LINCO Lincostore Photo Video Studio Light Kit AM169 - Including 3 Color Backdrops (Black/White/Green) Background Screen

This photo light kit arrived on time, with everything listed on the inventory. I easily set up the light stand, attached a light, and opened all the umbrellas. I set up the backdrop stand and attached one crossbar. It was sturdy enough to stand unsupported.The lights do need to be set down completely on the top of the stand, and the equipment turns are plastic, so I was gentle with my turns and tightened slowly.It would be easy to overtighten and strip the threads.The stands are powder coated, so they don’t slip easily. Again, I went slowly. I didn’t force a single thing.The instructions show the muslin clamps as going completely around the bar but I found they attach in the middle. Once I test the hanging and function, if it’s an issue, I will update.The lightbulbs came packed in a separate box, inside the equipment box, inside the mailing box. The mailer was heavily damaged and opened when it arrived, but the equipment box was fine. Again, if anything isn’t functioning on test or use, I will update.I was able to easily - so easily- pack everything into the carry bag. I put the bars and stands down first, alternating ends like shoes in a box. Then put in the umbrellas, lights, clamps, and muslins on top.The bag isn’t flimsy; it feels like it will be durable for lightweight use with gentle handling.The only things I didn’t put into the bag were the lightbulbs. They will fit, I just prefer a separate padded container. I also will be adding some heat resistant gloves for handling the bulbs to avoid getting oils on the surface.I added a photo of the bulbs that came with it for reference.The muslins are lightweight synthetic blends. Once I have time to try them out with digital editing, I will add more info on performance.Overall, this kit is a great value and perfect for my purpose. I have a background in professional videography and this set is to help my kids practice and learn some basics of light theory and photography.It’s not as heavy as my old pro equipment - and I’m not taking it into journalistic endeavors, so it’s just right to have mild use.It can probably last awhile if treated with care every time.

Very good complete set for all sorts of purposes, and easy to assemble and disassemble when on the go.

I was finally ready to amp up my instructional video production capabilities, so I figured that a greenscreen backdrop with softboxes would be the next step. After comparing quite a few options, I chose this unit for the feature set, solid reviews, and the 5500K bulbs, which would give a bit brighter light that the LED bulbs in the cheaper AM243 package.I concur with most of the other reviews here -- the hardware is solid, and I never thought it would break or fall over. Assembly is easy and quick, and everything fits in the packing bag, as expected. The clips are the wrong size for going around the crossbar, as others have noted, but suitable if you are OK just clamping the backdrop pinched to the bar. As I'm using it for sitting behind my desk chair, I just use 1/2 the backdrop normally and fold it over the crossbar without any clips -- this is fine, too.When I started testing, the green backdrop was quite wrinkled, but I wanted to see how well it worked. The default chromakey on the software I use was set to 10% variance, and that was enough to eliminate the entire backdrop, wrinkles included! It'll look better once it is ironed, I suppose, but it is not critical for most greenscreen applications, and the extra lighting definitely helped give a better production quality to my recordings.I did run into one problem that I had not expected, though. After doing my first video tests and playing around with it, I finally sat down to do some new video recordings. When I went back to start applying some edits, I found a big issue -- my audio was humming loudly! I use a CAD U1 USB microphone, and it picked up a massive amount of buzz that was not there previously. After messing around with settings, software, and the like, I realized that the lights were also new, so I shut one off -- and the buzz lessened. Shutting of the other one eliminated the buzz, but now I was back in the dark. Yuck.I tried putting a power filter on the lamp cords, but no joy. Turns out that my initial idea to spend the extra money on the better bulbs in the AM169 Kit was my mistake here! I went to my local hardware store and picked up two 100W, 5000K Philips "No Hum" LED bulbs, dropped them in, and it has taken care of the problem entirely. Had I known, though, I would have saved 10% and bought the AM243 package instead.Takeaway: This unit is well worth the price, and it works great for photography and computer recordings alike. However, if you expect to use a sensitive electronic computer microphone with it, you'd best stick with a package using LED bulbs.

This kit is incredibly portable, thanks to the convenient storage bag. The backdrops do wrinkle easily, so be sure to steam them before use. The light’s brightness is spot-on, and the overall quality is excellent. All the tripods are sturdy and reliable. It’s a great starter kit for photography! Just a heads-up: the backdrop clamps aren’t very sturdy, so handle them with care.

This was great purchase for the money. Easy set up instructions and great quality. I did have a problem with one of the bulbs being broken when I received it and I emailed Linco and they sent me a new bulb so I did not have to repack up the whole thing and return for a new one! Great customer service!

Everything works but a lightbulb was broken upon arrival and a stand or two have dings and scuffs

This was a great set up for the price. We’ve used it for multiple photo shoots. We’re not professionals in the field but just needed decent product photos. This did the trick! We had significant natural lighting in our “studio” so the lighting wasn’t as necessary but we definitely did use them!