KinoFlo or Rololight?

[jamie123]

I'm thinking about switching to continuous lights for some of my portrait work and my first thought was KinoFlos because I have a little experience with them. However, I also recently discovered Rololights which seem to be quite a bit cheaper than equally sized Kinos. It seems that the Kinos are more convenient and easier to set up while the Rololights are a lot more versatile.

Has anyone here tried both and preferred one over the other? As far as light quality is concerned, is there a significant difference? Can anyone tell me whether or not the Rololights are dimmable? I can't seem to find any information about this on their website?

Thanks!

 

[bradhusick]

I just got a Spiderlite 3-light kit and I love it. It's also much cheaper.

 

[RGoldman]

You my want to check this place out too. I have a couple of their fixtures and they are quite nice for the cost. http://www.coollights.biz/index.php

Ron

 

[Roderick Chen]

I am in the midst of purchasing some Kinos as well, and from the research that I have done with suppliers and studios, I will be purchasing the Kinos. I believe they will be a better investment in the long run and that they will retain more of their value in case you need to sell them in the future.

Cheers,

Roderick

I'm thinking about switching to continuous lights for some of my portrait work and my first thought was KinoFlos because I have a little experience with them. However, I also recently discovered Rololights which seem to be quite a bit cheaper than equally sized Kinos. It seems that the Kinos are more convenient and easier to set up while the Rololights are a lot more versatile.

Has anyone here tried both and preferred one over the other? As far as light quality is concerned, is there a significant difference? Can anyone tell me whether or not the Rololights are dimmable? I can't seem to find any information about this on their website?

Thanks!

 

[jamie123]

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys! I don't live in the US, though, and these brands are not available to me locally. I don't want to order such big items from overseas as the shipping and customs fees can get rather high.

Roderick, I'd be interested to hear what kind of different options you researched and what your thoughts were on them. Also, what's the photographic field you intend to use the Kinos for?

If I'd buy Rololights I'd probably equip them with KinoFlo tubes but I'm still not quite sure. The difference in price between the two is quite significant where I live. A 4 tube Kino is about $2k+ while a 4 tube Rolo is only $1k.