Travelling (airplane) with a small light kit

Cool Lights said:
The regulations I referenced about oversize were from IATA (International Air Transport Association). We've been designing to their regulations. You have to remember that SW Airlines marches to their own drummer and has a lot of their own rules. You can't even book Southwest tickets in the major airline's res systems in which all the other airlines are always there. So, its not too surprising and actually kind of cool to find that out. I designed the bags for the common regulations though (that most airlines follow--but don't have to) and which will be a limiting factor sometimes. I guess if one were only traveling on SWA then it wouldn't matter but the other airlines are more stringent so we have to pay attention to that when designing cases.

On the issue of 255 vs 455, I think its possible that it could work fine but its hard to tell and can also depend upon how far apart the two are sitting. 255 puts out a decent amount of light.

If you didn't mind taking two bags, that might be easier to outfit you for with a 455 and a fresnel. The other oversize bag I have (CL-CCL4), is big enough but is more of an "around town" bag and I personally wouldn't feel comfortable shipping things in it because it doesn't have the hard inner lining that the other cases have. Its a throw in the back of the car / truck type bag for going to a job. Could easily fit a fresnel, 455 and 255 and 3 stands.
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Oh I wasnt trying to argue, Richard I definitely appreciate you designing to the standard. I honestly hate flying southwest due to their stupid seating and fill the plane mentality (I prefer to fly bankrupt airlines with lots of empty seats and room to stretch out :)) but for this trip its looking like a good idea. The part of the standard that I'll probably be breaking is the number of bags. I'm going to end up with a hard shell golf case for my tripod and stands, a bag of lights and probably a bag of general grip equipment (c-stand legs, gels, clamps, stingers, etc.) And my wife still gets to have 3 bags herself! I'll also add that as a former luggage handler - the smaller the bag the safer! A small 22" rolling suitcase is soooo much more rigid than those heavy monster bags people seem to pack. And weight is a huge factor too. If the handler cant pick it up easily we might have to lift with some force and toss it on the belt. That's not good for a bag. So rigid and lightweight is the key.

I think I'll give the 255 a try then Richard - most of my stuff will be single person with a few doubles. Any multiples will be family to each other so they can suck it up and sit really close together :) And I'll run a few tests here locally first. If I need more light I'll buy more :) Having at least on 255 will be useful no matter what.

Just curious, but are you putting any R&D efforts toward LED lights richard? What I really want is an affordable litelpanels 1x1. Thats a sweet little light but at 1699 its a tad steep. $500 or so and I'd have 5 of em! Anyways, thanks for your help richard (and others too!)- looks like I'll be placing an order in a bit here, how can I order a case, they arent on the site yet?
 
VidLeds have anounced new products for 2008, maybe they go from on- to off camera lighting...?
Richard has done research on LEDs AFAIK ( he even found a 60w LED...!), but LED units weren´t on the CL agenda so far...
 
Yeah I just saw Vidled's post. I'm excited to say the least, I love my little vidled and am looking forward to more of them and a larger one hopefully.
 
jdajda said:
Oh I wasnt trying to argue, Richard I definitely appreciate you designing to the standard. I honestly hate flying southwest due to their stupid seating and fill the plane mentality (I prefer to fly bankrupt airlines with lots of empty seats and room to stretch out :)) but for this trip its looking like a good idea. The part of the standard that I'll probably be breaking is the number of bags. I'm going to end up with a hard shell golf case for my tripod and stands, a bag of lights and probably a bag of general grip equipment (c-stand legs, gels, clamps, stingers, etc.) And my wife still gets to have 3 bags herself! I'll also add that as a former luggage handler - the smaller the bag the safer! A small 22" rolling suitcase is soooo much more rigid than those heavy monster bags people seem to pack. And weight is a huge factor too. If the handler cant pick it up easily we might have to lift with some force and toss it on the belt. That's not good for a bag. So rigid and lightweight is the key.

I think I'll give the 255 a try then Richard - most of my stuff will be single person with a few doubles. Any multiples will be family to each other so they can suck it up and sit really close together :) And I'll run a few tests here locally first. If I need more light I'll buy more :) Having at least on 255 will be useful no matter what.

Just curious, but are you putting any R&D efforts toward LED lights richard? What I really want is an affordable litelpanels 1x1. Thats a sweet little light but at 1699 its a tad steep. $500 or so and I'd have 5 of em! Anyways, thanks for your help richard (and others too!)- looks like I'll be placing an order in a bit here, how can I order a case, they arent on the site yet?
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Those hardshell golf cases do make great light stand and tripod cases. We may carry something like that in the near future as well.

I have been putting R&D to LEDs. I have a panel thats half the size of a 1 x 1 (about 10 x 5) and draws 25 watts. Has dimming capability. Its just the last 10% in a project that can be killer and take the most of the time in polishing and finishing up. Still needs a housing and some mounting options.

I had to drop it for a while to finish up the other stuff. I was hoping to sell this panel for $199 (without battery) and higher with a battery. This is definitely not an on-camera light and is more in the light panel type of arrangement for use on a stand.

The problem with LEDs though is that it would take probably four of these panels to equal the output of light from a 255P or 255. So you see, 200*4 = $800 vs. $275 for a 255P or $169 for a 255. It just isn't so cost effective yet. Its really why I haven't concentrated on LEDs just yet but we will try to give it more time next year as I know there is definitely a time and place for LED panels and the do have their specialized uses.
 
Yeah its those little special uses I want one for. Just an accent hidden and battery powered usually, but the equivalent of 3 vidleds or so. Glad to hear you are looking into, but I know that last 10% is where the most time/money can be spent in R&D. The price sounds fantastic though. Definitely looking forward to this.

But back to current - do you have any of the ccl2 cases in stock? I thought I saw you mention that you had a few but not many. Didnt see them on the website so I wasnt sure. If you do, whats the best way to order one if I'm already ordering some lights?
 
The reason you don't see them on the site yet is I was saving the limited for those that really need them the most until we get the massive shipment in later in January. We can work something out for you.
 
jdajda said:
Per the Southwest Baggage guidelines on their website:
  • Camera, film, video, lighting, and sound equipment will be accepted when presented by a representative of a network or local television broadcasting company or a commercial filmmaking company. A fee of Thirty Dollars ($30) will be charged for each item in excess of the free baggage allowance. Media equipment will not be assessed oversize or overweight charges.
So does this mean I won't get hit for overweight and size with southwest?? Sure does look like it. And only $30 for additional pieces? Their limit is already 3! Looks like I'm flying southwest! Yay for me! Anyone used this to thier advantage at Southwest?
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I have traveled extensively with gear over the last six months on Southwest, and this is indeed their policy. You can also pre-board (with families, between groups A and B) if you are carrying a "large media camera". The idea is that they want to accomodate your carry-on camera without having to displace someone else's stuff if you were to be boarding later.

One caveat: not all Southwest gate agents or ticket agents are aware of the policy, or sometime it is applied unevenly...I was turned down at LAX by a ticket agent who insisted I needed a "Press Credential" to get the credit. I was too tired to bother arguing. All, with that one exception, have accepted my business card and my portabrace case as proof enough.
 
Sweet - priority boarding cause you have a camera!?!? I love it! I'll make sure and have my fake press credentials handy just in case :)
 
Last shoot I did, I bought a used hard-shell golf club case, filled it with gear, and was able to get it on a plane for free. Seems they don't give a care what is inside the golf club case. Unless it's large Li-Ion batteries, which they just made some rule against.
 
Yes I heard something about this. Do we have to ship those batteries now ahead? Or is it just against carry on and you can check them?
 
Good thread. I'm about to travel on SW and I'm playing the gear packing game but I'm glad SW has decent rules. I was told by Lufthansa that I couldn't carry both my backpack and my hard case porta brace case on board.

I have this kit:
http://www.shopwiki.com/detail/d=kt-750_kit/jumpToFirst=true/

And I'm able to get the stands into a luggage size that's slightly bigger than a carryon. I'm debating on if I'm going to take 3 lights or just 2 on my trip to Florida next month. But this kit travels so easily. I also got the snap on diffusers and 3 impact dimmers for them.

They were worthless when I went to Germany and Ireland because I couldn't bring the bulbs or buy any where I was.
 
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Southwest has recently changed it's policy re: checked baggage. They now only allow 2 carryons. For working media, the third and all subsequent bags are $25 each. I don't know their current policy for overweight for media. As far as preboarding, I don't think their official policy allows preboarding anymore, but I have politely inquired of the gate agents twice recently and they cheerfully allowed me to pre-board. The gate agents have a degree of discretion.
 
Hey Richard,
Is there any update on cases? There's none on the site right now. We're looking to order the kit below in the next couple of weeks (or sooner) and I need cases for it all (probably a couple large cases and a couple of the small ones). It will mostly be used for local productions but we need to fly a small kit around occassionally. What would you suggest? Thanks.

coollights.png


Oh and what's a good source for this bulb...
http://www.coollights.biz/clmf0575-cool-lights-fresnel-p-64.html
 
Hi Josh,

They are en route now and expected around Apr 15th and ready for shipping a couple of days later. I've just been stalling putting up the product pages because its a lot of hassles selling stuff before it really is in stock. I'm also trying to figure out all the information to supply so that customers can make their own decisions about whats the best case for each configuration that they want to put together.

You can get the 575 HMI bulbs from bulbman.com for a fairly decent price.
 
One thing that helps distribute the weight, is that I pack everything that is not fragile, like stands, extension cords, barn doors, grip equipment, gells etc into a large lightweight soft bag and put the lights and electronics into a hard case. Beware of the 4 light arri kits, they will not only be too heavy but are too large and you could be charged twice. Sometimes the baggage handlers at the curb will give you a break if you give them a big tip.
 
I have used this relatively small kit with big power for several years.
Great 4 travel and interviews. Called the Cool-Lux StarPak.

The hard case, with foam packing houses 4 Mini-cool fixtures, Plus loads of accessories, stands, cords, clamps. This fixture uses common MR-16 bulbs, which come in various voltages, are cheap, and can be purchased nearly anywhere. The case Size:

20 13/16" L x 12 7/16" W x 6 1/2" D

Total weight is about 17 lbs.

Photos of packing arangements and content etc. can be found here.

http://www.alphasensory.com/Skatetown/Cool-Lux_StarPak.html

Diffusion gels clipped to the barn doors of some of the mini-cools are wonderful at creating super soft light, especially appreciated by female video subjects. Cool-lux now makes a dedicated, though pricier, soft box attachment to duplicate this process.

A 150-watt bulb (or its equivalent) as it provides more than adequate light for intimate scenes, (interviews, etc.) and lasts considerably longer than its 250-watt counterpart. When used with one of the two light dimmers, the bulbs life can be extended many times, with little sacrifice in video quality.

In large environments, I found that a pair of inexpensive 500-watt halogen work-lights, with diffusion material and/or daylight colored gel… script-clipped in front of them… provided more than sufficient background illumination to fill the overall space, while the Mini-Cools do the precision work.

Hope this is helpful.

I will not lie, this lighting kit happens to be for sale at this time on the message board here.

RDN
 
Any Pics?

Any Pics?

Gordo88 said:
Hey Now,

1650 Pelican case holds 2*1K Redheads, with Chimera Small Plus Softboxes + 1 Bambino, 3 Manfrotto NANO Stands. Lots of GELS , Reflector, AC, 2 dimmers, Superclamps etc.

Usually room for other things like a sungun or such to be stuffed in a corner.

Thing is this combo weighs 70 pounds and is about $150 in excess baggage charges when flying abroad.

The 1650 is great because it has wheels and a sturdy handle.
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I'd love to see any pics you have of this case with the lights. Something like this would work great for me. So far I have been making due with some over sized luggage that I have. It works, but a self contained unit would be perfect.
 
I got a hard-sided SKB rolling golf club case that I fill with gear, and even though it's way heavy, the airlines haven't said a peep about it yet. Apparently if you are an avid golfer, you can do whatever you please. I can fit a light kit in there easily.
 
I do a lot of travelling with a large lighting/grip kit, dolly/tracks, etc., and instead went with a custom soft-case instead of the SKB and Pelican cases I was using.

The problem with hard cases is they're too heavy and contribute to damage by adding mass. Also they're impossible to pack into a moderate-sized taxi or truck. They also make you stick out like a sore thumb and a target for thieves.

I bought several LARGE duffel bags, and built an inner liner out of thin plywood. Between the inner liner and the duffel bag is 2-inch foam.

The liner prevents the bag from collapsing, and prevents puncture and crush damage. The foam prevents damage from drops and moderate crushing.

I also made my own camera carry-on bag from an ordinary carry-on luggage modified the same way so nobody knows I'm carrying a video camera (I do a lot of travelling in insecure countries).

These work very well, very light, look good, and are extremely cheap (maybe $20 total -- $50 if you use police tactical duffel bags). I've never had anything broken, ever.
 
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