Pro Lights GCA Lamps

[egproductions]

I have a 6 Pro lights that I use for events. Each one has a router speed control dimmer. They are great lights and look pretty good in my shots, however the issue I'm having with them is that the lamps keep breaking! Some work for 30 hours some work for 2 hours but I they all end up burning out a lot sooner than I would hope. I've tried a couple of different brands (OSRAM and Platinum) but both tend to break. Sometimes the coil separates and sometimes the lamp clouds up and actually burns out. I don't think I am overly aggressive with them either. I typically wind up having to replace 1-2 lamps each wedding I shoot which really adds up. I've marked individual pro lights to see if its one in particular that's causing me issue and I don't think it is. I also don't think it's one dimmer in particular.

My questions:

• Is it possible the router speed controllers are shortening the lifespan of the lamps? (I've used them on totas and never had a problem)

• Is there a manufacturere of the 250w GCA lamps that last a lot longer than the others?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[David W. Jones]

They are renowned for burning out quick.
Have you thought about lamping down to a FVL or FSH lamp so you don't need a dimmer?
Or purchasing something a little more robust like a used Mole Richardson 2801 Mini-Mole Fresnel off ebay, which can be lamped at 100w, 150w, 200w, 250w.

[Lowel Tech]

If your Pro-light is vintage about April 2003 or newer I would strongly recommend trying the 200 watt FVL lamp. They seem to have a much more durable filament than the venerable GCA while having almost the same output.

Older Pro-lights, with the Edison plug on the short captive cable on the fixture, can be retrofit to accept the FVL, and the 105 watt FVM, as well as the 230 volt lamp.

BTW, all the lamp manufacturers can have bad batches occasionally, so it can happen if you buy a lamp type in quantity they may all come from the same batch.

[egproductions]

I have a hodgepodge of pro lights...some new some old...I honestly couldn't tell you which is which. They all have the two prongs though. Would the FVL lamps fit?

I really wish there was a good 250watt solution since it really is the perfect wattage for the halls I'm used to shooting in and don't love the idea of loosing even 1/3 stop of light. The biggest challenge is usually overpowering the hall lights but not blasting too much light onto the dance floor.

The pro lights are nice because they have a small face which looks nice in shots. The moles look small enough but it's almost twice the price of pro lights.

[egproductions]

Anyone know of any cheaper versions of this (with a round face and LED Lighting)?

http://www.adorama.com/LPASOLAENG.html

It can be higher wattage than 250w equivelent but shoudl be at least that much.

[David W. Jones]

The moles look small enough but it's almost twice the price of pro lights.

I bought my Mini-Moles used on ebay for around $100 each, and they will likely last longer than I will.

Your Pro Lights aren't really all that cheap when you factor in a $10 lamp every two hours for each light.

[egproductions]

true! I haden't seen them for 100 though..I saw them for around 250..maybe looking at the wrong thing. I'm considering LEDs now. So hard to find equivelent light outputs and reviews so I ordered three different types off of amazon and will test them out. All three are round face leds and around between $80 and $130

[David W. Jones]

Not many listed at the moment, but here is an example....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mole-Richard...#ht_500wt_1287

Checking completed listings they tend to go for between $70-$150