Article about HIVE plasma lights

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OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
Here's a very positive article in LA times (just change your browser to private setting if you have problems reading) on HIVE plasma lights, with some pretty grand claims (color rendition almost as good as the sun etc.), supposedly super efficient etc.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...ocation-hive-lighting20130731,0,2475194.story

"Plasma lights, more often used in street lamps and medical imaging, breeze past the color-quality problems in LED lights. They last as much as 30 times longer than conventional hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lights — a perk on months-long film shoots with 18-hour days.Plasma lights can reduce on-set energy usage by 50% and power costs by about 40%, Miller said. And perhaps the most crucial advantage in an industry driven by aesthetics, plasma lights won't flicker, and they cover the full color spectrum while conventional lights lack certain shades.
Jay Hunter, director of photography on Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing," used Hive's lights when the indie film's shoestring budget required the crew to shoot without a generator.


"They don't replace the lights that are out there completely," Hunter said. "The sun is the best color-rendering index possible, but the plasma lights approach that level of perfection."
 
Very interested in these, but they're not for the micro-budget players. Abel carries the Hive lights, and the smallest unit (the WASP par) puts out more light than a 400w HMI Par while using only 276 watts to do it, and costs $4995. That's in the same general ballpark as a Joker or Arri 400w system.
 
Yeah, sounds interesting, but I don't see much feedback from users, at least not here. Hopefully, if these lights are all that, they'll grow more popular and prices can start coming down... I'm sick of LEDs, as the color rendition is so unpredictable and hard to correct for... ready for something else that's as efficient, but has fewer problems.
 
Agreed 1,000%. Which is why I've had my eye on these things. And why I still use my Kinos and Lowel fluos, HMI, and tungsten... LED is convenient, but definitely not as pleasing as other sources. Kinos aren't as convenient, but the light quality is better. The plasma light's promises are really very interesting, but the cost of the light makes it a bit much to own for an independent; if I was renting a truck and could put some of these on there I'd definitely want to try 'em out.
 
The same Luxim plasma system/tech bulb and ballast cost $ 1200 for grow lights. So go figure how the price can go that up when you add for example an Arri tungsten Fresnel cost between 350 and 500 dollars as the fixture holding it in place. Must be the $ 3000 cinema badge.
 
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OldCorpse said:
Yeah, sounds interesting, but I don't see much feedback from users, at least not here. Hopefully, if these lights are all that, they'll grow more popular and prices can start coming down... I'm sick of LEDs, as the color rendition is so unpredictable and hard to correct for... ready for something else that's as efficient, but has fewer problems.
Click to expand...

I have a client who outfitted his entire studio with Hive plasma lights. He does lots of high speed work and owns a Phantom Flex camera. He's very happpy with his purchase.
 
Darren Levine said:
im interested to see the feedback of the recently released led moles, which claim a new type of mojo to fine tune the spectrum. looks good on paper, hopes it looks good on the flesh

http://www.mole.com/pdf/data/Junior_LED.pdf
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The Mole Quantum Dot LEDs are terrific but they are very different lights than the Hive plasmas. Much smaller fixtures with lower output, and so far they are only offered as fresnels.

You will see more Quantum Dot technology from other manufacturers soon.
 
The bulb can be replaced over time from what i see? This makes it more appealing long term then LEDs, which over time loses their color accuracy(albeit over A LOT of time). I doubt one can replace the LED dots in a lamp - at that point you have to rebuy the unit. I will do a proper review of the hive 1000 has soon as i get my hands on one.
 
Hive's Plasma tech is super exciting. The new Wasp 1000 looks incredible (the output of an M18 - and you can plug two of them into the same household socket!). When the do their next step up to an 1800-2000w plasma unit (a 4k HMI equivalent), that'll break serious new ground - a 4k you can plug into any household socket or suitcase generator, that'll be a game changer.

The Hives are (in America at least) actually a little cheaper than their HMI equivalents, so I don't think price is that big of an issue really.

I was about to put in order for one of the Wasp 1000s, but getting one down here in Australia involves a 30% distributor's tax, so it actually worked out $3000 more than an M18, so I just got the M18 instead. If it weren't for its Down Under price, the Wasp would have been mine though.
 
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I have only used the Wasp 250, but I really loved it!

I think plasmas don't get as much traction in hollywood because they don't have the punch of HMIs yet. You couldn't do a big production strictly on plasmas. When you need a 20k, you gotta go HMI. Perhaps because they have this output limitation, and thus, not being used as much in professional productions, they are not being talked about and reviewed as much.

But for lower budget work were you may not need or cannot afford the infrastructure necessary for 20k HMIs, say, for smaller spaces or beauty work, they are really good!

But in the future, I hope they can keep developing this plasma technology for higher output. But you know what, as Grug eloquently stated, two 1000W plasmas will get you about 4k HMI output, which is really good. I also like that you can easily use them with breezies (probably mispelled).
 
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