CowboyStudio 1200W Umbrella Kit and Brolly Box [Photo/Video Lighting]

This is an unboxing, setup, and review of the CowboyStudio 1200 Watt Continuous Light Umbrella Kit and a bonus unboxing and setup of a 40" brolly box.

Often, what separates a good-looking video from a bad one is lighting, so separate yourself from the pack with this affordable and effective lighting kit, designed from the ground up for videographers in mind.

Though 1200 Watts may seem like overkill, when it comes to reducing grain, motion blur, or increasing depth of field, more light is essential! Many Youtubers and indie filmmakers use the halogen work lights, but they're WAY too hot! This kit from CowboyStudio uses CFL (compact fluorescent lights) bulbs to keep things cool, bright, and energy efficient! Just for fun, Ray compares 120 Watts to the 1200 Watt kit!

Umbrella kits are great for soft, wide light, but you can also semi-collapse the umbrella for a more directional light. Just be sure to hold it in place with some tape or a clothespin.

Having trouble choosing between getting umbrellas or softboxes? Brolly boxes make the choice easy! They connect just like regular umbrellas, but they are enclosed like softboxes.

The CowboyStudio 1200 Watt Continuous Light Umbrella Kit ($110):
* Four 85 Watt, 5500 Kelvin (daylight balanced) CFL bulbs
* Two 33" black and white umbrellas
* Two double headed sockets with umbrella holders
* Two 7' light stands
* padded carrying case
http://www.amazon.com/Cowboystudio-Photography-Continuous-Reflective-Umbrella...
http://www.buy.com/pr/product.aspx?sku=216727528

The 40" brolly box ($16).
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-40-Reflector-Photography-Studio/dp/B002GDL...

If the kit is out of stock, get the following ($150):
* Two CowboyStudio 7ft light stands ($25)
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-Photography-Light-Stands-Cases/dp/B001WB02Z4/
* Two Kaezi dual-head sockets with umbrella holders ($35)
http://www.amazon.com/KAEZI-STUDIO-HOLDER-Umbrella-Bracket/dp/B00456EGFA/
* Four Kaezi 85W CFL ($60)
http://www.amazon.com/KAEZI-Watt-Studio-Light-5500K/dp/B004L87ZKK/
* Two 40in bolly boxes ($30)
http://www.amazon.com/CowboyStudio-40-Reflector-Photography-Studio/dp/B002GDL...

This was filmed using the Canon EOS Rebel T3i (600D) and put together in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

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[boop82682]

What settings should we use on the dslr's to get rid of the cool tone? The bluish background/faces og subjects? I just got a kit I set my dslr to the fluoresent setting but the background looks blue and the subject looks slightly greenish. Requiring lots of post capture processing/editing...too time consuming! I have a "fluoresent filter" but then my subject looks purple. HELP! LOL

[8bitdigitaltv]

@boop82682 These are daylight-balanced, so Daylight. Since different lights have different color temperatures and different cameras have different ideas of what those temperatures should be, the best thing to do is to use something white to set a custom white balance.

[boop82682]

@8bitdigitaltv TY! That was going to be my next set of options to mess with!

[8bitdigitaltv]

@boop82682 No problem! Hope it works out well for you!

[8bitdigitaltv]

@mikeperaltamusic Never tried 4 CFLs in a brolly, but they do focus the light more than umbrellas do. You could try silver-lined umbrellas if the white ones aren't pushing enough light. You also might want to bring them in closer to the subject.

[mikeperaltamusic]

@8bitdigitaltv For sure man, you've helped a lot. I'm about to buy 2 brollys and a couple extra 85W cfls right now. Have you tested 4 CFLs per prolly yet? Right now I use four 85W cfls in an open umbrella and the light is way way low. I had to use ISO 3200 on f/5 and I'm hoping the boost the brollys give will help (less light spill to room, more to subject)

[8bitdigitaltv]

@mikeperaltamusic Sahweet! Glad it was helpful to you! We haven't had any problems with it heat-wise.

[mikeperaltamusic]

Dude this was great. So clear and well put together. I came here searching for an answer to my noob question of "do brollys catch on fire with continuous CFLs" and I think I found it. You basically just saved me $300

[8bitdigitaltv]

@pepsundar It all depends on what you want or are doing. For me, I really wanted diversity. I bought this umbrella kit (plus the brolly box) for about $135, parabolic kit for $90, barn door kit for $40, a 16000 lumen bulb for $20, and a 43" 5-in-1 reflector for about $15. I'll have soft light, hard light, and color gels all for about $300. If you don't need that much diversity, you could get a different kit, but I feel like I've got my bases covered with the way I went.

[pepsundar]

Informative and simple-to-understand video (with no commercials! lol) -thanks. I just bought a nikon d5100 and am planning to have a small studio set up in my basement. I am yet to buy an external flash. This kit (CowboyStudio 1200) sounds interesting for a start up. But are there any better ones that you would recommend (I can probably spend about $250) for a similar set up? Thanks.