This Just In: The Neewer 300DI Strobe

     Today I received the Neewer 300DI Studio Lighting kit (link at bottom of page), and an additional strobe, in order to have four lights altogether. I ordered the kit from New Harbor, a company doing business on Amazon. Before ordering, I did as much research as possible. Finding only limited information about the kit itself, one well written blog posting on louish.com and the 15 or so reviews on Amazon, there wasn't a great deal to form an opinion, one way or the other.

     My instinct advised me to buy something more mainstream (alien bees, the adorama flashpoint series, etc), but the deal hunter in me won out so I placed the order. I love stumbling up on quality and cheap rolled into one package (the two are not mutually exclusive). Oh, and the comments section is open, but please refrain from just saying "chinese junk". Odds are, virtually 80% or more of the products in you home are made in China or contain a significant amount of "chinese junk".  Herein and in upcoming posts you will find facts, specs, and opinion intermingled with little regard. That's kind of how my brain works and that is how I type, as well.

Since I just received the kit via UPS today, my first post will be rather limited in scope. I will post more over the next few weeks as i develop opinions. (really now, you didn't think this would be unbiased, did you?)

Ordering, shipping, and receipt:

     I ordered through Amazon on November 10th, so no issues there. Amazon has this whole selling/ordering thing down pat. From there on out it was a bit of a mystery.
     I received an email from Amazon on the 14th stating: "Lucas J Parker trading on Amazon as New Harbor shipped the following (my order and order number)". Delivery estimate November 18th-December 6th via USPS.
    I had a missed  UPS delivery on my door the same day, requiring a signature, and the next day I was home when UPS ran and voila, it was the kit. The USPS referred, apparently, to the Neewer  22 ' reflector which I had ordered at the same time from New Harbor. A quick trip out to the mailbox and i discovered the reflector had been delivered as well.
  

Here is the box i received:

This is how it opened. There was no packing material at all.

     There was also no packing list, two stands were missing (there were 3, the product description indicated 5), and there was a note saying the carry case was not in stock and would be shipped in a few days. There was also a phone number for customer service, I will try to call that about the stands and update when I have more information.

  Overall, a very timely shipping even though I never received any tracking information. leaving me to believe that my order was literally on a slow boat from China. I am, however, astonished that the kit would be shipped with the products just dropped in a big box with no protection. (addendum: 1 light was DOA, on another the modeling lamp would go off after a few minutes and not come back on until cooled off, and the slip cover on the power adjustor on another came off. Whether due to craftsmanship or lack of packing material, I do not know) (also, two of the four units have bits rattling around inside).

     Would I order from New Harbor again? I am going to say yes, I most likely will. They have decent product at excellent prices. If they have any kind of customer service then it's a no-brainer. As for the Strobes quality? The next few days will tell the tale, and I will be sure to post my results.

     In the next post, I will post pictures of the light itself. Ultimately, I hope to have a post for each piece of equipment in the kit.



 Link to Amazon listing:


Neewer Studio Lighting Kit