I consider myself a lucky hobbiest when it comes to my current employment. I kind of fell into a job that is a perfect fit for my varied photographic experience and in turn I offer the benefits of this depth to a school that can use any and all parts of it. Some things neither of us new at the time would surface.
The flip side is, I have had to upgrade my gear in several directions at once, as I came into my current employment after a kit scale down and was basically only equipped for street and travel. I am only casually employed so my income can be inconsistent.
My saviours are the brands that are classed as “beginner” or copy brands, but there is more to it than that.
Yongnuo was the first of the original “heart breakers”. In a time dominated by name brands and older after-markets, like Metz or Nissin, YN entered the market with reliable, powerful and solidly made alternatives. To the best of my knowledge, they were the first of the straight-from-China brands and quickly carved a grudging respected name for themselves. I started with a YN 560 III have since purchased five YN560 IV’s and they have been solid and reliable, one has even been dropped three times (!) and is still going well.
I bought the 560 III at a time when I had little use for one, but it was cheap and I trusted the brand. I simply did not have a need or interest in an expensive Olympus unit, much the same as my time with Canon.
Godox came on the scene a little later and quickly overtook YN as the “smarter” alternative. Yongnuo seemed to slip into a less aggressive role as the second option both on price and technical advancement, but still had its supporters especially in the semi-smart flash range. YN are also coming back now with a great LED range. I purchased a couple of Godox “smart” flashes (685/860), simply because their reputation in this space was very strong at the time and the similar YN’s slipped under the radar.
These two brands sit in the “respected cheaper option” bracket. Many top shooters recommend them and they are reliable and honest in their offerrings. They have earned their place in the market. I personally prefer them to the reasonably cheap, bottom end name brand options like the Apurture Amaran COB lights, that are better, but still much dearer.
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The next step down is a personal favourite and the brand that I feel sits at the very top of the “cheap knock off” brands, pushing hard to be in the same league as Godox/YongNuo. I have found Neewer to be predictable and generally honest in their advertising, but you have to be realistic and shop around. there is a bit of “creative” pricing as the name grows. As a testiment to their quality, they seem to be an Amazon favoured brand.
They are often offered and reviewed as great value options, but can suffer from a reputaion for manufacturing inconsistencies with some products. That can make even their great value seem less appealing*. This has meant that I tend to lean towards their non-electronic items, with the exception of their LED panels and COB lights. Neewer products tend to stand out, sometimes sharing their products with other brands, but more often having their own cosmetic touches and features. I did just jump at a air on NL140’s, based on some new reviews, before finding out they are a little twitchy around poor power consistency, but we will see.
An example of Neewer’s value are their COB video lights. I bought two of these recently for $85au each. It occurred to me this morning that I bought two of these and a similar no-brand one (getting to that), for the same price as a single well respected, but still budget friendly Godox SL-60 (about $260au).
The Godox SL-60w and Neewer SL-60w are often directly compared (go figure), with the Godox coming in as the slightly better made option (slightly quieter fan, slightly nicer accessories, slightly better build), but producing basically the same light (I actually prefer the Neewer’s slightly more even and warmer output) and importantly for Neewer, similar reliability.
A win for Neewer.
In a second example, I bought a pair of the new Godox 120cm soft boxes for $100 recently, assuming they would be much the same as the two Neewers I bought last year for about the same, but they seem better in many respects and came with grids. Both do the same job, but the Godox just looks and feels a little better built for the same money and, I am going to test them, but will assume better light also.
From the Neewer in my first studio test group. Really like this light, regardless of price.
A win for Godox.
Below Neewer sit the “transient” brands, the brands that access the huge Chinese manufacturing base, often sourcing the same parts, even the same items or are cobbled together as copies of the copies, sometimes with surprising results…...both ways. Brands like Selens, Abeststudio etc are a mixed bag. Some will claw their way into respectability, others will come and go and some will stay locked into a single product type, doing what they do well and sticking to it. No matter their business model, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
The Selens COB light I bought most recently is a good example of a better result. It was dearer than the Neewer, but promised to be up to three times more powerful. In actuality it is maybe 20% more powerful, but it is heavier, quieter and has nicer accessories. In this class of gear, the reassuring Neewer “punch above their weight” vibe changes to “read between the lines” or “take with a grain of salt”.
The Selens (not even branded as such on the box or unit) looks to be a hybrid of parts from other models. The outer shell is identical to the Neewer SL-60, but the internals and accessories are different and heavier. The front end actually looks like the older Neewer 60w or even the Godox and the output looks similar to the Godox (slightly “hotter” and a little stronger than the Neewer), so who knows.
The Selens 150w has been a good find, but it could have gone either way and for more than a Neewer ($109), it’s value is just on the right side of the ledger.
A narrow win to Selens (representing no-name brands).
The reality is, if the option is nothing or these, I will bring these brands on board. After a while you get a feel for them. For example I cannot pull the trigger on Neewer mics due to a reputation for poor build consistency*, no matter how good their happy user reviews are and the price difference between their base model flash units compared to the bullet proof YN’s is so little it does not count (I found a YN560 IV for $71 after a quick search, $60 for the Neewer), but for lights, they are just too good for the money right now and light is light.
Are they reliable? I have three for the price of one so, reliability by depth.
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*The Neewer matched condenser mics, their XLR cables, their large diaphragm condenser mics all review well for quality of output, but not manufacturing consistency. I bought a pack of 6 cables and they are all identical, but others have said about 1-2 per set are poor. That’s a win, but I decided against the Condensers after a spate of negative recent reviews on Amazon. I will watch that space.