Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Lowel’s tungsten products but I fell in love with the caselites from the first time I used one. I own three of them now and they’ve been the backbone of my interview lighting for the last few years. If you aren’t familiar with them, check them out sometime. A completely self contained large source florescent light that packs down into a small lightweight box (including the stand) that you can throw over your shoulder and run with. Much more compact and easier to travel than Kino Divas.
Anyway, I sent one of my two bulb fixtures in for service because of some damage resulting from obvious operator error. On a recent overseas shoot I plugged the light into 220v power while still in 110v mode. That lapse in memory resulted in a frightening boom, blown fuse, considerable smoke and the frying of the guts of the light. I wrote a note admitting my guilt and included it with the light and shipped this "way out of warranty" fixture to Lowel service in Happauge, NY.
I’ve been a little busy the past few weeks and hadn’t thought much about it till the UPS man showed up with a box today. To my amazement, inside was a brand new Caselite 2!!! No calls from customer service asking about the circumstances of the damage. No request for a credit card to cover the repair parts, labor or even the shipping costs. Just a brand new replacement light.
It warms my soul to know that there are still some vendors in an industry in which NO piece of equipment is inexpensive who understand the meaning of the words CUSTOMER SERVICE and how to thereby build brand loyalty.
I wonder if this had been a Sony or Panasonic product if the same thing would have happened? Hmmmmm.
I encourage anyone who’s looking for lights to check out Lowel and help support a manufacturer that’s willing to support us.