cheap fluorescent ?s

C

Cheesesailor77

Veteran
I did a search and can't find posts about making your own flos. Anyone have advice or links about cheap alternatives to Kinos?

THANKS!
 
awesome thanks, any other DIY links would be appreciated

again, I have very little understanding of flo's (except they look cool) and how they fit in with my other lights, so any links to flo primer material would be great
 
If you're looking for daylight-balanced fixtures, you'll have really good luck with a hardware store solution. My local hardware stores carry a few daylight-balanced tubes with high CRI ratings.
 
I bought the Lights of America fixtures from Lowe's. I got the "steel look" ones for around $17 a pop as they required less painted (and the end caps are black). Work like a champ for me. Stuck a 5/8" plate stud on the back and got some daylight tubes. Nice bang for the buck.

Fox
 
Has anyone seen flicker in the videos made with hardware-store style lights? I thought the megabuck prices asked for Divas & Scandles was to get an electonic ballast with >10,000 Hz cycling to stop flicker and for proprietary phosphor combinations that drop mercury's green spike.
There was something that might've been flicker in MattinSTL's comparison, but I'm guessing it's compression artifact.
Comments anyone?
 
The LOA lights do NOT have a problem with flicker... I've ocassionally had some movement in a tube... like it doesn't want to fully strike... but that will eventually clear up (usually anyway) and it should smooth out.

Obviously in my OWN lights there is zero flicker... but the LOA will work if you gotta' get off as cheap as you possibly can.

I'm taking a Haitus from my lights for a while so I can consider the next direction... something new and improved that won't cost more...

But if you can get by with the 4' LOA from Lowe's then go for it... it's peanuts anyway... at that price they are litterally disposable lights.
 
LOA vs ...

LOA vs ...

Heh-heh...it's hard to consider LOA version worthy of interest after seeing your comparison video...I have enough budget room to consider some of the alternatives. The Flo-Lights might do it. I like the Scandles because they pack smaller and my transportation room is limited. Maybe it's time to fashion one of those from an old studio fixture. Choices, choices....that's life in the biz.

I look forward to seeing what's next from your shop...
 
Honestly the FloLights surprised me... of course I'm sure they aren't dumping $50 of the total cost to make them into the shells ALONE! Not to mention the rediculous HOURS that it takes me to make a light... those shells on my lights are a flat out *****. I spent money in ways that I may not have needed to... and the FloLight is making me think about that now. Some of the improvements that I've been excited about will simply push the cost of my lights too high... and I don't know how people really feel about it.

The FloLights are extremely basic construction with steel members that I wouldn't have ever CONSIDERED building with steel... and honestly I think they're kind of on the heavy side for my taste, but there's no denying that they are cheap... and I think they have a fair price/quality ratio... I was wanting to take my lights to something at least equal to a Gyoury (if not better)... but with my margins on these I'm a little scared to put so much into a batch of lights that absolutely MUST sell for a higher price... when FloLight is taking the other approach of reducing costs on key components.

That's why I said I'm gonna' have to just step back and think about this for a while. Technology is changing at a fairly rapid rate right now... The Chinese are kicking it in high gear and this should be interesting to watch over the next year or two. I'm going to be experimenting with a few basic options over the next month. I'll let you know when I have something that I like.
 
I've been a DIY fluorescent light guy. I hang a Lights of America shop light with high CRI bulbs off of a light stand in front of my interview subjects. Works great. Soft light. I usually used 5,000k bulbs with the 5,600k color balance preset and the bulbs give a little warmth and look great with a little sunlight coming in from the windows. Funny thing is that clients are even impressed with the lights (although I need to stop carrying them in the cardboard box they came in).

On the same subject, I've been wanting more light and more control over light. Those LOA shop lights work great for head and shoulder interviews with one or two people, but I couldn't do much of an indoor dramatic scene with them.

The other day I was looking through a farm supply catalog (it just came in the mail) and I found some lights I want to try. Here's a link:

http://www.teksupply.com/webapp/wcs...adcrumb_trail=&breadcrumb_categoryIds=&isDoc=

This is a 125w (giant compact fluorescent) and it should put out a ton of light. I've contacted the sellers and they say it puts out 8,750 lumen. I haven't bought any yet because I've been trying to figure out what I'll put them in (a big reflective or white dish type light fixture or some kind of box with barndoors). Also, I've been trying to make sure they aren't just grow lights (with some purple tint or something that doesn't show up in the CRI value). Once again, its a 125w 8,750 lumen 6,400k fluorescent with a 93 CRI.

Anyone have any ideas on what type of fixture I can put these lamps into? Does
someone else want to make the jump and buy a couple and report back?

By the way, they also have a 200W 5,500k 90 CRI fluorescent that should put out about 12,000 lumen.
 
Very interesting. I rather let someone else test it out first, but I'd definitely be interested in hearing about the results. The 200w 5,500k light sounds mint!
 
Well, I just ordered one of the 125W fluorescents. If it works, I'll want another one. I just want to be careful because about every other one of my fluorescent experiements fail because of poor output or color.
 
My big 125W compact fluorescent from the farm supply catalog (see link below) just came. Great investment! After buying other fluorescent lamps and bulbs that let me down (poorer output and/or lower CRI than advertised), I can happily say that this one is the real thing.

http://www.teksupply.com/webapp/wcs...adcrumb_trail=&breadcrumb_categoryIds=&isDoc=

Pros:

Runs completely silent
93 CRI (truly beautiful color)
High output (truly 8,000+ lumen)
Nice softness right out of the box
Mixes well with daylight (6500k)
And, like other flos, it doesn't run hot or blow fuses.

Cons:

Fairly quick drop off (somewhat soft)
Not perfectly smooth light output (the right reflection/box should help)
A little too cool (6500k), but better than expected and fixed w/ color balance

I'm certainly going to buy another one to round out my light kit.

My light kit: 2 LOA shop lights and two of these farm lights. Total cost after buying good lamps for LOA shop lights: $130. (I still need to figure out some fixtures for these new lamps, though. And I didn't include the price of the stands and grip attachments, etc.)
 
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Thanks MattinSTL!!!!!

Thanks MattinSTL!!!!!

I have needed to make a post about MattinSTL's flos for a few months now.... sorry for the delay.

I have to say OH MY GOD these are GREAT!!!! I am a very proud owner indeed of two of his Diva-like lights. The workmanship is perfection itself. You can see and feel the amount of thought and care that went into the design and production of these flos. From the sturdy yellow cables with locking mounts to the nearly indestructible but extremely light aluminum shell, I would be proud to light a scene on a prime time TV show or a multi million dollar movie with these. The parabolic (or are they elliptical) internal reflectors make sure a maximum percentage of light reaches the subjects rather than getting lost as heat.

And these lights really shine (pun of course intended) in the details. There are perfectly machined holes for vertical and horizontal mounting. There are ingenious swivel clips for mounting gels (included and pre-cut!) and barn doors (also included!). There is no noise, no flicker, just snug seating for my Kino bulbs. There is even a special set of sockets and an extra power cord to connect lights in serial configuration so you only have to take up one socket on the power strip. The fewer the cords, the fewer the accidents.

Matt answered every tiny little question I had before purchase and even built mine with some special extras. And he is a gentleman through and through, as evidenced by the way he handled some extreme errors with my EBAY account during the actual purchase. In a world where most people try to get by doing the least amount of work possible, MattinSTL is a beacon of hope! He is a prime example of integrity and honesty.

I am one of the lucky people to own and utilize a pair of his lights. They are easily worth two or more times what I paid for them. Matt, I hope you find a way to get your inventions to those of us who cherish them. And I wish you great success and mountains of money as you do!

-JEB
 
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