StudioFX H9004SB2 2400 Watt Large Photography Softbox Continuous Photo Lighting Kit 16" x 24" + Boom Arm Hairlight with Sandbag H9004SB2 by Kaezi

Here's the trick to setting these up easily... First make sure the height of the stand is shorter than yourself.. Seems obvious right? Next, when you're on the LAST ROD lower the stand, sit down in a chair, and stick it in. Sitting while placing that last rod in makes all the difference I am not kidding!! I spent so much time trying to get that thing in standing up it was a nightmare. Just try it. =) Now for the review.. These are great lights. I have really enjoyed using them over the last couple months and they are VERY bright. I have recommended these to friends, and I would get them again. I will be adding a picture later. If this is your first time purchasing soft boxes and you don't know much about lighting I would suggest googling 3 point lighting and learning about that, and I would suggest buying grids to go over these as it will create more beautiful focused lighting that doesn't spill everywhere. If you use these without one they work just fine but you'll get better results with them!

I am very impressed with the lighting. Product was well constructed and setup was super easy. For the price, you can't beat it! The photo attached was shot with a portrait lens f1.8 200 ISO. This photo is unedited.

This seemed like the kit for me. I wanted to have something for product shots and this setup is what I thought would be best. Overall the product does what it says. It is 3 baffles, lights and stands with bulbs. However, you must understand this is pay for what you get in the utmost. The stands are wobbly. They bend and wobble all over as you are adjusting or if you brush up against them. The largest is hard to adjust. The bulbs are the biggest problem and one of the reasons I purchased the kit. The value was there but the bulbs started failing as soon as I got it. Amazon gave me a partial refund so I could purchase 2 other bulbs for the ones that died right away. Now, about 15 hours of use 2 more bulbs have failed. I paid $10/ea for replacements which seem much sturdier than the ones included. I would think twice if you want this for anything more than just a basic, once in awhile kit that doesn't need to be solid. Expect to replace bulbs but maybe not right away. They definitely don't last as you would expect any basic bulb to. 2/21/17 - I've emailed the seller letting them know now about the further bulbs that have died to see if they want to step up and replace them.

For a low cost light kit to see if you want to go down this path it is a good buy. everything you need. But there were a few points of concern. 1. Set up instructions are a little vague. Took me about 2.5 hours to set up the first time. Mostly sorting out the best order to put the soft boxes together. Probably once you have it figure out about 30 min. [Hint put the lights in last!] 2. Everything has a box or a case to go into when you break it down. Nice touch at this price point. 3. The build quality of the stands and the light boxes is pretty good. The stands are not "pro" quality but pretty good. Should stand up for a number of years of hobbiest use. The soft boxes are also pretty good build quality. The setup is a little tricky, but an umbrella type mechanism would have added significantly to the cost. The main reason for the low score is the light heads. On the surface, not bad. But when you put the ribbing in to support the soft box, the point that attaches the metal rod is plastic and you have a metal rod under tension to hold the SB in place. I noticed that the plastic where the rod goes into the head is already (one setup!) starting to deform under the tension. This does not bode well for long term durability. A stronger/thicker plastic or metal reinforcement at the insertion point would solve the problem. If not for that problem I would have given the product a 4 across the board.

This did not take an hour to setup. But it did take longer than 15 minutes. They perform well and provide nice lighting. This item did not receive 5 stars for the following two reasons: 1. After about 30 minutes of use, one of the bulbs popped and went out. 2. The item I received appears used. The boom arm had scratches on it, and the handle to tighten the arm to the stand was broken. I will be contacting the seller to try and get a replacement for these two issues. Care must be taken when transporting these items. When assembling the softbox onto the sticks, I had a hard time figuring out where they go. The velcro strips on the corners do lift up and create a space for sticks to be inserted. During first uses, this space may be difficult to access.

I love this lighting setup! The lights are super bright...brighter than I expected. The only downfall was the fact that no directions were in the box. Figured it out though...took about an hour and a half to set it up. Overall I'm satisfied :-)

These are better than I expected. Good solid build. Takes about a good solid hour to assemble everything. Everything worked perfectly after assembly. No sand for the sandbag, so I put a bottle of water in the pouch. Worked perfect as a counterweight. I live in a one bedroom apartment, so I put two of the lights away after testing and keep one assembled for impulse shoots.

Ok, so I'm giving this a 5-star rating because once I got them assembled, they've been great. This is my first lighting set so I don't have much to compare them to, but I've set up a home studio to take photos for my blog and it's working great! I love having overhead lighting, plus two soft-boxes left and right of where I'm shooting. I've been getting some wonderful, true-to-color photos now that I've used this lighting set. Assembly instructions were a joke and actually made the whole process more difficult. Trick if you get this set - leave the Velcro unattached while you put the metal poles for the frame into place. Once the frame is in place, then close up the Velcro. They tell you to do the opposite and you'll be fighting to get things in place the whole time.