Downlights

stuckfootage

stuckfootage

Well-known member
Hi folks,

I would like to use a tungsten fresnel pointing downward.
Have you had experiences with overheating in this orientation?
Do Lowel or Arri or Mole perform better in this situation?

Thanks for your time!
Les
 
No manufacturer recommends the lamp operate in this position. However, I have done it many times and never had a problem. I would suggest Mole because the a far more rugged than the Arri's or Lowel's.
 
I just got done shooting an entire day with a single Mole Tweenie pointing downward the whole time. Probably not good for the light, but I didn't have a problem.
 
Theatrical lighting spends much of it's time in the downwards mode and apart from a few extra lamps - which usually fail when the pipes they're attached to get lowered with the power still applied - there's no real problem. Filament sag is a problem with some classes of lamp, but even then, it's never a real issues - and over 30 years of lighting, it's never been enough of an issue to even consider keeping records to prove it!
 
Thanks for the replies.

I just took a look at Birns & Sawyer instructional DVD I got from the ACS site,
where Hollywood veteran gaffer Foster Denker talks about this subject.

He says the running a light pointing up or down more than 45° is OK,
but it will make the lamp's life shorter.

Les
 
I think it depends on the type of lamp. I have an idea that axial filament types (Eg CP 77) are less sensitive to orientation, provided you don't run them upside down. Conventional theatre types though can have their lives seriously shortened by poor orientation. As I understand it it's ok to run them pointing straight down, but not so much straight up, and upside down is a definite no-no.
Dave
 
I've read the warnings too but I've done it a lot and have never seen or smelled anything that made me worry including looking inside the lights later. Use some common sense and save the lights as often as you can and don't obstruct their ventilation with black wrap or something at the same time.

Two days ago I had a 650W Altman fresnel with a black wrap snoot that did not extend beyond the barndoors toward the lamp body and ran it all day pointing straight down with no apparent problems. I turned it off when I could.
 
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