Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC)

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I purchased a 2 light flash kit and they are working wonderful in my photo booth setup. I am taking about 3000 photos a week per photo booth and they are excellent. How long do the bulbs last?

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I've used the lights twice so far, both for head shot business portraits. They give nice even lighting. They are of better quality than I expected. They seem pretty sturdy. I like the digital readout on the back. I don't like the loud beep when I'm changing the settings. It is SO loud. There's no way to turn that part off.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

Easy set up and provided perfect lighting for my needs. I do a few senior portraits and engagement shots

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

For doing portraits, these lights are brilliant! I grabbed them for closer shooting, not to fill rooms or anything. So for the loot, def worth it! Soft rubber outside makes me a lot less nervous than the hard plastic that with every "clank" makes me worried something broke. Well made, and in the market for more lights!

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I got a kit with two of these lights; the upper and lower power settings are pretty even but at 1/2 and 1/4 power settings they differ. That's pretty minor really. Also I have the 24 x 32 inch softboxes and in close to the subject at low power I can't shoot wider than f/4 at iso 100, at full power I get f/11 at iso 100 at roughly 2 feet. I read so much about needing more power but in the spare bedroom I use, 160ws is more than enough.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

If you're reading this, you likely are, like I was,looking for the best possible light kit for the price without needing to do any real heavy lifting. These lights are perfect for the pro-sumer to new professional photographer looking to get comfortable with monolights before dropping serious money on a much more powerful set. This kit (includes lights, stands, softbox, etc.) for only a few hundred dollars has really met and exceeded my expectations.

The feel and build quality is much better than I thought to expect. These lights don't look like cheap fixes to clients and other industry folk with be impressed (or at least amused) with the quality of light for only 160W/S.

I recently took (just one) to a wedding reception for a little boost during the dancing. With a ten foot stand, a shoot through umbrella, and one light at 1/2 power, I was able to add just enough to get some really nice shots without overpowering the ambient light.

The optical slave works very well. Using the on camera flash from 20' away (pointing the opposite direction, no less) still fires these lights. P.S. - what a great way to mess with Uncle Bob's lighting! Wasn't deliberate, but still made me laugh. hahaha

I'd only raise three issues for the next generation:
It always, ALWAYS, beeps. You can lower the volume, but it will always beep.
There's no umbrella pass through on reflectors. I think only Alien Bees offers this as a standard feature, but it's real easy to become accustomed to the convenience.
The accessory mount a little weak & rattles some. This doesn't affect the light while shooting, but doesn't really inspire confidence, either.

All in all, for my first set of studio lights, these are great. You'll love them.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I consider myself semi-pro. I mostly concentrate on nature photography. But recently I have had many people ask me to break out into Individual and family portraits and child sport shots. I really don't want to invest in a studio set up at this time. What I needed was a "studio in a bag". The Digital Monolight 160W/s by Impact is a great entry level set up. I fine the lights recharge very fast, the light is more then sufficient at this stage of my entrance into portrait photography. I also purchased the Light Kit Bag - 34x13.5x8" by Impact to carry all my lighting gear and my background set up's. Again I was very pleased. I would highly recommend both items for the entrance level photographer.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I love this product. It works perfect in my studio and my photos are better than ever! Highly recommended! (Get the soft box too!)

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

This is a great light for outside shoots and inside as well. I recommend this to everyone.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I got this as part of a starter light kit for my studio to do better studio work and it is great. done a few shoots with it so far and exceeds my expectations every time.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

1. My Monolight is use in a Photography Studio for Portrait
2. The Monolight give god light i have made som Photos wet it and i am Happy
3. i hav en descover nothing bad yet

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I bought these lights knowing that they were built for photography but not realizing that they weren't bright without the flash. This was mostly my fault for not researching but i was still disappointed

Even if I had bought them for what they were made for I still wouldn't give them a high rating. The loud beeping sound grates on the ears every time you hit a button and becomes very annoying very fast. The softboxes were difficult to set up and attach but that's just the nature of softboxes so I wouldn't say they're below normal.

If you don't care about the problems above mentioned I would say you should buy them. I'm not a photographer but they seem very good for that use. Easy to use, sturdy, with everything you need in the box

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

Very easy to use and very affortable.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

For the price this thing works great. Simple and efficient. In the past I have used professional grade equipment by Norman and for a small to medium sized studio these work perfectly. If you're thinking of buying them, do so, you won't be disappointed.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

This is the best photography investment I have made. I know these are entry level, but compared to what I had before, they make my work much easier. I have more control than I know what to do with.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

I use these in my small home studio. The soft box it comes with is a bit hard to put together (no instructions), but it works great. For the price I can't believe the great photos I've captured.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

These were just what I needed to upgrade from my very basic studio setup and they're great for the price!

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

Pros:
Inexpensive to get started in learning about studio lighting
Replacement flashtubes are fairly inexpensive
The modelling lamp socket is a standard household style
Flash accepts Bowens style accessories (softboxes, different reflectors etc)

Maybe a Con in the long term:
The little lever that holds the accessories (reflector, speedring etc) locked on to the light SEEMS rather flimsy. I can see that breaking with a lot of use.

Cons:
Everytime you press a button, it beeps VERY LOUDLY. This should be either off or selectable perhaps using a button combination.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

The light works great. The digital display and buttons makes it quick to adjust. You cannot fully turn off the annoying beep sound. It is very annoying for it to beep each time you adjust the light intensity.

Comments about Impact Digital Monolight 160W/s (120VAC):

Like effect of the light that I'm able to get out of it.