China Ball System 1.0

mentatDUKE

mentatDUKE

Veteran
I believe I've finally found suppliers for all the pieces in the china ball system.
The mogul cord and socket to screw the giant bulb into was hard to come by as I only found a supplier in the form of a random ebay seller. I've now located an actual online store to serve as supplier.

Corded Mogul Socket
http://www.sunflowersupplies.com/pr...CORDED--MOGUL-SOCKET-FOR-LARGE-CFL-BULBS.html

200W Quad Tube CFL (Daylight)
https://www.lightbulbemporium.com/proddetail.asp?prod=35871-ML

Savage 13 foot light stand
Free Shipping:
http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/shopwise/items/Savage_13_ft__Air_Cushioned_Light_Stand
or
http://www.adorama.com/SALSB13AC.html

Assorted China Balls
http://www.asianideas.com/whnyla.html
 
Can i ask what is the specific reasoning for using this type of bulb?

Also woouldn't it be cheaper to rob the cords from Pan Clamp lights from the hardware store?

Does the stand have a boom, and why this specific stand?

That is a great site for the balls. I wasn't finding anything over 20 inches on other sites. Also it seems that ikea doesn't ship them anymore, in store only.
 
Hi Cameron.
The rationale behind this specific bulb lies in its high lumen output, daylight color balance, lack of heat, and low price point.

Regarding robbing the cords from pan clamp lights, I haven't considered that. Do such cords have a mogul base socket attached to them so that the CFL can screw into it? I visited hardware stores and only found standard size bulbs and such. Didn't specifically look for mogul base cords there though. Am I mistaken? Should I look again?

The stand doesn't have a boom. I chose this specific stand due to the fact that it can go up to 13 feet, is extremely inexpensive and has gotten excellent reviews.

I ordered everything I need from the sites. The materials should arrive by the weekend. I'll set everything up and post pics.
 
Definately post the pics. I've been looking into the CFLs myself, and even wondering if China Balls are needed since the CFL is naturally soft. For my next project I DO plan on working with some CFLs. I was leaning toward Daylight (5500K-5600K) for fill but I can't find cheap Daylight lights for my key, backlight etc. So I know I'll be going tungsten for the shoot since I need my 3 point light setups.

However, as I tryied to find 3200K 90+ CRI lights, I couldn't. It seems that people who care about CRI seem to go toward Daylight. So now what I was thinking was 5500K lights gelled towards 3200K. I figured go for the 120Watt so you get 480W of power then gel, so I'll lose 1/3 of the power. So one light ups the ambi by about 360 Watts. Based on what we did for Coming Correct, I'd need about 5 to 7 strategically placed overhead to up the ambiance where I want before I add my direct lights to the scene.

I'm very eager to see some test shots MentatDUKE. I'm looking towards something almost in the same vein.
 
I see i hadn't realized you needed mogul sockets. I'm very interested to see photos. Most of the china ball setups i have seen have used household bulbs.

The stand seems great, but won't you need something to boom the ball a few feet away from it?

Great ideas.
 
6000 to 8000 hours assuming no calamity or accident--in other words, how well they are treated as they are very fragile. That's why we include a padded carrying case with each one and encourage people to use that when transporting a bulb such as this one.
 
Regarding booming the ball away from the stand, I thought of that. A solution for that is normally c-stands which was my first choice. They're really pricey though and I've heard most people say they use regular light stands for china balls so I thought I'd give it a try with those. It could be hard to pull off with such a large bulb, but we'll see....
 
Good find. I'm conflicted however. I ordered 6 light stands at $300 shipped. Six of the ones you found would be $515.55 shipped. I don't know if I can cost justify doubling the price just for the booming feature...
 
What good is a light if you can't put it where you want it?
When I use chinas they are often armed wayyyy out over the scene.
 
How powerful are the bulbs you put in your Chinas? Are you against china balls in general or china balls without c-stand booms?
 
i would assume his concern was the same as mine. Getting the light close enough while keeping the stands out of the shot. looking forward to those photos though
 
I'm not against chinas.
I regularly use them with 500 watt photo floods.
if you want something more toppy, or back, or if there is a lot of movement in the scene it can be incredibly hard to have the light where you want it and not see the stand.
 
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