Aputure Amaran Tri-8s Daylight Spot Light (V-Mount)

I want to like Aputure. I really do. But if you buy their products you are taking a gamble. They are cheap for a reason. I bought this light two months ago. It has been used TWICE. Last time I turned it on I smelled a slight electrical burning smell (like adhesive or chemicals burning from within the fixture) and now 1/4 of the LEDs don't turn on. See my attached photo.I should also state that my good friend purchased two of these lights last week, a bi-color and a daylight model, both with an AB Gold mount. The bi-color’s batteries were faulty when it arrived. Now this probably isn't Aputure's fault as they probably just include some Chinese 3rd party battery in their kit, but still, you're buying this stuff from them, so it's their responsibility. Between me and my friend, 2 out of 3 of our Tri-8 kits had some sort of issue within 2 months.Unless you are prepared to call long distance and learn Chinese, I wouldn't rush buying the Tri-8 at this stage. It's been 60 days since I bought it so I can't return it through Amazon.UPDATE: I have moved the review up to 3 stars. Aputure replaced my light with an entirely new kit. Their customer service is kind of a mess, and you have to settle with email communication, but it turns out they do have a facility in the U.S. and the rush shipped a new light to me with 1 day shipping. That definitely made me feel a bit more comfortable in buying their products.I should mention that these lights are super bright and are really cool for what they are. Whether or not they stand the test of time, we shall see.

I didn’t give this a 1 Star because the light itself is bright and looks good but I was highly disappointed with the build quality. The light looks like it could go through hell and back but the NPF battery slots glitch out and don’t work half the time and now BOTH my lights 1/8 inch female adapters to screw into a light stand are both threaded from normal use so now I can no longer control the angle of the light because it’s basically just sitting on the pole with no security. $500/light was a lot for something of this quality. It’s frustrating when you can’t even mount the light on a stand to actually use it! Guess I’ll just hire 2 people to hold the light for the shoot!

Received this light today needing it for a big film shoot this coming weekend. The light came with the led screen on the back that shows you light intensity, battery life and control channel, BROKEN! Does not work at all! I’ve read other reviews of these types of issues with Aputure but thought I’d take a chance. Where’s the quality control before this stuff is shipped? Thanks for the HUGE F’ing inconvenience Aputure! I should have known better!