ePhoto Double Off Camera Flash Photo Studio Photography Flash Shoe Mount Swivel Bracket Umbrellas Stands 2 Stands, 2 Flash Mount Bracket, 2 Shoot Through Umbrellas, 2 Reflective Umbrellas UB4

Pros:2 stands, 2 brackets, 4 33" umbrellas at a very good price.Stands are very quick and smooth to operate.Everything to put two flashes up in the air and shoot them off or through umbrellasCons:The bag makes no sense. It is too big, opens at one end so that you'd have to reach way down to get to the stuff, and is not padded at all. (and no pockets for the brackets, so if you take them off the stands, prepare for them to go to the far end of the bag.The umbrellas are big, but cheaply made.All the fittings are plastic, which won't stand up to ANY hard use.(The winghead bolt that holds the swivel bracket onto the top of the stand is made completely from plastic. Don't twist when angry!) I'm going to say this kit is priced right for what's included. If it's what you need it's 4 stars. If you've got other similar equipment, you may be dissapointed. I previously bought a Britek studio kit that came with two strobes, two stands, and two silver umbrellas. That kit has nearly Identical, seemingly tougher stands and smaller, higher quality umbrellas. The umbrellas in the Britek kit have a solid center shaft and very thick material. They also have velcro wrap-up straps and polyester sleeves for storage. The umbrellas in this kit have no straps, and are in plastic sleeves that won't last long. I am mentioning the Britek kit because It's only $130 and it comes with two A/C powered monolights. Since I have a total of 5 strobes in my collection, and I desperately needed cold-shoe stands and shoot-through umbrellas, I'm happy. I just wanted to do a 3 star review, to say that I could have bought swivel brackets and umbrellas to mount on my other stands, and saved money. If this kit came with 2 high quality umbrellas, and better luggage, It would be a better-spent $75 in the long run. But maybe there is no "long run" for a $75 kit. We'll see. I'll update this review.

This set is a great starter for the beginner speedlighter, the value is very good, the quality so-so and the speed of delivery great. On the quality: a look at the price will tell you that it's not going to be the heaviest vanadium/chrome stainless steel BUT it certainly will hold the umbrellas and fairly heavy flashes (my heavy Vivitar 283s and 285.) The reflecting silver umbrellas are heavy duty - solid core rod and nice material, but the white shoot through umbrellas are not so great.They are not like the silver reflectors and are hollow cored, like an umbrella with the handle taken off. I've already dented one of the handles on the white umbrellas (over-tightening the screw) so I recommend you find a small solid rod to glue in - even if you dent it a bit, it will still be usable. Also, because of the open ended hollow support for the white umbrella I have a nice dime sized scar on my right ring-finger, they can cut a very nasty hole in you. I'm to blame for the hole, yes BUT if they were already solid, like the reflectors, it would have been a bruise and not a cut.The stands are not very heavy (I'll need some sandbags I'm sure) but unless you have flashes heavier than my 285, that makes no difference. I like the adapters for holding the flash and umbrella to the stand, I do wish that the clamp screw was a rounded washer not a straight in screw. The stand bag is nice sized (I can add 2 of my light tripods to it and there's still room for more) and my wife says the cats love it. :)At the heart of it, this is an inexpensive start towards portrait and product lighting that your significant other really can't complain about .. the value is too good. Would have gotten 5 stars but the hollow white umbrellas and scar on my hand say no.

This is definitely a good kit for the price ($75 at the time I purchased it). As a whole, it worked well for lighting a large group portrait, and the light stands themselves are useful for positioning flashes above eye level.The matter of "for the price": The kit should hold up well enough for light to medium usage, but obviously more money would buy sturdier construction. The flip locks on the stand and the swivel brackets are plastic, so I wonder about long-term wear. The stands have only the barest of little rubber feet; larger bumpers would be better for stability and to reduce the chance that the stands will cut into the floor (though if there were bigger feet the legs wouldn't fold up into the stands in the way that they do now). The umbrellas and swivel brackets are secured with screws; I noticed that it only took moderate tightening for those screws to leave small indentations in the umbrella shafts and in the metal caps at the top of the light stands. The rails at the tops of the swivel brackets are metal, which could result in accidental triggering if a flash is placed directly into it; I was using radio triggers with cold shoes so it wasn't a problem in my case.All in all though, as shipped, nothing was loose or damaged.The white umbrellas worked well at normal room distance; the silvered ones absorbed a considerable amount of light and would have to be quite close to the subject to be effective.As with any light stand, I'd definitely recommend placing sandbags or other similar weight at the bottom if the stand is raised to its full height, they do become top-heavy when loaded.