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We talk about lots of esoteric issues and little known or obscure things so its hard to get it all. And not everyone will be interested in all the details. A lot of issues to talk about though for those that do care, and it can be hard to keep up with what all we're up to--which is quite a bit for such a small company.
PRICE. The price did go up a bit on a few things. That is a benefit for the early adopters. ;-) Our costs are going up everywhere: falling dollar, rising gas, etc.
SEMI PRO 575w. The 575w fresnel at $699 is a beta test, "semi pro" unit as we call it. I am not totally sure of our plans for that model in the future. We actually have 3 different models of low cost ballast out there now in test and whichever one works out best would be the final one (if we decide to go ahead with a "semi pro" model) but as of now, no solid plans to market the under $1000 solution yet. The fixture itself is no problem--whatever little issues are in the test units could easily be worked out in final ones. It's all about the ballast and ignitor--that's where we need to know reliability levels.
PRO 575w. Anyway, the model you see on the website now, is using our 575/1200w ballast / ignitor which is ready to go--the same model used in our new CL-MP1200HR HMI 1200w par which is also being sold now. The $1599 price is temporary and will go up a bit again on the next batch. Our first batch will always be a bit less expensive than the 2nd batch on many of these cutting edge products to compensate the risk takers.
NOISE ISSUES. One thing to note is there is some amount of what I call "head noise" on all these higher wattage, low cost solutions. Ballast noise is not an issue with the 575/1200w model as the fan is a whisper fan--you can't hear it. It's just not as simple with metal halide to make a totally silent solution from one end to the other and there will most likely be some kind of noise at some point in the system.
Some of these electronic ballast/ignitor combos have more head noise than others. This can be attributed to several things but mostly the higher frequency the HMI bulb is driven on these electronic ballasts to keep from having flicker. We've discussed this before on this site. Its hard to explain and quantify how much noise there is but those that buy this solution should be aware of it. It's a metal halide issue mainly and very hard to figure out all the different variables which can be based on bulb and ignitor--literally, one brand or model of bulb may have more noise than another because of the resonances involved between parts within the quartz envelope of the bulb. It is extremely hard to figure out why more expensive ballast/ignitor models do not have the issue as much. Don't want any noise at all but still want a low cost solution? Use a magnetic ballast, but be prepared for sacrifices relating to frame rates and shutter speeds. We thought the electronic ballast offered the best overall experience if you can find creative ways to live with any noise involved. Some people using these solutions have a magnetic and an electronic ballast for the same head and use whichever one is appropriate based on whether they need absolute quiet because of sensitive recording going on in a very closed and small room or that they need to guard against flicker so they use the electronic and sound is not an issue in that particular scene.
On that note, remember that you are paying 1/4 or so of what an equivalent HMI would cost, so if you're interested in this type of solution, you should be of an attitude that you will find ways to make it work (like I do) rather than beating the solution because it isn't exactly equal to the $5000 to $9000 solution at $1599 which is not a realistic attitude.
The best advice is, don't place your mic right next to the lights. Place it at a normal position next to a subject. In any case, using it outdoors, you would not hear the issue at all. Dan "puredrifting" Brockett also had a good suggestion once when we were discussing this issue here on DVXUser, he noted that LTM HMIs have some head noise and he uses an audio bandpass filter in his editing program to filter it out. In my personal uses and tests, I don't have a problem because I don't place the mic near the lights.
PRICE. The price did go up a bit on a few things. That is a benefit for the early adopters. ;-) Our costs are going up everywhere: falling dollar, rising gas, etc.
SEMI PRO 575w. The 575w fresnel at $699 is a beta test, "semi pro" unit as we call it. I am not totally sure of our plans for that model in the future. We actually have 3 different models of low cost ballast out there now in test and whichever one works out best would be the final one (if we decide to go ahead with a "semi pro" model) but as of now, no solid plans to market the under $1000 solution yet. The fixture itself is no problem--whatever little issues are in the test units could easily be worked out in final ones. It's all about the ballast and ignitor--that's where we need to know reliability levels.
PRO 575w. Anyway, the model you see on the website now, is using our 575/1200w ballast / ignitor which is ready to go--the same model used in our new CL-MP1200HR HMI 1200w par which is also being sold now. The $1599 price is temporary and will go up a bit again on the next batch. Our first batch will always be a bit less expensive than the 2nd batch on many of these cutting edge products to compensate the risk takers.
NOISE ISSUES. One thing to note is there is some amount of what I call "head noise" on all these higher wattage, low cost solutions. Ballast noise is not an issue with the 575/1200w model as the fan is a whisper fan--you can't hear it. It's just not as simple with metal halide to make a totally silent solution from one end to the other and there will most likely be some kind of noise at some point in the system.
Some of these electronic ballast/ignitor combos have more head noise than others. This can be attributed to several things but mostly the higher frequency the HMI bulb is driven on these electronic ballasts to keep from having flicker. We've discussed this before on this site. Its hard to explain and quantify how much noise there is but those that buy this solution should be aware of it. It's a metal halide issue mainly and very hard to figure out all the different variables which can be based on bulb and ignitor--literally, one brand or model of bulb may have more noise than another because of the resonances involved between parts within the quartz envelope of the bulb. It is extremely hard to figure out why more expensive ballast/ignitor models do not have the issue as much. Don't want any noise at all but still want a low cost solution? Use a magnetic ballast, but be prepared for sacrifices relating to frame rates and shutter speeds. We thought the electronic ballast offered the best overall experience if you can find creative ways to live with any noise involved. Some people using these solutions have a magnetic and an electronic ballast for the same head and use whichever one is appropriate based on whether they need absolute quiet because of sensitive recording going on in a very closed and small room or that they need to guard against flicker so they use the electronic and sound is not an issue in that particular scene.
On that note, remember that you are paying 1/4 or so of what an equivalent HMI would cost, so if you're interested in this type of solution, you should be of an attitude that you will find ways to make it work (like I do) rather than beating the solution because it isn't exactly equal to the $5000 to $9000 solution at $1599 which is not a realistic attitude.
The best advice is, don't place your mic right next to the lights. Place it at a normal position next to a subject. In any case, using it outdoors, you would not hear the issue at all. Dan "puredrifting" Brockett also had a good suggestion once when we were discussing this issue here on DVXUser, he noted that LTM HMIs have some head noise and he uses an audio bandpass filter in his editing program to filter it out. In my personal uses and tests, I don't have a problem because I don't place the mic near the lights.
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