Linco Inc. Back with Versatile Triple Crossbar Backdrop System!

[Sweet fang]

Can someone tell me what’s going on? Linco Inc. (formerly Britek) must be going through some major changes… for the better! Recently I reported on the serious “uptick” in equipment quality that they sent me in there newest light stand offerings. Now, about 60 days later Its happened again! This time it’s a Triple Crossbar backdrop holder! Okay now lets get this part over-with. My initial thoughts were… WTF am I going to do with a triple backdrop holder? As the Prince of Cheap I am a firm believer in saving some dough and making due till you have an overflow of dough. Linco sent a kit to me to test and see what I thought about it. Judging by the last Linco product I previously tested - heavy duty light stands #8303, I didn’t hesitate to check out and say what was on my mind for these.

SUMMARY:
EXCELLENTLY DONE! Linco Inc. has obviously taken the Britek vision and gave it the quality increase that should’ve been done years ago. It may have been a serious “difference- maker” with the Britek brand itself and could’ve made them a serious flash player had this kind of changes been made about 10 years ago! The Triple Cross Background holder is actually a testament to the upgrade that Linco Inc. is pushing downward through their product line! This background support was able to withstand a serious fall and wasn’t shaken or stirred the least! IMPRESSIVE since I was using it outdoors in the wind with 20lbs. of barbell weights at the bottom as well as holding a 10”x12” white background. Not a feat that many manufacturer want to hear about their test gear going through. The gear proved to be highly reliable and tough as nails.

Assessment:
The Triple Crossbar system of the 4145-H-3 is a cleverly developed system consisting of two special brackets that go over the tops of their heavy duty light stands. The brackets hold three heavy duty 12ft long (adjustable down to about 6ft long) crossbars. The clips that hold your backgrounds are special bungee type clamps with Velcro snaps on one end and very rugged mini-gator clips on the other end. Sound “rinky-dink” right? WRONG! I’ve tested it in the outdoor wind of my backyard and can honestly say the clips help firmly onto the fabric of the background! While using the Linco Inc. system I experienced a disaster. I didn’t stabilize the backdrop with enough weight and the breeze was strong enough to make it topple! Did I worry, only a little. Did anything break…. No! The heavy duty aluminum stands and brackets held surprisingly firm. Since I was shooting in full California sunlight allowing the sun to light the Linco Inc. white background and had a fairly strong breeze I knew having an 6x8 tall background was asking for a fall. I got it and it survived. The overall weight of the system is what one could expect with a three background holding system – HEAVY! At about 20lbs it’s a bit taxing to carry around. Setup takes about 5 minutes to get up and running. Complicated to put together? Not at all!

What’s the viability of having a heavy duty portable background system you ask? Think of doing a series of images on location and need a strong background that can withstand a good fall because you’ll have it in a high traffic area? What if you can actually setup at the beach and have a wild idea to use the stand to hold a super sized scrim? This kind of durability in a background system should be considered. How about the image series I did below using only the Linco Triple Crossbar system and they’re standard white background, some weight, the Linco Inc. supplied white backdrop, a light panel to send some fill light a light meter and my camera… NO STROBES…. All natural light? Do you think Linco Inc. is onto something? MOST DEFINITELY! Good Job Linco Inc.!

Figure 1 Image of System in use outside!

Figure 2 Image series created with Linco Inc. Triple Crossbar Background system.

Reference Product links
Linco-Ultra Compact light stand #8310
Linco-Ultra PORTABLE BACKGROUND SUPPORT #4145-H-3