Almost Kino Flos?

ben1000 said:
Howdy...

Just wondering if anyone has tried these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2Kit-x-300w...103754?hash=item35d2650a0a:g:Fx0AAOxyLm9TBcWb

I mean, they look COMPLETELY the same as the Kinos, but at about 70% of the price.... Maybe they're made in the same factory? I don't know...

Any thoughts?

Best,


Ben
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Looks can be deceiving and buyer beware come to mind. I tend to buy "brand name" everything, especially with my gear. Yes I'm paying more, but I know it's going to work and work right. And if not, I have a dealer and manufacturer that's gonna stand behind it and make it right.
 
I would shy away from those, but check out the Lexus fluorescents on ebay-I think they're made, and shipped, in the US
 
I don't know about the four footers, but I have a lot of chinese kino biax knockoffs. No problems at all for years, thought he stock bulbs aren't perfect. I could always get tru-match tubes, but a little gel and they're fine. I imagine you can find a review if you hunt around.
 
I have a friend with that unit from China and he has no problems with it and uses it on commercial jobs. I would just make sure you buy quality bulbs...
 
Michael Carter said:
I don't know about the four footers, but I have a lot of chinese kino biax knockoffs. No problems at all for years, thought he stock bulbs aren't perfect. I could always get tru-match tubes, but a little gel and they're fine. I imagine you can find a review if you hunt around.
Click to expand...

Same here.
I permanently velcro'd some 1/4 (or was it 1/8?) minus green and they just go and go and go.

These Flo lights aren't like an Area-48 remote phosphor or anything...they're pretty easy to clone.
 
I also use the biax fixtures of various sorts (2, 4, 6, and 8 lamp) and they all work great. They're very cheap to buy now...(they weren't when I got mine)
The 2' and 4' KinoFlo style fixtures are a very different form factor. They're very light, can be hung from a drop ceiling, or boom, etc. You can also pull 1 or 2 tubes out and use them in tight spots or for special effects.
 
I've have and use a few of the 2'x4bank biax fixtures for years and I've never had a prob with them. I also have kino flo bulbs in them...
 
I have a few of these Chinese made Biax lights as well, but if I were shopping for a 4' 4 bank I would likely look for a used Kino Flo kit over the clone linked. Quite a few folks have grown tired of dragging a 70 lb box of fluorescent lights from their vans, and the prices aren't that bad used.
 
Hey, David.. I'm a little confused by that...

If you like the Chinese lights, why would you spend for the Kino Flos?

Aren't the Kinos just as heavy as the others? They are clones, after all....

Best,


Ben
 
ben1000 said:
Hey, David.. I'm a little confused by that...

If you like the Chinese lights, why would you spend for the Kino Flos?

Aren't the Kinos just as heavy as the others? They are clones, after all....

Best,


Ben
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I didn't say I liked them, I said I have a few. And that would be say a Diva style 55w Biax clone, which are far less expensive than the 4 foot 4 bank style lights you linked to. If a ballast goes bad in one of the Biax clones it is fairly inexpensive to replace compared to having to purchase a stand alone replacement ballast for the 4 bank. Although now I just toss them into the dumpster when I lose a ballast. My point was that there are shooters that have grown tired of dealing with hauling around and setting up 4 bank kits, and have replaced them with more portable lighting packages. As a 4 bank gaffer kit is nearly 75 pounds of weight. Therefore selling their 4 bank kits. So a true used Kino Flo kit can be had for less than that Chinese clone kit.

All the best!

Dave
 
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I wish that were the case, but even with the thousands and thousands of Kinos that have been sold, If you look on eBay or Craigslist (even in LA), there are sparse few genuine Kino Flo kits for sale. I think people who buy them keep them, and don't mind hauling them around like you say... and I've called a few rental houses, and they say they last forever and rent very well, so they don't want to sell them...

Thoughts?

Best,


Ben
 
Well I gave you my thoughts.

If you have to buy this second, and you feel good about these Chinese clone 4 banks, jump on it.

If not, then be patient and keep an eye open for a good price on a used Kino Flo kit.

For what it's worth, the majority of my 70 + lights were purchased used at substantial savings. I just waited till I found the good deal.
 
To be honest even though I'd have no issues using those chinese kino's, those knock off kino's seem really expensive for what they are. I agree with David and think you can find some decent used 4ft kino banks if you are patient enough.
 
Yes, I'm watching that one and it looks interesting. Unfortunately, I'm booked fairly solid over the next 6-12months, and don't really have time to add items one at a time. I'm shocked there aren't 10-20 of these for sale on eBay, Craigslist, etc... but that's the way it is.

Thanks for all the advice. I have plenty of work, so I'm leaning towards just biting the bullet and getting them new from Kino... My desire to buy used or off-brand is not from a lack of funds, but just from prudence... But having done my due diligence, it seems that new may be the way to go... :)

Best,

Ben
 
ben1000 said:
My desire to buy used or off-brand is not from a lack of funds, but just from prudence... But having done my due diligence, it seems that new may be the way to go... :)

Best,

Ben
Click to expand...


Well I'm a we bit on the frugal side, so money is important to me.

The used lights I have purchased would have cost me $48,499.00 new retail. And I have only had issues with one of my used light purchases.
 
Wow! $50K? That's a lot of lights. You're obviously a much bigger shop than we are. I think brand new we'll need around $6K of Kinos...

Kudos to your frugality! :)

Best,


Ben
 
Another Diva Alternative

Another Diva Alternative

Or you could do what I did in 2007 and make your own Kinos. At the time, the then new Diva 200s were close to $1,000.00 ea. After renting and shooting with them, I was sold on the concept of color balanced, pro level fluorescent lighting but could not justify the $1,000.00 for one fixture. Made two of my own, using my own boxes, bought some high speed ballasts that had superior specs to the ballasts Kino uses, found some reflective cut steel to make bulb reflectors. I wired them myself, bought the lollipop mounts from Kino (I worked right down the street from Kino at the time, I tried lots of other options with cheese plates and 5/8 studs, etc. but Kino nailed the design of their lollipop) and bought the Kino tubes from Filmtools. I have been using the lights since 2007. They cost me just over $200.00 each to make in 2007. They are not as light as the real Divas because the box is wood versus Coroplast on the Divas and mine are not dimmable like the real Divas. But I can live with those compromises for about 20% of the expense. I have shot PBS specials, hundreds of interviews, a lot of green screen with them, I have been thrilled with them overall. When you cannot find a light that does what you want or is not a good value, a lot of DPs and gaffers simply make their own, I have created several other of my own lighting instruments, it's not that difficult to do if you are little mechanical and like building stuff. I typically wrap grid cloth around them and they are nice, soft blobs of light just like real Kinos.

This still from an interview setup shows them a little bit, I don't have any good photos of them in closeup but I am glad to advise anyone who wants to take a crack at saving some money over real Divas at least. 4Ft Kinos shouldn't be that difficult to emulate, just need to find the right ballast and you could re-wire a commercial 48" fixture you can pick up from Lowes or Home Depot cheap. The ballasts in those cheap lights are junk but if you can source a good one, you are in business for hundreds of dollars less. Same with tubes, just buy the Kino tubes for your cheap lights, they seem to be only fluorescent bulbs that are reasonably color accurate.
 

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