2300 Watt Britek Fluorescent light kit for night scenes and all around use.

A

abar20

New member
I want to purchase a very basic lighting kit at a minimal cost. I found this website
http://photography-lighting.com/fluorescent-cool-lights.html

on this particular page there are several fluorescent lights ranging from 800 watts up 2300 watts per light. They say they are 5100k. Can 5100k work when shooting with a daylight balance of 5600K and having daylight partially light the scene? Also am I going to get what I pay for? Are these light even in the realm of kino flo in terms of quality of light?

My budget is sub 1000 USD. But over time I will add to my kit. I just need something to start with.

Shooting... I was hoping that I would be able to use the 2300 watt lights in a 2 point setup at night outside just as long as I placed the lights about 4 feet from the talent and only filmed medium shots and close ups. Also I figure the 2300 watt lights would be usable during the day to fight the shadows of the harsh sun. Then when filming indoors I could loosen some of the light bulbs on the large array of the 2300 watt lights in order to take down the brightness. Will an all fluorescent kit get me by for a while?
and is this a good one to start with?
 
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First off, they aren't in the realm of Kino.

Secondly, daylight balance can range from 5000K to 6000K+. Most lights are balanced around 5600K, but 5100K should be fine.

How are you lighting your night scene? Fluorescents are great for throwing very soft light while using low wattage power and staying cool. The problem is flourescents don't have the same throw distance that a tungsten does. That means the further away you get from your fluorescent, the less foot candles it outputs.

Usually night scenes are lite with harsh lighting. I often see a moonlight (daylight kicker) with a streetlamp (tungsten key). If you're just trying to light a night shot so that there's enough light, then I would shoot during the day and color correct it to look like night.
 
NextWaveG said:
First off, they aren't in the realm of Kino.

Secondly, daylight balance can range from 5000K to 6000K+. Most lights are balanced around 5600K, but 5100K should be fine.

How are you lighting your night scene? Fluorescents are great for throwing very soft light while using low wattage power and staying cool. The problem is flourescents don't have the same throw distance that a tungsten does. That means the further away you get from your fluorescent, the less foot candles it outputs.

Usually night scenes are lite with harsh lighting. I often see a moonlight (daylight kicker) with a streetlamp (tungsten key). If you're just trying to light a night shot so that there's enough light, then I would shoot during the day and color correct it to look like night.
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thanks for the response. It makes sense, and after thinking it over I realize I am dreaming if I think I can get by with only a fluorescent kit. I'm actually going to be posting another question, and you seem very knowledgeable so maybe I will run it by you first. I think that arri and kino flo make amazing product and rather than buying something that wont stand the test of time I'd rather just get the best. So I was thinking of spending about 2000 dollars on an Arri/Kino Flo kit consisting of a kino flo diva lite 400 that I could always use as a fill except for night shots which should be lit with gelled tungsten (since hmi is out of my price range). As far as the arri lights go, I know I want a 150 watt a 300 watt and a 650 watt. But how advantageous would a 1k a 2k or even a 5k be? Keep in mind I plan to shoot night scenes outdoors.
 
The largest light I own is a Mole 2K. I know some of the 5k's need a ballast, which can be a pain. Check on pyramid-films.com for great deals on used lights. I've gotten lots of great Mole Richardson lights off of there. I would put Arri and Mole at the top of the quality list and have no problem buying either of them used from a good seller. You're better off used too because your $2000 will go a lot further.

As for Kino Flo lights, I'd love to own a bunch someday, but my budget goes a lot further buying Cool Lights. They are a great alternative. Not as high of quality, but very comparable and still well made.

Erik Olson said:
Search the forums for Britek.
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Check my YouTube page for a video I did on Britek vs. Arri. Yes Britek's are a lot cheaper, but they are a lot lower quality and the quality of light is very different. Buy Arri or Mole used over Britek.
 
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