PhotoSEL LS21E52 Professional Softbox Studio Lighting Kit with 2x85w 5000lm 5400K 90+ CRI Bulbs, 40x60cm Softboxes, 80-185cm Light Stands

Nutshell version: good product and fairly good value for money.

I bought this light stand set for two reasons: portrait photographs, and creating even lighting for a green screen background.

What's in the box:
- Two Photosel light stands,
- Two photographic white daylight bulbs,
- Two light heads with on/off switches and UK 3-pin plugs,
- Two 40x60cm soft boxes (silver inner, black outer),
- Two inner diffuser sheets,
- Two outer diffuser sheets,
- Eight metal support rods,
- Carrying bag.

The light stands are fairly lightweight but totally adequate for supporting the heads and softboxes. The softboxes themselves are very well made, and the only let down is that the light heads are made of a cheap plastic which feels like it is going to break in your hands.

One nice surprise is that the light heads include a slot for a photographic umbrella, so you can add those to your lighting arrangements without having to buy anything else.

The bag supplied is a bit dubious. It is about 5' long with a zip at only one end, so it can be difficult to actually get the kit into the bag and there is no arrangement I can find that does not result in masses of unused space. Coupled with the fact that the carrying strap is utterly useless, this makes the bag a bit of a white elephant. Sure it will keep everything together and clean when it's in your car, but you won't be dancing for joy about how neat and portable your lighting kit is.

The bulbs on the other hand are absolutely smashing - in the 'great' sense, not the damaged sense. The light is clean, strong, even, and super-pure looking, and the softboxes perform admirably with these bulbs. Each CFL bulb comes in polystyrene packaging surrounded by a cardboard sleeve, so keep this and use it to protect the bulbs during transit and storage.

I would say that this set is just at the edge of costing too much for the quality of the product, but having said that the kit is basically "what you need" at a reasonable price. Putting together the same setup by sourcing the individual bits elsewhere is likely to cost more with variable results.

If you want to light photos at home, you're just starting out with studio photography (and perhaps don't want to plough too much money into it just in case it turns out you are rubbish), or you want some cheap lighting for film/DV, then buy these. If you're in the market for a kit comprising more robust products then you are probably going to need to spend a bit more money.

For me, this kit ticks all the boxes. So it's five stars! I am not docking Photosel a star just for that stupid bag. It is after all included as a courtesy.

Photosel point to a Youtube video which shows how to assemble this kit. Unfortunately it is terrible, so I have made my own which is a much easier-to-follow guide (according to the many people who have found it, not just me!) Unfortunately it's longer than the 10 minute limit on Amazon but if you Google "youtube assembling photosel" it will be the top result.

I've used these lights on a couple of shoots now. They are extremely good value, but they are limited. You're not going illuminate much more than upper body and head for portraits, so if that's all you want, or product shots etc. these should really suit you well. If you want to shoot someone standing, and you want all of them in the shot, these light won't do it for you, so just make sure you buy them for what you want, and not for what you think they might do, especially if you're just starting out and think they'll be enough for all you want.

These lights arrived well packaged and come with a soft case, making it very easy to move to location shoots or simply for storage in the home. I bought them with PhotoSEL BK-13CB Black 100% Muslin Background 3x6m, PhotoSEL BK-13CW White 100% Muslin Background 3x6m and PhotoSEL BS-103 Professional Background Support 2.7, which together make an excellent budget studio kit.

The light stands are sturdy and strong enough, whilst not being too heavy and perfect for the job. However, the light heads themselves are made of a very cheap and I suspect, fragile, plastic. You really do have to be careful not to tighten the softbox mounting screws too tight, as I have no doubt the plastic will crack. That being said, so long as you handle them with care, you shouldn't have any trouble with them.

The quality of the light produced by this set is surprisingly good. When I assembled the first light, I wasn't expecting too much, but when I turned it on, it way exceeded my expectations. I did a shoot here in my home yesterday, using both lights and the white muslin background and got some very nice shots indeed.

As a photographer on a budget, these lights were a great buy and I'm extremely pleased with them. They are perfect for me to use either at home, or to take to an office for a corporate shot, for example.

If you're in the market for a home studio solution, I highly recommend this one.