Always wanted a spotlight...

P

Paul Walker02

New member
So I've always wanted a reasonably priced spotlight. Something portable I could shine on people in various situations. I don't 'need' it but I'd like it so don't want something to break the bank.

Does anyone have a suggestion on a spotlight for video? A nice LED which could shine a nice cone on someone.
 
A couple of Canons and are just figuring out what we want to buy next. So at the moment, C300ii, there's a C500 in there somewhere and a 5D something or other and my camera op uses an FX3.

Haven't figured out if I'm going for a used C70 or maybe a used C500ii. Possibly a C80 but unlikely.

Or I might go insane and buy a Kineflex. I've been looking hard at a used Mavo LF 6K and I like it but I'd probably have to be drunk to buy it.

Corporate & Commercial. So 95% of the work is interviews, conferences etc... 5% crazy adverts although strictly in the B2B area. Pushing to do more around social and crazier stuff which I might do.
 
What do you have in your kit regarding lights. Do you not have any COBs? What sort of light output do you think you need and what do you mean by a spotlight; a COB with a tight reflector or something else?
 
What elements make one see a 'spotlight'?

Assuming like the cone is the thing you like

Dark background, smoke/haze.

Given those elements are in place I think you do not need a large fixture if it is closer than maybe 4m (like set back on the tall end of a typical light stand)

A torch will work! See every horror ever.

Next up..

I have done it with a dedo DLH4 which is still being used although im mainly in the COB club now.

Also an arri 350 pops on the market for $25 sometimes (dimming it may be more of an ask)

in cob world I see smallrig have a 30w light. (this may not control with sidus app.,. so it might be better to get an amarn fixture)

Beyond that you will see aperture spotilight fixtures all over the internet

S
 
Get yourself a Leko. They are plentiful and cheap. A narrow lens will give you something close to a spotlight. Outside of that, the shutters make it an incredibly useful instrument as you can "box in" the beam without needing flags. Great for bounces, putting slashes on a wall. If you gotta go LED, there are projector accessories available from various manufacturers.
 
I'm lucky enough to have a very large stock of video lights and theatrical/events lights. Lekos and other elipsoids/UK profiles and follow spots tend to be very harsh - flattening and can easily wash out lighter skin. If the idea is to put a circle around people, ordinary ellipsoids do not have an iris, so ordinary ones have fixed beam widths. There are zoom versions with two lenses and these offer a zoom range, but in both types there is also a focus requirement. In the fixed lense versions, you get a sharp circle only at one point. With the zoom, you move two lenses to create the right beamwidth and the hard/soft focus.

Halogen ones can be had for very little money now. Here, I'd consider £50 to be too much! Lamps for them are not that cheap and not that easy to get too. ETC Source 4 and Source 4 Zooms still have a few lamps available. LED versions are expensive. Early ones had terrible colour fringing on the beam edges, but the latest ones are much better. White or RGBW are available.

One thing to remember about lighting with this kind of kit is that we look at video lighting traditionally as key and fill. Key being hard light and fill be soft. The entertainment and theatre industry consider the video hard light Fresnel, a soft light, and the 'cone' type talked about here (ellipsoid/Profile) as hard. Nose and chin shadows are really sharp and deep. In theatre, 45 degrees from centre is common. so one on both sides fills in the shadows the other side creates. To the camera, this looks quite odd. The sharp bright circle also messes up any form of auto iris as the intense circle means dark everywhere else, or perfect everywhere else and blow out whites. It also means that some adjustment of brightness is also needed. Dimmers for tungsten but easier on the LEDs.

If you look on ebay, you can pick up old theatre stuff quite cheaply - in my studio, it's all Fresnel LED and flat panels. I do have some source 4's in there but rarely used.

If you want to see what the RGBWs can do - this video might help.

 
Leko standing in for follow spot, lashed to tripod head...! Always meant to have a yoke machined that had a flat bottom to mount a touch-and-go plate onto, never got around to it.
 

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CharlesPapert said:
Get yourself a Leko. They are plentiful and cheap. A narrow lens will give you something close to a spotlight. Outside of that, the shutters make it an incredibly useful instrument as you can "box in" the beam without needing flags. Great for bounces, putting slashes on a wall. If you gotta go LED, there are projector accessories available from various manufacturers.
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Second this, although the OP asked for LED options. You can get a used Leko for $150 or less on eBay or other places. People are basically giving them away.

Aputure of course makes options for almost their entire lineup at this point, from the tiny 60x and 60d all the way up to their 600 options. And all of the other competitors have theirs.
 
I am part of a UK heritage lighting collection. You can get ellipsoid(US)/Profile(UK) for no money at all. One of our big national theatres is giving away their old lighting stock to amateur groups and good causes. The killer is the availability and price of the lamps. Do not spend more than $50, because the price of lamps is horrible and going up all the time. Visit a local theatre - they will probably have old kit you can re-home at little cost. Most have graveyards of old kit. Our collection goes from film and TV from the 50s, and we get so many donated, we scrap many with small blemishes. Our important stock are the lamps. We just got an original Strong Supertrooper - the carbon arc version. You can't beat the old British kit though. The Sunspot in the image also proved something. We cut out a bat from a piece of aluminium and yes, the bat signal really can be projected onto clouds! The follow spot beam in the other image is 1200W discharge, cutting through nicely. Totally blew out the cameras during this bit.
 

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DustinSchmidt said:
Second this, although the OP asked for LED options.
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Hence my mentioning that lensed spotlight attachments are available from brands like Aputure, but mitigated by the OP's request for "reasonably priced/not break the bank". You can get a used Source 4 for probably between 1/4 and 1/8 the price of a modern LED unit attachment. Portability--well, it is going to take up more space than just an attachment to a light you are already bringing, and it's got some heft, and use up half a residential circuit to power...so it just comes down to what one is willing to spend.
 
There's also the jr version @575W - ebay link.

Harder to find accessories but track down a drop in iris and it's a pretty small price to test out.

The source 4 jr can actually fit in something like a pelican storm 2600 case. Would be a slightly unusual way to transport a light like that but would take care of the awkwardness of transporting such a strange shape.
 
Paul F said:
What do you have in your kit regarding lights. Do you not have any COBs? What sort of light output do you think you need and what do you mean by a spotlight; a COB with a tight reflector or something else?
Click to expand...

About a dozen lights. No spots, though. Always wanted that theatrical look with a spot cutting through smoke and hitting someone. It's not a necessity but I'd love one for those rare occasions.
 
CharlesPapert said:
Hence my mentioning that lensed spotlight attachments are available from brands like Aputure, but mitigated by the OP's request for "reasonably priced/not break the bank". You can get a used Source 4 for probably between 1/4 and 1/8 the price of a modern LED unit attachment. Portability--well, it is going to take up more space than just an attachment to a light you are already bringing, and it's got some heft, and use up half a residential circuit to power...so it just comes down to what one is willing to spend.
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Thanks for this and there are about a zillion Source 4s on sale in the UK. Loads more than Lekos.

Ideally, I'd like an LED but this is a good idea for me to think about. I don't 'need' one but I've always wanted one to play around with.
 
Paul Walker02 said:
Thanks for this and there are about a zillion Source 4s on sale in the UK. Loads more than Lekos.

Ideally, I'd like an LED but this is a good idea for me to think about. I don't 'need' one but I've always wanted one to play around with.
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Source 4 = Leko in my parlance...leko is the style of light, Source 4 was ETC's model name for them. Unless I'm wrong. Have always used the names interchangeably myself.
 
CharlesPapert said:
Leko standing in for follow spot, lashed to tripod head...! Always meant to have a yoke machined that had a flat bottom to mount a touch-and-go plate onto, never got around to it.
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That thing literally looks like its about to fall. On set did you usually encounter people doing jerry rigging stunts like this?
 
Zachadoodle said:
That thing literally looks like its about to fall. On set did you usually encounter people doing jerry rigging stunts like this?
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On the contrary, it was securely fastened with metal straps, underneath it is heat-resistant material to protect the plate and there is a sandbag hanging off the backside of the head so it is properly counterbalanced (the Leko is pushed that far forward so the leaves of the shutter were accessible to shape the light). It might look rough, but my key grip who oversaw that rig was top-notch, extremely resourceful and always made sure things were safe and secure.

Sometimes things have to get rigged on set without advance notice, so we'll do whatever is necessary. That doesn't mean sending something out on set that is dangerous or damaging to other gear, but it can mean that it looks a little funky.
 
DustinSchmidt said:
Ok, this thread is probably well past its prime, but here's a link to buy a used Leko for $99. Not LED, but you can't beat that price.

Used Lighting - Stage and Theatrical Lighting Equipment, Moving Lights, LED Lighting, Trussing

Established in 1999, UsedLighting.com is the web's premier marketplace for used stage lighting equipment.
www.usedlighting.com www.usedlighting.com
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Funny that the originals are probably cheaper than the mini versions https://www.etcconnect.com/Products...our-Mini-Tungsten/Features.aspx?LangType=1033

I wish I was still irresponsibly spending on legacy products. I always wanted a 5 degree lens with city theatrical yoke, if only to look cool in shot or to have people say what the hell is that?!

Follow Spot Yoke

City Theatrical Follow Spot Yokes are very stable, smooth, pan and tilt yokes that rivals yokes costing thousands of dollars. The pan and tilt mechanisms feature high quality bearings for smooth movement.
www.citytheatrical.com www.citytheatrical.com
 
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