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kit building help for noob

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    kit building help for noob

    my circumstances are a little different than the average noob, hence the new thread. also, i'd like updated opinions on stuff i haven't seen mentioned in a while.

    so i need lights. and can't spend the crazy money to get the very best. my thing is that i need lights that also double as acceptable lights for still photography. and since i plan to work indoors for the time being, i need stuff than can be run off normal household outlets. and of course, it needs to be good enough for video. i'm after the vague, elusive "film look" that we are all trying to get, but i do tend to prefer a more "natural light" kind of look and feel. i'll be starting out doing single camera, you tube stuff and hope to expand from there, eventually getting to multi camera narratives. your basic interview/3 point lighting at a max for now, but i can make do with less. and it has to be compact (and hopefully, portable) enough to be used in average sized rooms. i'll be both behind and in front of the camera for now, so something relatively quick and easy to work with would be best. and ideally, they won't be hot or murder my loved ones somehow.

    i know kinos and their clones, are what people tend to go with. but i've not read how they work for still photography (portraits, product shots, things like that). seen some decent pictures done with linco flora, but i haven't heard much about their video capabilities in a long time. i'm willing to pay a little more for things that are worth owning and will grow with me as i scale up my projects. as tempting as it is, i don't want to cheap out and have to buy things over and over. i don't have an exact budget in mind, just the least i have to pay to get quality lights that lead to quality work.

    thanks for the help!

    #2
    Video requires light that doesn't vary from frame to frame. And those frames come along every 1/24 to 1/60 of a second, or faster depending on the camera. While you could do this with strobes, it's not practical. Thus, so called "hot lights" which aren't always hot, but which give more or less continuous light for video purposes. Continuous lighting will certainly work for stills work, so you're covered there.

    First thing you do, is do some research. A good place to start maybe is with Barry Green and David Jimerson's Lighting for Film and Television. Gives you the basics quickly and efficiently.

    For more, read the stickies.

    A lighting equipment maker worth looking at might be forum supporter Cool Lights.

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      #3
      i bought the video a while back. that's how i surmised that i wanted to go with florescent lights. couldn't afford led, and fresnels would either blow the circuit breaker in my apartment or kill us all with fire. i know a lot of this comes down to skill and post production, but i want to get as much right in the frame as possible and have it not look amateurish.

      starting a new thread because the videos were made a while back and the stickies aren't too recent either. just wondering if there was a new wonder product out there, or what the standards were as of now. maybe some things i would not have considered have come down in price that are worth stretching for.

      are there certain kits or lights that cool lights offer that are best suited to this sort of thing? is the portaflo interview kit the way to start?

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        #4
        There are new wonder products out there, they're called Light Emitting Plasma (LEP) and Remote Phosphor LED... and they both cost a fortune, so they're right out.

        Any continuous light will do for photos, but the low base sensitivity of DSLRs and comparatively high shutter speeds compared to video require quite a bit of light.

        Kino Flo clones with proper kino tubes are a good alternative for cheap soft light. And tunsten fixtures paired with fresnel lenses and softboxes/umbrellas are a cheap, effective and reliable way to light your sets.

        Personally, I'd advise against cheap lights - every one I've ever bought has broken down and failed on me. Buy once, cry once is the mantra I'd suggest following.
        DREAMSMITHS | SHOWREEL | INSTAGRAM
        www.dreamsmiths.com.au

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          #5
          Old hot lights aren't as bad an option as you might think. I've been using a trio I bought for $60 from a retiring photographer and they work great. Just don't try to use notebook paper as a diffuser. Bad idea : )

          If you're interested in LED, I'd recommend looking into Fotodiox LED panels. They're affordable and pretty high quality. I do video work for Fotodiox and I use their LED panels all the time. No complaints so far.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Grug View Post
            Kino Flo clones with proper kino tubes are a good alternative for cheap soft light. And tunsten fixtures paired with fresnel lenses and softboxes/umbrellas are a cheap, effective and reliable way to light your sets.

            Personally, I'd advise against cheap lights - every one I've ever bought has broken down and failed on me. Buy once, cry once is the mantra I'd suggest following.
            this is my thinking, too. i suppose "cheap" is a relative word, but i'm tired of mickey mousing things and trying to rig cheap amazon and home depot lights. fewer and better is what i'm after. where would you draw the line as far as cheap lights go (in terms of quality, not exactly price)? would you avoid kino clones altogether?

            Originally posted by 16mman View Post
            Old hot lights aren't as bad an option as you might think. I've been using a trio I bought for $60 from a retiring photographer and they work great. Just don't try to use notebook paper as a diffuser. Bad idea : )

            If you're interested in LED, I'd recommend looking into Fotodiox LED panels. They're affordable and pretty high quality. I do video work for Fotodiox and I use their LED panels all the time. No complaints so far.
            those fotodiox panels are interesting, indeed. price isn't horrible, and they appear to be smaller and lighter than other options, which is a huge plus for me. its something i'll need to consider as i'll be lugging them around and setting them up/operating them myself in smallish indoor settings. i'll definitely research them further.

            any ideas for harder light sources? like i said, i'm big on softer, more natural lighting in general, but i'll need some more dramatic light at some point. and are hot lights hard on the circuit breakers and light bills?

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              #7
              For a Check out the DY-200 Fresnel from Fotodiox. I use these lights all the time and I love em. Price is a bit steep for what you said you're looking for though. Or, like I said before, you might want to just go with some used hotlights. Check out craiglist and ebay, and read this thread.

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