2 Different types of lighting kits. Which one to buy??

V

Vampiresoup

Well-known member
So Im getting an HVX and Im talking to a guy about a lighting kit. There's two options

OPTION A
LOWEL DV CREATOR 55 KIT

$1750

OR

2 DEDO'S W/ BD, 1 LOWEL RIFA 55, 1 ARRI 150
STANDS, CASE, LAMPS INCLUDED

$3200

Should I go with the cheaper DV creator? Is it going to kill me down the road? This guy seemed pretty adamant about me getting the pro lights but man, its A LOT more money.

Id love some help from the pros!!!
 
What you have listed isn't a good choice IMO, although Dedos are great lights.

Get these lights below and practice, that's how you'lll get good.

Go to B&H website (no- I don't work for B&H) and order this:

QTY = 1- LTM Pepper 200Watt & globe $221.95
QTY = 2- Desisti Magis standing lights & 300 watt & 650 watt globe. $309.95 ea.
QTY = Buy 3 Matthews C+stands with arms. $168.95 ea. (use the C stands as your light stands, they're the best all around stand, & worth the money. Just pull the arm off and there's the proper fixture connector)

QTY = 1-Impact Umbrella, White translucent $14.95 This is your softbox alternative, works great!
QTY = 1-Impact 5-in-1 Portable reflector 32" $44.95 This is for outside shadow reduction and all around bounce fill.
QTY = 3- sand bags, 25 lbs. $29.95 ea. these are for the C stands.... be safe!

Buy 3 sheets of spun (difussion) and a pkg of wood clothes pins.

( You might want to also order barndoors for all the lights.)


Total = Around $1600-1700 included your globes (bulbs). :)

Find a box, home depot, etc... and now you have a nice little system of professional grade gear that you can use for years or resell to someone looking for high quality lighting gear.

Next? get a Kino.

Also.... I forgot!.... make up some dimmers (Home depot or buy). They make finding light levels much faster but you'll need a sheet of CTB 1/4 gel to compensate for color shifting when dimming. Double or triple the gel to shift light from a 1/4 to 1/2 to 3/4 to keep at 3200k tungsten color temp, unless you want warm 2500k colors. :)
 
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craigbowman said:
Lighting and grip work together. First learn about things before reaching for your wallet for large ticket items you don't really know about . Walter Graff puts out a series of DVD's on lighting. You'll feel much better knowing what you want and need and how it all works.

http://www.bluesky-web.com/new-pagemerchandise.html

Always be an educated consumer.
Click to expand...

Took the words out of my mouth. Before you hire a grip or gaffer, know what they do. It's tempting to buy equipment early on.

If you're really new at this, I would suggest that you actually wait a year or two before buying any lights and expose yourself (via rentals / loan outs) to what you really like. By them their will probably be a ton of LEDs out as well.
 
Thanks so much guys. I'll take what you said to heart. I've actually been shooting for about three years now. Just shot my first 35mm short 3 weeks ago. I'm familiar with these lights but, I've never worked with them on a consistent basis. Your advice is much appreciated.

Andrew
 
For someone without much hands-on lighting experience, I totally recommend that Lowel DV lighting kit. It's so portable and practical. Everything works together. It's not overwhelming as far as the learning curve, and I've used those lights over and over and over. You can build your kit from there over time if you need/want to. And those kits go second hand for cheaper on ebay sometimes. If you've been shooting for a while, maybe you're ready to move up from there. But even as someone who's shot a lot the last couple years, I love that little kit.
 
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