$5K light kit

M

m1best

Active member
Hi there - Throwing $5k at some new lights and starting with an Arri kit. Two questions, why not get five 650's instead of two and a 150 and two 300's. If you can lamp the 650's down wouldn't that be better or does the width of the lense matter? Also, beyond that kit, what would you fill the other $2500 with?

Shooting with the DVX, short film.
 
The smaller lens size and more so the lighter housing of the smaller fixtures can come in handy for rigging.

As for the remaining $2500 I would invest the money in grip equipment to trim and control your light which is almost more important than the light itself. Also electrical accessories like AC cable, cubetabs, other distro and adapters.
 
Also the smaller lens size will create slightly harder light than a larger fresnel lens.
 
Thank you - that stuff I have, this $5k is strictly for lights. I'm not worried about rigging so much, is there another advantage to the smaller wattage lights?
 
If you are going to get the Arri Kit I would go with the VI so you can have the 1K. Belive it or not I do use the 150W allot. You can put them in places that it is hard to get any other light. And I would invest at least in some Cstands with Gobo Arms and some flags it will make all the difference in the world
 
did you mean the IV kit? I appreciate your input. I'm not afraid to get a kit and throw in an extra light or two.
 
Can you squeeze a couple of flouros with your kit? They are extremely useful too. I didn't give them much importance until I started renting some caselights. I swear by them nowadays...

Maybe an Arri kit plus two Divas, one 200 and one 400. I don't know if that will remain inside the 5K limit...

When you said protability was not an issue, do you mean they're going to stay in a studio? or do you mean you have a big truck? Because if you don't plan on lugging the lights around or if you have means of moving big cases around, I would advise you not to buy a Kit, but to buy separate. That way you can get better (but heavier) stands, and only the heads you really need.

I also like having more than one 650W fresnels. Besides, same size heads can be sueful when you need to light something more simmetrically, for instance a Greenscreen (for larger greenscreen work, I'd definately rent extra). But Sometimes it's good to have multiple reflector sizes. One 150W should be enough. Two 650s and one 1K. That seems pretty good for me.
 
I was wondering about fluro's and how they fit into the program, and where they would excel over another light. I do have a studio (16ft ceilings) and a production truck. B&H steered me away from the 150's. I better understand the portability issue in terms of lighting a tight scene. I already have lowel soft lights, 2k, and two 1500w kits. I also like that Desisti 1k Fresnel. Really appreciate any continued input. Thanks
 
Flouros are light, cool, and can give you great soft light. Their light output is somewhat timid, but since you can put daylight lamps on them, They work pretty well in some locations. If you have a truck, get individual heads with good iron stands. The problem with kits is that the stands don't last forever.
 
m1best said:
B&H steered me away from the 150's. I better understand the portability issue in terms of lighting a tight scene. I already have lowel soft lights, 2k, and two 1500w kits. I also like that Desisti 1k Fresnel. Really appreciate any continued input. Thanks
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I'm curious as to why B&H steered you away from the 150's... Units this size are some of the most useful IMO- you can never have enough. Arri 150's, Pepper 100's, Lowel Pro lights- love em. If you have some higher wattage units already, I'd include some these smaller guys rather than just a bunch of 650's. Spend some of your budget on renting (rather than buying) the units that otherwise don't make sense to buy (limited usage), and buy the things that will get the most usage now and for future productions. The smaller units certainly fit into the latter category in my experience.

Of course it depends on the scenes your lighting as well.
 
I did in fact include two 150's based on your guys input, it all arrives tomorrow, I thank all of you very much. To clarify, it actually was EVS that steered me away.
 
I love my 150's..If I had the money, I'd buy an additional , smaller arri kit of 4 of them and another 300 or two.
Someone already brought up the grip equipment idea, and I had to chime in here.
I can't stress enough, the importance of good clamps(Mafors-aka Bogen super clamps, w/the light mounting pin and cardolinnii clamps) A magic arm, Matthews or American C-stands, A Matthews Road Rags kit, a few 1k dimmers, and a gell roll for diffusions and color correction gels. Foamcore for bounce, as well as a couple of Flex-fills will also come in handy.
It's great to have all your light fire power, but knowing what to do with them makes the differece from someone who owns lights, and a gaffer.
Good luck with your new tools and insure them....
P.S. don't forget to order extra globes/bulbs for them...
 
I agree, got them all today and I love the 150's. I just ordered a bunch of c-stands with arms, and a bunch of Matthews flags. What all is in the road rags kit?
I'm guessing blocking, silks, scrims? The super clamps are wonderful, I have several lighting trusses from way back, I found that I can set up a truss, super clamp any light where I want it and have it just out of frame. I can see more now
why control is so important and just throwing light does nothing. Any other input is appreciated, I'm all ears...with a big smile in between them of course.

A friend that has joined me worked on a film called Rounding First, he managed to obtain a very large gel collection so we're good there.
But some of the these you mentioned I'll be pursuing right away. Thanks very much.
 
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