Home made Kino Part 1

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zoomforce
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I've been using T8 bulbs in my DIY fluorescents. I bought a box of 24 Philips TL950's at 5000K and 98CRI (local electrical supplier, $140 CAN).

The T8's are 32 watts, and more efficient than T12's at 40watts, both in terms of power, and lumens.

The ballasts from my two tube fixtures ($20 on sale from Canadian Tire) are electronic, and dead quiet. No issues so far with interference.

I like the baby plate idea!
 
Zoomforce. Is there any way you could give us an identical item list (model number, watts, brand, etc...)? I really wanna make one of these and I would greatly appreciate it. GRACIAS!!!
 
You can buy Coruplast (or other brands) corrugated plastic for the barndoors - same stuff Kino uses. 4'x8'x4mm is about $20 online.

It's easy to cut and drill. Attaching it is a simple matter of bolting or hinging, but finding those tiny gooseneck flex-shaft pieces Kino uses would be even better.

e
 
Overland - thanks for the tips on the Coruplast. I've been wondering what people use for doors (but have been to busy to ask). I finished 3 DIY flo's a couple weekends ago but still need to do the doors.

I've also wondered what people use for hinges since you want a little bit of stick in the hinge so they stay put. Obviously, I am deficient in my hinge knowledge.

Fox
 
Okay, I just looked up Coroplast (note the second 'o') and the company's HQ is a mile and a half from my office. Insert Twilight Zone music here. Have to find out if they have a storefront for the public.
 
Dude, where did you get the fixture shell? I've had my diy kino on hold forever since I can't find suitable shells or reflectors...
 
Where can I buy the shoplight fixture pictured at the beginning of the thread? Does anyone have a part number?

I've looked in a few home stores, but everything I've seen so far is too big and clumsy.
 
rikun, I assume you're talking to me. I'm just using Lights of America flo's from Lowe's. I got the ones that have black endcaps with silver on the backs and insides. I think they're a couple dollars more than the base model and are labeled as "stainless steel" or somesuch. I painted the backs with Plasti-Cote for a rubberized finish. I tried painting the inside of one with reflective silver, but the finish was pretty much the same as what they came with. I also tried aluminum tape, which was better, but it kept peeling off or sticking to the bulbs. Maybe it's just the brand I used. I dunno. I like what I've got, but could use a couple more. Or bolt a couple together with aluminum braces to make a 4-bank. Still need to work on the barn doors, though. Haven't had time.
 
Hi Guys:

I was inspired shortly after the orginal post by Zoomforce (Jared) so I built a couple of "Kino" like lights using fixtures I bought at Lowes. They are Lights America Shoplights. They come in white and what they call stainless but it looks like just a greyish-silver paint. The white cost $12.98 and the "stainless" $16.98. The fixtures take the 1" T8 and the larger T12 tubes, T8 Phillips soft whites have a color temp of 3000k (their spec) and the Natural Sunshine tube is 5000k there are also 4100k and 6500k tubes as well.

I mounted the lights to a 3' Avenger baby plate and attached them to my Bogan light stands with Photoflex umbrella clamps.


I am building another to kit out with four. They are very light and run very cool. I have not had any flicker on color shifting with this set up.

Here are a few pictures.

frame_grab.jpg


This frame grab shows a unit with 4100k tubes mixed with two 75 watt incandesant bulbs in the ceiling. No filtering, no cc in post, just white balanced with a standard white card.

kino_front.jpg


Here is a front view. In the background you will see the Lights America box and one of the "stainless" versions standing next to it. My wife says I have to apologize for the mess and has me tasked to clean up the garage now that I have lights to help me see the mess :)

kino_back.jpg


Here is a back view. I sprayed the back with Rustoleum Hammerd Black (this was a white fixture) to knock down glare but left the reflector area white. You can see the Avenger 3" baby plate . It was wider than the mounting area on this fixture but four 1/4-20 X 1/2 machine screws (2 on each side of the plate) hold it securely. In the background is a doorway dolly with a 8' Kessler Crane mounted onboard. It a sweet machine.
 
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Discovered today that the Coroplast stuff is available at just about any sign store. Just ask for a bit of corrugated plastic in black - it's used to make inexpensive outdoor signs.

e
 
JasonFox said:
Okay, I just looked up Coroplast (note the second 'o') and the company's HQ is a mile and a half from my office. Insert Twilight Zone music here. Have to find out if they have a storefront for the public.
Click to expand...


No...you need to find out if their dumpsters are in a locked area. :) You don't really care about blemishes for something like this, do you?

Even if locked up, you can probably work out a "buy seconds" deal from them.
 
Scannon...

Is there any buzzing or noise whatsoever when the lights are on? I made one with a cheap T8 ballast that buzzes when you put your ear on the back.
 
mdlis said:
Scannon...

Is there any buzzing or noise whatsoever when the lights are on? I made one with a cheap T8 ballast that buzzes when you put your ear on the back.
Click to expand...

No there is no buzz or any sound audible. All electronic ballast are capable of interfering with wireless mics. So if you plan to use these with the DIY Kino make sure they don't interfere. I have shot over 20 hours of video with these lights with the DVX100b mic and my Rode NTG2 on camera and on boom with no noise interference. There is also no flicker in 60i or 24p mode. I have not placed my ear on the light so I can't say if there is a hum but let me say that in a quite room there is more noise coming from the DVX when turned on than the DIY Kino(s).
 
help connecting ballast

help connecting ballast

scannon said:
Hi Guys:
They are Lights America Shoplights. They come in white and what they call stainless but it looks like just a greyish-silver paint.
Click to expand...

I have a question, I bought this same unit, and I bought an aliance instant start electrical ballast. I am trying to connect them, one side of the ballast has two blue cables, the other side has one red wire, and black and white.

The light unit, on one end has two sets of red and black cables (one set for each socket) and on the other end one socet has a yellow and a black, and the other socket has just a red cable.

I am a little confused on how to connect the ballast to the sockets.

obviously, white and black are hot and neutral for the power cord. According to the ballast directions, on one end I connect white-black-blue for each socket. but what do I do on the other end, where I have a red cable coming from the ballast, and a red, black, and yellow cable in the sockets?

I have tried various connections, usually I get a very dim light, or one light on, or nothing at all.

Any help, or a diagram would be very helpful!
 
This might be a silly question, but why did you buy separate ballasts? I've had no problems with the ballasts that came with my LoA lights -- I just picked up another fixture on Friday, in fact.

GenDerDan - Ha! I'll have to check that out. Work has kept me too busy to investigate their offices. Maybe this week will be easier.
 
not a silly question. I guess I assumed that a separate electrical ballast would perform better than the built in one. but if it works, I'm fine with that!

one other question then, if I use the built in ballast, how can I connect a power cable so I don't have to use the little beaded pull down switch.

zoo
 
I am going to add this to my list of TO DO projects, but I've never tried anything like this.

One question. What kind of heat comes off of these units? Can you strip the ballasts, mounts, etc. from the store bought units?

I would think that you could strip all the hardware from the metal casing and build something out of Sintra. Sintra is a great, rigid plastic that is light weight. The great thing is that you can heat it up with very, very hot water or a blow torch (carefully) and then mold it, so that you could make a custom inclosure for the tubes...maybe just like Kino's if wanted. Then when it cools down it become rigid again and will handle moderate heat without getting soft again.

Combine the Sintra case with Coroplast barn doors and you'd have a very light weight, rugged unit.

I might have to get into this, but it may take months at this point.
 
I admit it -- I use the beaded pull chain. It's not cool looking, but it works! You could also put an inline switch in the cord so you leave the pull chain on and just flip that switch instead.

Insanity - that sintra stuff sounds cool. The flos barely get warm. I mean barely. So heat wouldn't be a problem in that regard.
 
Thanks Jason. When I get a chance, I might dig into this project and see what Sintra can do. I used the plastic before to make molded body armor for a Boba Fett costume...no I'm not one of the Star Wars geeks (not that there's anything wrong with it). :) I just love to build things.

Here's a link to the Fett site, so that you can see what Sintra can do.

http://www.skaines.com/fett/

I can only imagine how light and professional the Sintra would allow the units to be made.

Best,

Jason
 
Dang, that's cool. And your login name makes a lot more sense now. The sintra would be awesome for making a 4-bank. My only solution at the moment is to tie to fixtures together with aluminum straps. It'll work, but it ain't pretty.
 
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