Karl151k
Well-known member
So, while shopping with my girlfriend at IKEA last week, I was looking at the various lighting fixtures. Imagine my surprise when I saw a ellipsoidal light projecting a venitian blind window pattern onto a nearby wall. At first I thought it was just something IKEA set up to add some ambiance, but I went a little closer and saw that they were selling the unit. It's called an ISBRYTARE spotlight (I both Love and Loathe IKEA's naming scheme). The unit uses 50 watt Halogen bulbs, but I found an online retailer that sells 75 and 100 watt bulbs that will fit into the unit. The lamp is focusable via a lens towards the front, and there are various patterned discs (just like a real ellipsoidal) that go directly in front of the bulb.
The cool thing about this lamp is that it's focusable, so you can throw really crisp light onto a wall, or it can be more indistinct. Also, for the $50 price, you get the unit, 6 pattern discs, 4 filters and 2 iris-like shutters. I was able to make my own pattern discs out of Cinefoil. There is a standard thread (3/8" I think) at the bottom of the unit, so you can screw a pin into it and attach it to a C-stand. Despite being on for hours at a time, the unit doesn't get all that hot.
It would probably be a great light to keep in the kit if you do a lot of interview type work. For narrative work, you would need to keep the base light level down pretty low to make the Ellipsoidal look like daylight. This item doesn't seem to be sold online through IKEA, but if there is a brick-and-mortar near you, consider picking this baby up. For $50, it's not a huge investment and it's already proved to infitley useful.
The light is visible on the far right, supported by a C-stand. There is Cinefoil wrapped around the open part of it to prevent light spill. The other lighting instruments in the shot were 125watt Lowell Pro Lights.
The cool thing about this lamp is that it's focusable, so you can throw really crisp light onto a wall, or it can be more indistinct. Also, for the $50 price, you get the unit, 6 pattern discs, 4 filters and 2 iris-like shutters. I was able to make my own pattern discs out of Cinefoil. There is a standard thread (3/8" I think) at the bottom of the unit, so you can screw a pin into it and attach it to a C-stand. Despite being on for hours at a time, the unit doesn't get all that hot.
It would probably be a great light to keep in the kit if you do a lot of interview type work. For narrative work, you would need to keep the base light level down pretty low to make the Ellipsoidal look like daylight. This item doesn't seem to be sold online through IKEA, but if there is a brick-and-mortar near you, consider picking this baby up. For $50, it's not a huge investment and it's already proved to infitley useful.
The light is visible on the far right, supported by a C-stand. There is Cinefoil wrapped around the open part of it to prevent light spill. The other lighting instruments in the shot were 125watt Lowell Pro Lights.
Last edited:
