is fine it shoots, but not the other one.[...]

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

How can you go wrong? I had one for sometime now and bought another unit for a different application. The first unit I've had for about one year and used it on many occasions with success. For the money I can't see how you could go wrong. Considering an SB-900 is almost $500.00! I know, apples and oranges. I like it.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I purchased this kit for my studio and they seemed to work great, but one light broke within a year. I purchased the exact same kit and both lights broke within one month!! Should have learned my lesson. I would not recommend this product.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

This was my first set of strobes. You get everything needed to start. Connect one strobe with the supplied sync cable (comes with two) and the second strobe fires wirelessly. Great Set!!

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I use them at home or take it to people's home to shoot portraits. They are only 100 Watt each but I never use max power. I sometimes use one light and reflector and the other light as a background light. Instructions are poor. Building softbox is easy once you figure out how to do it. Carrying case doesn't have puddings but if you treat it with care, you should have no problem. They miss fire once in a while but over all they are way better quality than that I thought. Very great value for the money I spent.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

This is my first light kit and I have to say I'm very pleased with it. My only complaint was that it didn't come with instructions for assembling the softboxes, but it only took me about 5 minutes to figure it out and put them together. For the price, you can't go wrong,

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I was hired to shoot 20 people, over 600 shots each. These units worked perfectly... I even had bought an additional set as "back-up", totally expecting at least one of the units to fail. I can't believe the reliability for the price! They never failed once. Subjects were on 107" white seamless paper, I had a flash on each side, high and 45 degrees (typical). Power was set to about 1/3 power with the diffuser. Lighting was incredibly even, consistent and perfectly exposed from shot to shot. For the price, actually, for any price, these are amazing units. Light, compact and quick to set up. Yes... the instructions are the worse, but you easily figure it out. Great buy!!!

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

So far I have loved this kit for my uses. I use it in a small home studio and have had no issue with the low power. If your shooting in a small low light room they are fine. I can shoot with the blinds on the windows closed and have plenty of power. I have not needed to go above half power with any of my shoots thus far. The accessories it comes with are nice. One of my light stands is a bit sticky and hard to release. Make sure you tighten the non-adjustable end on each of the links on the light stands. One of mine was quiet loose. I do not care for the bag that came with them. But then again it does protect against them being bumped around alot. I wish it had foam inserts with cutouts for where to place everything but that is ok. It is basically just a large duffle bag with their logo. Also I don't like that I have to remove the modeling light everytime I want to install the bulb cover. Some people may leave the reflector in place for protection but I prefer the full cover just in case. I bought these to decide if I like studio strobes. You can't go wrong with the price. I use the popup flash to fire these. Just set the pop up to manual and the lowest power and it should not affect your exposure. I also use a speedlight for added light which is fired with an optical slave adapter you can pick up quiet cheap.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

The whole point of this kit is pretty clear: provide everything somebody needs to get some monolights in their studio/home studio/small location shoot.

A few negligible issues: the units emit a loud beep when they power up and are ready- this can not be disabled. For studio use this is fine but if you need to do a location shoot where noise may be an issue, not so good.

Another is to anyone unfamiliar with softboxes, the first attempts at setting one up can be a little discouraging. Impact really needs to include a guide for this in the kit. Even if B&H threw in a quick guide.

They're not overly powerful but coming from a hot-shoe strobist background I find these are more than enough.

Bottom line: Get these if you want to upgrade from shoe strobes. Great way to do so without spending too much money. They're more than enough to get a feel for monolights.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

This is a fantastic starter set. I normally shoot outdoors in natural light but wanted to get some extra lights (my speedlite doesn't do it for me)for work at client houses. This works great. Very easy to use. Granted the instructions are awful, but I was able to set it all up pretty quick. Definitely worth the money! Love that it is portable and easy to break down. If you are looking for something to travel with or just use part-time this is the set for you.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I'm using the setup for product shooting and it works just fine. It does what it is advertised to do and it does it well, especially for its price. I give this product a 4 Star rating only because the instruction manual is pretty sad. I can't speak about durability since I just received it. It seems to be put together pretty well though. The case is a plus, the stands seem to be good and it contains everything one needs to start right out of the box. All in all, I'm very happy with the purchase. One other thing, I am totally blown away by its power (and this is entry level unit). For product shooting I'm using the lowest power setting.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

This is a great portable lighting rig. I do a lot of on location shoots and I dont always need a huge amount of light to get "The Shot!" The On Board controls give me the flexibility to generate just the right amount of fill light when and where needed. You just have to keep in mind that it is a portable lighting kit and it is fragile or you will have to replace/repair Heads!

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

It's a great starter set! My office is my studio so I need lights I can easily push to the side or break down quickly. I love that it comes with the softboxes and umbrellas for the variety! it's a great set and I can't wait to take it out to weddings too!

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I wish I could give zero stars but that is not an option.

I've gone through 4 of these heads and everyone of them failed under light use. If you are actually going to use them, save your money and get something better.

Comments about Impact Two Monolight Kit - 200 Total Watt/Seconds (120VAC):

I have been using this kit to learn portrait lighting in a small household room/studio. They are not as powerful as others, but if they are used for individual portrait lighting they are an excellent "starter set" Some argue that you should buy a more expensive set since they will last forever, but at this price, for the non-professional, I think they are a great deal.