CowboyStudio Single Flash Shoe Swivel Bracket Kit with 1 Mounting Bracket, 1 Umbrella, and 1 Stand Stand

I know, I know... they CowBoyStudio products are cheap and you get what you pay for...First of all, here's why I had to return the last two I received:1. The first return was because the box the product was packaged in - not the outer box Amazon shipped it in - was crushed. It actually looked like someone drove a car over the product box (the light pole in the box was crushed and bent), and then the staff at the Amazon warehouse took this obviously damaged product, threw it in another box for shipping, and thought I'd be OK with that. Wrong.2. So I opted to have a replacement sent for the one above. This one had a manufacturer's defect - so not an Amazon issue. The mounting bracket has 5 adjustment knobs, and one - the brass one - is used to secure the umbrella's shaft in the bracket. Unfortunately, the threaded hole for the brass screw was either stripped or drilled and tapped poorly by the manufacturer, as the brass screw instead of screwing in and out of the threaded hole, simply slid in and out of the threaded hole. Obviously a quality control issue on the manufacturer's part. Returned and waiting for a replacement with crossed fingers.The down and dirty on this kit...Its cheap, and it can work if you're willing to spend some time on it and about $10.00 in supplies to beef it up.The problems:LIGHT STAND: Its an "aluminum alloy," hollow, three section pole with a maximum height of 6' 7" when fully extended. It folds down to 28" long - so its not exactly compact. It is lightweight though, coming in at 1.69 lbs. but is that too light? Considering my flash weighs 1.04 lbs., the mounting bracket weighs 0.344 lbs, and the umbrella weighs 0.32 lbs. for a total of 1.7 lbs, it becomes top-heavy very quickly. Add a battery pack or flash trigger remote to it and it only becomes worse. The quick release levers for the sections and the point at which all the legs attach to the center pole are made out of plastic.MOUNTING BRACKET: It appears to be cast aluminum alloy, as the drilling I have done on mine was like cutting butter with a hot knife. The bracket has threes sections: the lower receptor for the light pole; which articulates (by the means of a plastic screw knob) to the middle section which has a through & through hole for the umbrella shaft and a receiver on the top; for the top section which is the flash mount. The big problem is the shaft of the umbrella is nearly a third SMALLER in diameter than the diameter of the hole in the bracket that receives the umbrella shaft. The umbrella never seems to be set well in the bracket, and because of the looseness caused by the oversized hole, the umbrella droops downward in the bracket. While I consider this bracket better than the other plastic brackets offered by CowboyStudio, the tolerances for the holes and the four finger/hand screws leaves a lot to be desired.UMBRELLA: Flimsy at best, it's eventually going to bend or break, but it works - kind of. As mentioned in the MOUNTING BRACKET description, the diameter of the hole in the bracket is much larger than the diameter of the umbrella shaft. Therefore, there's a pretty good chance that you will over-tighten the screw to keep the umbrella shaft in place and secure. If the umbrella shaft was a solid rod, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but because the shaft is hollow, over-tightening will quickly dent, bend or break the shaft of the umbrella. (Don't let the pictures fool you like it did me - there's a plug in the end of the shaft which makes it look solid.)My results:When I get a kit like this from CowboyStudio that has gone through GOOD quality control, I consider it a project in the works.By reading a lot of other posts and inventing a few things on my own, I have been able to make the stand 200% sturdier; the umbrella more durable, and the bracket adapt the umbrella shaft properly. All for about $10.00 and a trip to my local home improvement store.So for a total of about $46.00 (Amazon cost and my supplies) and some elbow grease, I have found a way to end up with a pretty darn good set-up.

I consider myself a fairly competent photographer. I haven't used lighting extensively, but have been to several studio shoots which provide very expensive equipment, and I've rented very expensive equipment for my own uses. I wanted to buy an inexpensive portable light kit to carry around with me which I wasn't worried about banging up or breaking. I didn't have much faith in this set for the price, but the other reviews looked good so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm pleasantly surprised. Here are my thoughts:Umbrellas:Pros:They have solid shafts, not hollow ones. So, if you accidentally close your clamp down too tight, it's ok, you aren't going to mash these up.The umbrellas have plastic tips, not razor sharp poke your eye out metals ones like others I have seen.Cons:You get one shoot through umbrella, and one silver reflective umbrella. I would have preferred to have two shoot through umbrellas with silver/black covers you could put over them to make them reflective. This would have allowed a little more flexibility.Light stands:Pros: nothing really stands out... it's just a generic light standCons: A bit lightweight, won't stand up to a gust of wind. Good for indoor, not outdoor. Also, slightly difficult to get them opened up from the fully closed position.Flash/umbrella holder head:Pros: All metal, seems fairly solid. Spring loaded adjustment for the tilt works well.Cons: Not as heavy duty as others I've seen, but great for the price.Carry case:Pros: Small, fits everything perfectly, has a side zipper for putting in the heads and other various stuff.Cons: The zippers on the bag. This is the one thing which prevents me from giving this a 5 star rating. The first time I closed the zippers on the top, they unzipped right off the plastic zipper teeth. Very disappointing. I returned the item to Amazon for a replacement, and the new one which came had the exact same problem. After examining it a bit, it seems the zipper is not sewn closed at the ends, so there is no stopping point to prevent it from coming off. Before using the 2nd one, I used a needle and thread to sew it shut and try to prevent this. I don't know how well it will hold up. But, for the price, it could come without the case and still be an excellent value.

easy to use and to put my flash on it for the price i love it it works great for photography