alzo pan-l-lite-kino diva like-thoughts?

R

robfilms

Veteran
i have been a fan of alzovideo.com for a while.

they are a local lighting firm that does it's own version of the china-sourced lights.

they are not as well known as coollights but their small led light has gotten good reviews.

i've met the owner drew at a local trade show and i think their versions of the china-sourced lights might be a good investment.

i am a small crew-often one-man-band-shooter/producer.

i shoot a far amount of indoor talking heads, some on location, most in a studio.

my clients are not-for-profits, museums, unions, corporations.

most of the footage is presented at events, board meetings, hotels and then lives on the web.

i am looking at this light as an alternative to the heavier, better made, more expensive kino flo diva.

i am looking at the alzo pan-l-lie quad: http://www.alzovideo.com/alzo_pan-l-lite_quad_dimmable.htm

it is their version of a kino diva, a 4x55w bulb flo fixture.

i would use this light as a key interview light.

i shoot with the sony fs100, a large chip camera, so even with 120 foot candles/2 meters open face or 84 foot candles/2 meters with a honeycomb diffuser, with a moderately fast prime lens there should be enough light.

i am looking for opinions about kino diva-like china sourced options.

do folks like their alternatives to the kino diva?

how is the color rendition with the supplied bulbs?

any and all thoughts are appreciated.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
 
My thoughts Rob... The Diva is not really heavier than the Alzo, they are almost the same weight. And while I'm sure the Alzo is a fine light, it is a $431 knockoff of the Diva.

My suggestion... Get a cheaper knockoff and better 55w Biax tubes. Something like this... http://www.amazon.com/CONTINUOUS-PHOTOGRAPHY-Fluorescent-ePhotoINC-FL455Panel/dp/B003WR53AA at $240 along with Kino Flo tubes http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/55watkinkfda.html for $24 each would give you a 4 bank Diva style light with original Kino Flo tubes for $100 less than that Alzo.
 
David W. Jones said:
My thoughts Rob... The Diva is not really heavier than the Alzo, they are almost the same weight. And while I'm sure the Alzo is a fine light, it is a $431 knockoff of the Diva.

My suggestion... Get a cheaper knockoff and better 55w Biax tubes. Something like this... http://www.amazon.com/CONTINUOUS-PHOTOGRAPHY-Fluorescent-ePhotoINC-FL455Panel/dp/B003WR53AA at $240 along with Kino Flo tubes http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/55watkinkfda.html for $24 each would give you a 4 bank Diva style light with original Kino Flo tubes for $100 less than that Alzo.
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david-

thanks for the thoughts about cri.

i have a "show promo code" of 15% off which reduces the unit price to $367 which is one of the reason i was initially interested.

the shipped bulbs are cri 91 as noted.

i like the idea of spending $100 for cri 95 bulbs.

that would still offer me a $467 diva-like clone with very quality bulbs, or stay pat for $367 and see if cri 91 is "good enough".

i wonder if 5600k or 3200k at cri 91 is easier to get to "good enough".

thoughts?

again, thanks for adding to the conversation.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
 
I bought the Alzo Pan-L-Lite 3 light kit, 2 quads and 1 twin light. Alzo had the 15% discount for Memorial Day promo. In the four interviews that I've shot with these lights, I'm very satisfied. Each light came with enough lamps to go all 3200k or 5600k in each light, or use a mix of 3200k/5600k. Well made stands and case for the lights and the stands. As I said, very satisfied. And I like the light's slide style dimmer controller.
 
You might consider the Flo-light versions. I own the 6 light which I love because it puts out an enormous amount of light that is considerably softer than a Diva. Also they come with a remote wireless dimmer. This can come in very handy especially for the backlights . I find with a small crew doing interviews that I can adjust the backlights quickly and accurately with the dimmers. Heavier than a diva though and not as well made. Cheaper for sure.
 
Can't add anything to help your decision Rob, but I must say I´m surprised the Alzo weighs about the same or even less than a Diva. It also has some nice innovations, like the separated double dimmer. I`ve always kinda looked down on those "photo studio metal housing flos", but Kino changed their housing material too with the Flathead, the Celeb and the new BarFlyD.
But the Alzo's mount looks kind of weak/limited and only save for certain angles...
 
i have also looked at the flolight which has a nice yoke available.

the alzo mount seems to be the same china-sourced slide and twist version which offers vertical and horizontal mounting.

one reason i'm still considering the alzo is due to the snap-in honeycomb which offers some light control.

as for dimmers, when dimmed the color of a fluorescent tube will shift but if you can live with that reality, i imagine "tweaking" output might be helpful.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
 
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for folks who use fluorescent lights like the kino, flo and alzo, what do you use to modify/control the light?

again, thanks in advance to those who care to share.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
 
robfilms said:
one reason i'm still considering the alzo is due to the snap-in honeycomb which offers some light control.
Click to expand...

I made my own low cost light control grid from 2' x 4' overhead fluorescent plastic light grid from a home supply store like Lowes or the Home Depot for just a couple of bucks. Cut to size, paint black if needed, attach with Velcro, adhere gels with snot tape, cut out grid areas for less control, double stack for even more control.
 
I've written quite a bit here about the Alzo's, mostly to say how great I think they are and on a budget they really pull through. Here's a copy+paste from something I wrote in another thread:

I own a set and honestly have ZERO complaints about them. They have 2 and 4 bank versions, they are dimmable, and have square edges which means you can actually stand them up on a floor, table, etc.. if you want to (Kino's are rounded so always need to be mounted to a stand). You can get 5600k or 3200k bulbs.

If you are not in a rush they often do 10-15% off deals or you can even contact them and ask for a courtesy discount and sometimes they will do it. Around $400 gets you a dimmable 4 bank 2 foot fixture with grid, diffusion fabric cover, and barn doors. Slightly less $ gets you a 2 bank 2 foot fixture.

I do not work for Alzo - but every time I mention them its like no one has ever heard of them.

You will not regret them, especially for the price.

**I will add to this however that compared to Kino's obviously there are some pros/cons.

As far as the CRI or light I don't know what they actually are on the Alzo's but I rarely find it an issue, especially with the 5600k's. The 3200'k's however seem to have a pink tinge to them but if you white balance to them or can dial in your camera color temp around 3200k you can probably eliminate any color you see with your eye.

For actual use, these are great for interviews or corporate kind of work where you needs a nice key light or even fill. I mostly shoot music videos and films and where the Alzo falls short is literally with their length. They are only 2 feet long and there are times where you really need 4 feet to extend the amount of background or area you want to light up. I suppose you can probably use two 2 ft. Alzo's together but that'd be a bit of a waste and time consuming to setup.

Lastly, I'm really into my lighting and I would never really be able to chose between one light or the other. I see practical uses for both, so I would chose to own both if I could. There are times where a short flo is extremely useful, not to mention being dimmable is a great feature if you are working with limited set distances and using a light meter to really set your exposure accurately.

Anyway, let us know what you end up deciding.
 
dennis-

thanks for adding your thoughts to the conversation.

i don't know how long ago you wrote your quoted section but with the near-next generation of led lights on the market,

do you (or anyone else) think there still is a place for fluorescent tube lights?

is buying flos now, buying yesterday's technology?

thanks in advance.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
nyc
 
Hi Rob, I never got into LED's but know plenty of DP's who have and have nothing bad to say about them, particularly the higher quality brands like LitePanels, etc.. I think the most I would use them for is maybe an on-camera light for fill on interview or ENG type of work - but I don't do that type of work so I like my ARRI tungsten lamps and flo's.

By the way; Alzo has 15% off today, just visit their social media pages to get the coupon code.

Some fun stuff:

BTS:
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Final:
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