$5k Lighting kit, 2018

M

mcbob

Veteran
Hi all

I’ve been soldiering along with a mess of Lowels for over 10 years, and I think I’m finally at the point of moving up. Budget for a new kit is roughly $5k.

I do documentary, corporate, and some commercial. Nearly no narrative work. Every client wants to plop their talent in front of a window of these days it seems. Speed, versatility, and ease of deployment are also priorities. My current fallback conventional interview lighting scheme is usually only 2 to 3 lights, a 650 V through a 3 foot round silk key with a Rifa55 backlight, and a Prolight doing something with the background, or some combo.

Assume I already have all of the stands and such, because I do.

From a rough bit of research, I’m currently looking at two Astra 6xs and two Fiilex P360s. I’m really curious, with all of the options now available, if there are more options I haven’t even considered prior to pulling the trigger. Thanks for your time
 
I’ve recently started using Intellytech heads. The F-165 bi-color Fresnel is impressive. It's roughly equivalent to a 1.5k tungsten, and the internal fan isn't loud enough to be an audio issue. If it does cause problems, the fan can be turned off and the light will drop to 50% output, making it roughly 750W equivalent.

They also have the Pocket Cannon that they market as a Fresnel, but it does not have a true Fresnel lens. That aside, it’s powerful and compact. They also use glass lenses, no plasticky junk. And their prices are reasonable.

You might look at getting an F-165 and the softbox attachment, along with a 2-head Pocket Cannon kit (comes with a hard case and several shaping and color tools).

Shooting in Florida last week, we were set up at night so I needed something to make a stained glass window pop. I plunked an F-165 on the roof outside the window and got really nice results.

f165_exterior.JPG
f165_interior.jpg
 
Have a look at the rayzr7 300w. It's a nice companion to my Astra litepanels. The output is impressive and the color rendition as well.
 
Yes, the window setup is a pain. It really requires outdoor horsepower if you do not have time to scrim the windows. Along these lines, does anybody know of an LED that has about 20,000-25,000 lumens @ 1 meter that can run on AB bricks? I own a Lightstorm LS1 and this light with 2.5x the output would be a great run and gun option which would be able to handle the window setup. I have enjoyed moving to LEDs as everything has to be so quick these days.
 
The combo of price and output on those Intellytechs seems almost too good to be true. Any issues with them?
 
I'd go with 2x Intellytech LC-160s. I posted photos to the final page of this thread.

They're bright, you have semi control with a grid and the source is big enough to be used as a key light on its own or through a frame without needing much depth/space. You can fully arm one out on a c-stand for a back/hairlight.

You'll have money left over to buy the hard lights of your choice for the background. Don't forget about second hand HMIs. A used 575w is pretty and can definitely take a beating.
 
The Intellytech Fresnel Alex linked is cheap enough to the point where if you bought one and didn't like it, it's not the end of the world. However, LED Fresnels are still pretty average for shaping hard light. Ineffective barn doors cutting a dirty beam/spot angle isn't tight enough.

When used for soft light through diffusion, you're dealing with a large light, plus you're back to the same problem traditional light fixtures have when needing a greater depth to fill a frame.

Flat(ter) LEDs are ideal for cramming into all kinds of positions, particularly if you're doing corporate work and are at the mercy of some less than ideal locations.

Also, one of these Quasar Science/kino retrofits would be really handy too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWLqzPf4U6U
 
FYI I have two Lupo 200s and two Lupo panels for about this budget

It works pretty well but the fresnels are not that amazing.

I think Astra panels are a bit bloated vs the Lupo panels - they have over complex yokes.

In your budget you have not mentioned batteries.

I would carefully consider not offering batteries to your clients without upping your rate. Batteries cost and v lock might not be the solution for lights over 100w.

I have a lesure batt to run my panels off grid $100 but cart heavy.
 
The Astra bi-colors are great looking(I have 4 of the original 4X and 2 of the 6X, all with Chimeras), but they are kind of a big clunky design for 1x1 panels. But you can't argue with the results. I also just got two of the Intellytech 160 2x2's on the group buy that was offered a little while back. I haven't used them on a real shoot yet, but they have a lot of output, are nice and soft and of course are bi-color, so you should be able to match them to ambient light fairly easily.

I still haven't bought any LED fresnels. I have a couple Hive 100-C's and I have the mini-source four barrels on them which do allow for good cuts, but they don't have a ton of kick. They also make a fresnel attachment, but it is expensive.

I wouldn't get rid of your tungsten. Even though I have added a lot of LED's lately(2x Intellytech's & 2x Nila's just in the last month), I still have a ton of tungsten and it's still my favorite for absolute image quality.
 
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