$150 for a 575 HMI par?

Damn, $95 for the light that was just listed at $395? I guess they really want to clear out inventory? Just make sure you get them to throw in a bulb, otherwise if you buy a new bulb from them its $138...

I do like the TMB power par with the ballast built into the yoke since overall it takes up less space and is less parts to hook up and worry about every time. I wonder how replacing the fan in the Enliten light would be. Proved to be pretty easy in the TMB. Very happy with the results so far.
 
Some genius will rig six of three to a truss for an oversized 575w HMI six light, run it off a honda gennie, and blow the pants off of even a Mac Tech.

Some genius with money. Unlikely broke old me.
 
I was thinking of pulling the trigger ....$95.00 plus shipping aint bad at all. Especially, if this fixture has the same power draw, output and more accesories than the TMB.
What do you guys think?
 
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julian said:
Hi, guys caught this thread late and all those fixtures has been sold out. But i did manage to find this light fixture here on thier site
https://www.usedlighting.com/24221/enliten-whitelight-exhibition-par
Is this similar in anyway?. the fixture looks like it takes the same bulb, and cost a bit less.

Thanks, j.
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That's the fixture I started the thread with, the Enliten - mine came with lenses, barn doors, C-clamp. I asked and they threw in a used globe - I suspect it was in the fixture already.
 
Policar said:
Ordered two. Was unsurprised I didn't get barn doors or yoke adapters or bulbs or whatnot, but no lenses either. Whom do I call or were lenses extra?

This looks promising:

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/6...777dash77754115&site=www.amazonproductads.com

$90, 6000k, 85+ CRI

That's well into "good enough" territory.
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That's a good find - I couldn't find anything 6000k for under $250 or so when I started playing with these. The entertainment globes (all over ebay, etc) are 7200k but about $40.
 
So I pulled the trigger and brought two. They told me that the lights had shipped with everything pictured as well as two used bulbs.
I will test with the used globes and will still buy a few new globes. Reason being the used globes may have lost some color temp. etc.
 
I can confirm....I received my $95 light with all that was pictured plus a used blub installed. It came with a 220volt style plug which will have to be replaced with 110v Edison plug. Thanks to the early adopters for the testing that has been done....expecially the color temp stuff!

Hugh
 
Michael Carter said:
That's a good find - I couldn't find anything 6000k for under $250 or so when I started playing with these. The entertainment globes (all over ebay, etc) are 7200k but about $40.
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I'm planning to order one once I get my lenses in (they forgot to ship them but are being helpful, though I sort of wish I'd ordered the $100 lights that have everything).

6000K/85CRI is really close to spot on. The real deal is 6000k/90CRI (from the same manufacturer) and for digital use it matters less whereas film goes weird.

julian said:
Did some looking around and came up with these.
https://www.alldaylighting.com/shop/specialty-bulbs/sylvania-54115-hsr-57560/
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That seems to be the same thing but used for $12 less. If it's new then seems like a great deal, though.

Looking forward to trying mine out! Would love to swap the fan out but a little scared with the capacitors and all. :(
 
Huh, when I asked if the $95 light included a used lamp, they said because it was discounted so heavily they weren't including one. They sold me a used one for $25.
 
Policar said:
Some genius will rig six of three to a truss for an oversized 575w HMI six light, run it off a honda gennie, and blow the pants off of even a Mac Tech.

Some genius with money. Unlikely broke old me.
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A MacTech LED? Aren't those all made of surface mount LEDs and only come in a wide beam angle? For bouncing or for hard punch/reach, I'd think one of these 575W HMIs would easily blow the pants off a MacTech LED, even the biggest 960w...

LEDs are great, but there aren't many that can even do what a 575W HMI does at any cost. The only thing I've seen that would be comparable would be a Nila Arina or SL-100 LED since they use holographic lenses that are pretty comparable to a par lens.

Anyone who's getting in on the $95 remote ballast units, I'd be curious if you're trying to mod the fan at all and if so how much luck or how the process compares to the TMB pars I did.

The $95 light is pretty tempting but pretty hard to justify as I already have the 2-light TMB par kit.
 
llburg said:
Huh, when I asked if the $95 light included a used lamp, they said because it was discounted so heavily they weren't including one. They sold me a used one for $25.
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LOL, they told me the same thing.......but when they sent me my shipping info. they then informed me that the lights had shipped with used globes. Can't wait to test...
 
nyvz said:
A MacTech LED? Aren't those all made of surface mount LEDs and only come in a wide beam angle? For bouncing or for hard punch/reach, I'd think one of these 575W HMIs would easily blow the pants off a MacTech LED, even the biggest 960w...

LEDs are great, but there aren't many that can even do what a 575W HMI does at any cost. The only thing I've seen that would be comparable would be a Nila Arina or SL-100 LED since they use holographic lenses that are pretty comparable to a par lens.

Anyone who's getting in on the $95 remote ballast units, I'd be curious if you're trying to mod the fan at all and if so how much luck or how the process compares to the TMB pars I did.

The $95 light is pretty tempting but pretty hard to justify as I already have the 2-light TMB par kit.
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In my experience, the MacTech is similar to a 4k or 6k HMI through a frame of opal or 250 at 960w. I suppose six of these guys through 250 would be a stop dimmer at worst and brighter for direct light. A steal if someone could rig them up to a grid. They would need a bit of diff to not appear as six lights of course.
 
Policar said:
In my experience, the MacTech is similar to a 4k or 6k HMI through a frame of opal or 250 at 960w. I suppose six of these guys through 250 would be a stop dimmer at worst and brighter for direct light. A steal if someone could rig them up to a grid. They would need a bit of diff to not appear as six lights of course.
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Well yes if you are talking about a bare 960W LED array vs an HMI through diffusion that makes sense, and the LED array is probably still a more even source. But you can't use bare 180deg LED arrays as hard sunlight or punch them into a bounce across the room...

And the Mactech 960w light is in the, what, $5k-10k range?
 
Possibly more. Possibly less. I've only seen them rented.

All I'm saying is nice daylight fill is elusive. While you still seem to need an 18k HMI and a couple 6ks and 1.2ks to really get that high gloss day exterior look, a few reflectors and a bunch of these hooked up to a 6500EU could do a lot. Then again natural light can look even better. I'm just saying you could get an amazing tool here ganging these up.

How is $45 apiece for used barn doors? Seems steep? How have people been mounting these:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1009206-REG/impact_ca_116_clamp_with_pivoting_5_8.html

With that?

Which fan did you use? Do you have the enlighten or the TMB unit? I would like to replace my fan but am worried about electrocuting myself on one of the capacitors.

I'll report back once I get my bulbs... going to order the 6000K 85 CRI sylvania, which would basically bring the quality of light (if not the experience of using it) to 575w HMI par levels.
 
nyvz said:
Yeah I used a similar TVMP yoke to stand adapter like that, a bit smaller though.

This is the fan I used http://www.ebay.com/itm/371067557249
And I just stuck a reverse-bias 12v 1A zener diode just before the fan to drop the 24v to 12v.
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That is officially over my head. Were you using the TMB (ballast built into light) or the enlighten models? The one I have lacks a dimmer... where do you go for scrims for these?

Where do you get a reverse-bias 12v 1A zener diode? Has that fan worked well for you? And do I stand a risk of electrocuting myself on the capacitors if a friend and I install it?
 
Policar said:
That is officially over my head. Were you using the TMB (ballast built into light) or the enlighten models? The one I have lacks a dimmer... where do you go for scrims for these?

Where do you get a reverse-bias 12v 1A zener diode? Has that fan worked well for you? And do I stand a risk of electrocuting myself on the capacitors if a friend and I install it?
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I have two of the TMB pars, no dimmer, ballast attached to the yoke. Not sure about scrims but the filter tray is 7.5" so probably any 7.5" diameter scrims would work.

I got the 12v 1A zener diode at radio shack for $1 :) reverse-bias just means it's installed backwards which allows it to work as a voltage reducer. You could just use the right resistor too, but I was worried the voltage over the resistor might change as the fan ages and there's a bit more math involved to figure out the right resistance to affect the voltage properly. Maybe the fan would've even run off 24v? I didn't test it since I figured it would be louder and faster even it did work at 24v. I had to look all this stuff up to figure it out but it seemed fairly straightforward for my very limited electrical skills. Also I just made sure not to touch too much of anything inside the ballast besides the wires that are connected to the special 24V 300ma rail designed specifically to power the fan, which was totally safe with the ballast unplugged from the wall. Things seemed pretty well shielded and covered inside the ballast so I wasn't that worried. Probably wouldn't hurt to wear gloves too, though I didn't since it makes soldering kind of tough.

Also, in retrospect it was probably not necessary to add extra padding around the fan since the new fan is so low power and low noise.

For reference, here's what it looked like inside the TMB par before I made any changes, just cut the ziptie holding the fan in place:
IMG_20150427_134455.jpgIMG_20150427_134438.jpg

I just cut the red and blue wires and spliced the blue wire with the negative wire on the new fan and soldered the diode to the red wire with the diode's black stripe side facing toward the power source and then soldered the other end of the diode to the fan's positive wire. I used some new zipties to put the fan back in place.
 
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I think Mitronic is supposed to make good ballasts. Sounds like this might be a decent unit, especially once the quieter fan is installed. Especially the enlighten units (with separate ballasts and accessories) seem like they could be legit 575w HMIs (dimmable and everything) for 1/10th the cost. Not that there's really much difference once you invest in scrims.

Excited to get my two lights up and running. I have two 1200w HMIs but I just moved west and left them back east and these should be a more-than adequate replacement. So far the fan you bought is working well? As for a buzz, even Jokers buzz quite a lot in my experience, and the grip from whom I bought my Arri 1200w Fresnel was startled that I took offense at its minor buzzing. HMIs buzz and that's that, but I would prefer a quieter fan.

It sounds like you know something about the basics of electronics. Do you mind if I PM you about an idea I have for another unit?
 
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