By 

Joseph N. Dassaro “JNDassaro” (Middle Tennessee, USA) –

  

  

My relationship with these lights is complicated to say the least. Not that the operation of the lights is complicated, but the decision to keep them or not based on a combination of quality, usability, and functionality.

First, I am a “prosumer” looking to setup a home studio. I shoot with a Nikon D300s and all Nikon lenses. I also use an SB-900 and SB-800′s. I was looking for more power and light options such as barn doors, softboxes, etc… Not willing to spend thousands on Prophoto or similiar top tier brands, I researched middle of the road monolights. All roads led to Interfit. Interfit is an imported brand (China) with a sales office in the U.S. and U.K. (according to their site). I could not really find anyone to say anything bad about the brand or EXD series monolights. Sure, there were general arguments over the best brand lights and application but for the price, I found Interfit impossible to beat and the next lowest tier would lead to house brands of major suppliers like B&H and Adorama, which in my opinion is a step down. Plus, Interfit has a good line of accessories for their lights such as gels, barn doors, grids, diffusers, etc…

QUALITY

The build quality of the light heads seem very good. In fact, I was (and still am for the most part) happy with the build quality of the light heads (especially at this price point). Though no instructions were included with the product, a quick trip to their website solved that issue. A case was included with this kit although not listed in the description. The case is low quality and poorly designed but better than nothing. The kit comes with everything you need to get started within minutes. The lights stands are light weight but more than suitable for the light heads (the light stands are very much like the impact or general brand). The included umbrella seems low quality while the softbox is designed very well with an internal baffle. The lights rotate well on the stands and easily lock into place when needed. If you raise the stand to the max height, you will need to weigh it down because the slightest knock will throw it down. This is the case with nearly every stand on the market.

The light heads functioned well at first. They recycle very fast and consistently (though I am not a rapid shooter). The light output is spot on and consistent. The modeling lamps are more than adequate for focusing and estimating light. In fact, I never even used a light meter. I was able to gain correct exposure by simply taking three shots and comparing. So, usability is good. The problems developed with two key areas. One light lost the recycling indicator (ready to fire chirp). The other light started misfiring when I used the Nikon D300s flash to trigger. To remedy the problems, I hard hardwired (supplied sync cord) into the failing light using the supplied sync cord and listened for the other indicator figuring I did not need both. Ultimately I bought Gadget Infinity’s Wireless Cactus V.4 triggers (love them!). However, the same light that had the misfiring problem continued to have the problem even with the wireless trigger. I tested the wireless trigger and everything works fine so it must be the light.

QUALITY ISSUES EXPANDED

I purchased the Interfit INT411 transmitter (Infrared trigger) hoping to solve the triggering issue once and for all. That product was either defective (already returned) or the IR on the failing head has also failed. As a sidenote, the INT411 is cheaply made and very large (4 times the size of the cactus v4 transmitter). However, it did trigger one of the lights indoors. Outdoors the product is useless beyond 5-7 feet.

ALSO PURCHASED THE EXD200

Looking for a third light (background) I purchased the EXD200 (also from Amazon) as a stand alone product. Once again, the build quality of the EXD series seems really good. However, I did experience a few misfires using the optical slave. This was remedied by using the Cactus V.4 wireless triggers from Gadget Infinity.

USABILITY AND DILEMMA

Combined, my Interfit 3 light system is OK but I have to work around the mentioned issues in triggering. Admittedly, these are intermittent issues but cause for long term concern as the lights have been in use for less than 10 days of shooting (about 500 triggers). However, I am facing a dilemma. I contacted Interfit and they suggest I send the lights in for repair or replacement at my shipping expense. I can return the EXD400s (and EXD200) to Amazon. However, I can only get a refund through Amazon because there is a 4 week shipping estimate on the EXD400 and two weeks on the EXD200 (no one has these in stock it seems). I do not want a refund from Amazon I would rather exchange them for new units as I believe these issues may be isolated (after thorough research). Making it worse,…

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http://cheapbigsale.com/timothys-world-coffee-rainforest-extra-bold-espresso-k-cups-for-keurig-brewers-pack-of-50/#comment-226 A. Wyckoff Fri, 10 Jun 2011 08:29:44 +0000 http://www.cpbestbuy.com/timothys-world-coffee-rainforest-extra-bold-espresso-k-cups-for-keurig-brewers-pack-of-50.html#comment-226 <div style="margin-left:0.5em;"> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful: </div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span style="margin-left: -5px;"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/customer-reviews/stars-2-0._V192240756_.gif" width="64" alt="2.0 out of 5 stars" title="2.0 out of 5 stars" height="12" border="0"/></span> <b>Great Coffee Flavor, Bad Quality K-Cups</b>, <nobr>September 23, 2010</nobr></div> <div style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <div><div style="float:left;">By </div><div style="float:left;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/AQ54FKSQLK5NI/ref=cm_cr_if_pdp/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&tag=cpbestbuy-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A. Wyckoff</span></a> - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/AQ54FKSQLK5NI/ref=cm_cr_if_auth_rev/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&tag=cpbestbuy-20&linkCode=xm2&sort_by=MostRecentReview" target="_top"></a><br/><a href="/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=cm_rn_bdg_help/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&nodeId=14279681&pop-up=1#RN" target="AmazonHelp" onclick="return amz_js_PopWin(this.href,'AmazonHelp','width=340,height=340,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=1,status=1');"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reputation/c7y_badge_rn_1._V192249968_.gif" width="70" align="absmiddle" alt="(REAL NAME)" height="15" border="0"/></a>    </div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <span class="crVerifiedStripe"><b class="h3Color tiny" style="margin-right: 0.5em;">Amazon Verified Purchase</b><span class="tiny verifyWhatsThis">(<a href="/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase" target="AmazonHelp" onclick="amz_js_PopWin('/gp/community-help/amazon-verified-purchase', 'AmazonHelp', 'width=400,height=500,resizable=1,scrollbars=1,toolbar=0,status=1');return false; ">What's this?</a>)</span></span> </div> <div class="tiny" style="margin-bottom:0.5em;"> <b><span class="h3color tiny">This review is from: </span>Timothy's World Coffee, Rainforest Extra Bold Espresso K-Cups for Keurig Brewers (Pack of 50) (Grocery)</b> </div> This has been my favorite K-Cup coffee for well over 9 months now, so I was very excited to be able to buy it on Amazon in large quantities at a reduced cost. Unfortunately, while the flavor is still my favorite, I've had terrible luck with the K-Cups themselves. Every second or third cup I brew leaves loads of coffee grounds in the cup. I've had this happen on occasion with other K-Cups over the two years I've owned my Keurig, but NEVER to this extent. I don't know if the foil cap is the cause of the problem or what, but it appears that every time the pin punctures the K-Cup it leaves a much larger than normal hole that causes the grounds to end up in the coffee. At first I thought maybe it was a problem with my brewer, but I've used 4 other varieties since the problem began and I've had zero issues with those. Obviously it's a issue with this particular product. <div style="padding-top: 10px; clear: both; width: 100%;"> <div style="float:left; padding-right:15px; border-right:1px solid #CCCCCC"><div style="padding-bottom:5px;"><b class="tiny" style="color:#666666;white-space:nowrap;">Help other customers find the most helpful reviews</b> </div><div style="width:300px;"> <a name="RMT7506UDB0SD.2115.Helpful.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;"> </a><span><span class="votingPrompt">Was this review helpful to you? </span><a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/RMT7506UDB0SD/Helpful/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&token=9DF680F44B23C61DF9114BB7AD009797F33310B5&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy9CMDAyQVEwT1MwL3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTgyLTg0OTMyNjctMTg3NzA2Mz9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9Y3BiZXN0YnV5LTIwJnY9MiZsaW5rQ29kZT14bTImYXNpbj1CMDAyQVEwT1MwJnRydW5jYXRlPTUwMDAmYWtpZD1BS0lBSloyNURIVUhRN0ZDVE1HUSZzaWc9cFR1NFVUR3NaOTZEcW83WnlKRE1VZEk0NTNqbHlMeW96cXNHdW1JNWhEWSUzRCZleHA9MjAxMS0wNi0xMVQxNiUzQTAxJTNBMDRaJmF0YWc9Y3BiZXN0YnV5LTIw&voteAnchorName=RMT7506UDB0SD.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=182-8493267-1877063"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-yes-sec-md._V192249951_.gif" width="35" alt="Yes" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <a rel="nofollow" class="votingButtonReviews" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/RMT7506UDB0SD/Helpful/-1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&token=2DA12D0A9F22FB679DEFD06D9EC6098C3393E434&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy9CMDAyQVEwT1MwL3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTgyLTg0OTMyNjctMTg3NzA2Mz9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9Y3BiZXN0YnV5LTIwJnY9MiZsaW5rQ29kZT14bTImYXNpbj1CMDAyQVEwT1MwJnRydW5jYXRlPTUwMDAmYWtpZD1BS0lBSloyNURIVUhRN0ZDVE1HUSZzaWc9cFR1NFVUR3NaOTZEcW83WnlKRE1VZEk0NTNqbHlMeW96cXNHdW1JNWhEWSUzRCZleHA9MjAxMS0wNi0xMVQxNiUzQTAxJTNBMDRaJmF0YWc9Y3BiZXN0YnV5LTIw&voteAnchorName=RMT7506UDB0SD.2115.Helpful.Reviews&voteSessionID=182-8493267-1877063"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/reviews/btn-no-sec-md._V192249949_.gif" width="35" alt="No" style="vertical-align:middle;" height="18" border="0"/></a> <span class="votingMessage"/></span> </div></div><div style="float:left;"><div style="padding-left:15px;"><div style="white-space:nowrap;"><span class="tiny"> <a name="RMT7506UDB0SD.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews" style="font-size:1px;"> </a><span class="reportingButton"><nobr><a rel="nofollow" class="reportingButton" href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/voting/cast/Reviews/2115/RMT7506UDB0SD/Inappropriate/1/ref=cm_cr_ifvoteyn/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&token=B9293034DA4015D38C587D7CA5527E77E5F21968&target=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5hbWF6b24uY29tL3Byb2R1Y3QtcmV2aWV3cy9CMDAyQVEwT1MwL3JlZj1jbV9jcl9pZnZvdGVyZHIvMTgyLTg0OTMyNjctMTg3NzA2Mz9fZW5jb2Rpbmc9VVRGOCZzdW1tYXJ5PTAmYWxpbmtDb2RlPXhtMiZ0YWc9Y3BiZXN0YnV5LTIwJnY9MiZsaW5rQ29kZT14bTImYXNpbj1CMDAyQVEwT1MwJnRydW5jYXRlPTUwMDAmYWtpZD1BS0lBSloyNURIVUhRN0ZDVE1HUSZzaWc9cFR1NFVUR3NaOTZEcW83WnlKRE1VZEk0NTNqbHlMeW96cXNHdW1JNWhEWSUzRCZleHA9MjAxMS0wNi0xMVQxNiUzQTAxJTNBMDRaJmF0YWc9Y3BiZXN0YnV5LTIw&voteAnchorName=RMT7506UDB0SD.2115.Inappropriate.Reviews&voteSessionID=182-8493267-1877063"></a></nobr></span> </span> <span style="color:#CCCCCC;">|</span> <span class="tiny"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RMT7506UDB0SD/ref=cm_cr_if_perm/?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002AQ0OS0&nodeID=&tag=cpbestbuy-20&linkCode=xm2" target="_top"></a></span></div><div style="white-space:nowrap;padding-left:-5px;padding-top:5px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RMT7506UDB0SD/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002AQ0OS0&nodeID=&tag=cpbestbuy-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top"><img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/comment-sm._V192250344_.gif" width="16" alt="Comment" hspace="3" align="absmiddle" height="16" border="0"/></a> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RMT7506UDB0SD/ref=cm_cr_if_cmt/182-8493267-1877063?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002AQ0OS0&nodeID=&tag=cpbestbuy-20&linkCode=xm2#wasThisHelpful" target="_top">Comment</a></div></div></div><div style="clear:both;"/> </div> <br/></div>

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

Great Coffee Flavor, Bad Quality K-Cups, September 23, 2010

By 

A. Wyckoff –

  

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: Timothy’s World Coffee, Rainforest Extra Bold Espresso K-Cups for Keurig Brewers (Pack of 50) (Grocery)

This has been my favorite K-Cup coffee for well over 9 months now, so I was very excited to be able to buy it on Amazon in large quantities at a reduced cost. Unfortunately, while the flavor is still my favorite, I’ve had terrible luck with the K-Cups themselves. Every second or third cup I brew leaves loads of coffee grounds in the cup. I’ve had this happen on occasion with other K-Cups over the two years I’ve owned my Keurig, but NEVER to this extent. I don’t know if the foil cap is the cause of the problem or what, but it appears that every time the pin punctures the K-Cup it leaves a much larger than normal hole that causes the grounds to end up in the coffee. At first I thought maybe it was a problem with my brewer, but I’ve used 4 other varieties since the problem began and I’ve had zero issues with those. Obviously it’s a issue with this particular product.

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