FS7: FS7 Light Kit Survey!

morgan_moore said:
I used a redhead the other day - I still have six - as the fith light.

Instantly cooked my fingers - amazing how quick they seem like dinosaurs

But yep I still think they have a magical quality on skin.

Actually it's not magic - most of those graphs done with the spectrometer thing show the led as very lacking in deep red

Deep red smooths skin imperfections
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I don't think it's as bad anymore as they used to be... the LED spectrums are getting better and sometimes it's worth the trade off in spectral quality to get portability and lower power consumption.
If I had the money at the moment, I'd happily throw them after something like Aputures lights.
 
doubledark said:
Down here I'm finding that it's Public Liability that's pushing everyone to battery operated gear; no power cables for people to trip over and IF they allow power cables then they need to be electrical tested to reduce/eliminate the possibility of fire/electrocution due to faulty equipment.
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Yep, and it's also the environmental impact.
 
Liam Hall said:
Yep, and it's also the environmental impact.
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Yeah thats all around the corner.. I think CA will all go "Green".. tungsten will be banned.. they dont sell the bulbs anymore I believe for practicals .. or being phased out.. lawyers as usual building up their part..they,ll tell production that they risk a lawsuit if the DP farts soon..

Corp lighting expectations are just as high as any broadcast if not higher.. really..I know it can be seen as BS.. but truly I,d get some odd looks and most likely it would be "noted".. if I turned up with tungsten lighting only.. esp anything large ish ..2K,s as a key on the big boss..provided I can get it in the building in the first place.. old gear.. or Im not good enough to earn the folding green to afford the fancy "new" lights.. just the way it is..
But as I say.. Im more than happy to that I ditched all my tungsten .. even sold my Diva 400 (never used it, heavy and needed to be plugged in and needed a diff frame)... high end LED.. soft boxes and grids.. battery power.. the only way to go.. for that market.. and broadcast too IMHO..
 
Vintegreo said:
Do you manage to get that all in one trip on one cart? That's something I'd love to know, too.
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Full size Rock-n-roller cart (fits folded in the Outback as well.) I use several different sizes of Kata OMB cases: one for Monitor, one for 4 Arris, and one for 2-Diva 200's. No wasted space in the cases - and NOT packed for airline travel! Packs just narrow enough to fit through standard single width door.
If more than one tripod, or if bringing slider, I also use a little 2-wheel fold-up cart for tripods, gels and some light stands to keep from getting top-heavy. Yes, there's more than can logically fit on one of those little fold-ups, but they all get held in place vertically by bungee cords around the bundle.
Preferably meet up with a sound guy at parking lot (when shooting in NYC), but if he's late or it's a real OMB (or just a 'meet me on the 18th floor' producer) I can manage about 2 city blocks pushing big cart with one hand and pulling the little fold-up with the other. If it's just me I don't bring as many shot bags, so cart is a little lighter. The parking garages I frequent know me - and the fact that they get tipped VERY well - so they let me take the time to pack the cart(s) while still in the parking garage. (Or if at a corporate facility outside of the city I can unload in the loading dock and just push one cart, then the other.)
 
I'm not trying to say LED's aren't "good". I have four bi-color Astra's, a 'flight kit' of three Sola ENG's, two Hive 100-C's, several stand-alone Sola ENG's for camera top lights and an original 1x1 LP still floating around somewhere. And I'm on the record many times saying I love the Astra's(well, not the physical design). What gets me, though, is just this sort of automatic dismissal of tungsten now and people acting like it's something inferior.

There are many variables and factors in each shoot. Sometimes LED's are the right tool(i.e.:need to move fast and "light"/be battery powered). And sometimes tungsten is the best tool. When I make the decision on tungsten it usually plays out like this: do I have complete control over the room or space, meaning is it a mixed lighting situation and am I trying to match/work with the ambient/existing light; how big is the space, how fast do we have to move, are we shooting 24 or 60 and is it a feature interview, meaning there is probably going to be a fairly tight shot of the subject.
 
Tungsten is still the best looking light source best looking skin tones and I think there is something in our brains from caveman days that responds to the fire like aspect of it.
 
I use 2 x Felloni 1x1 bi-color (1/8th magenta + diff) when I'm a one man band plus Dedos. I still use Divas when I have help or plenty of time by myself. Pretty, somewhat large source for interviews with flozier in place. I still carry 2 x Totas with speedrings, XS and small Chimeras with grids, but can't remember last time I used them. Wait, I take that back. I have done a few multicam corp jobs lately where I do go all tungsten in completely controlled environments with no windows as I have a lot of Arri and Mole fresnels. Everything goes on a magliner with a shelf and caddy in a Honda Odyssey except Divas which get rolled in in their own case. 17" Panansonic always goes too in Porta Brace soft case. Couple C-stands in caddy with stix and stands. Room for bags, gripware, sound too. So, bottom line is different lights for different jobs.
 
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Vintegreo said:
Thank you!!! Looks like a great unit.
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I had originally the smaller one.. but its too small to get a soft light for interviews.. it will work at a pinch .. the other one I saw in video for another product .. but in the background I saw an astra with a much bigger soft box.. hard to track it down.. its not made my Litepanels but by a German (I think) firm called DOP Choice .. but for some reason only on the Astra soft page.. that light is bit thicker than the others so i presumed if wouldn't fit onto the normal ones.. but its does.. why it is not just listed with the smaller one I,ll never know.. they need some marketing guidance maybe.. I found it on B&H.. but strangely it was alot more expensive than the DOP Choice dealer..its about $280 or so and seemed to be over $400 on B&H.. has to be something wrong there.. but this unit is great for interview keys.. most of time I just use this one light.. and an opposite angle very subtle back light if need for some separation .. less is more.. for my work anyway the style has for a long time been a much more natural look.. the US has lagged behind Europe on this approach I think. .. where the 60 min, very over lit flat look (IMHO) has ruled as the yard stick of "high end" since the 90,s really.. plus color balancing for daylight is better for digital sensors ... you can have windows in frame, and you just dont have all the gel thing to deal with.. Im not saying all tungsten lights should be burnt at dawn but for the work you describe, they are just an added hassle and easily argued as not actually as good for that sort of work.. for many reasons already stated..

Cheap LED,s are crap for sure.. I dont want to be having to magenta gel my lights.. but any high end LED light is absolutely as good as any tungsten light.. I think there is bit of myth in the belief that tungsten looking better thing.. mostly by those who have tungsten lights :)
 
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While I still own a number of Tungstens, I light most everything these days with bi-color, or RGB+W, LEDs, & when more oomph is needed, HMIs.

Did a PSA recently on a theatre stage in NYC, & keyed with bi-color LEDs, but due to budget constraints, lit the backgrounds with tungsten Fresnels, & Source Fours, equipped with Squeezers. Love the simplicity of Tungstens, but they almost felt old fashioned next to the LEDs.

PS The EU is phasing out incandescent light bulbs for general lighting, & California has done away with 100W household bulbs, but both are open to recent energy-efficient developments that may bring them back. And (AFAIK) both still allow the sales of tungsten globes for studio lamps.
 
Bern Caughey said:
While I still own a number of Tungstens, I light most everything these days with bi-color, or RGB+W, LEDs, & when more oomph is needed, HMIs.

Did a PSA recently on a theatre stage in NYC, & keyed with bi-color LEDs, but due to budget constraints, lit the backgrounds with tungsten Fresnels, & Source Fours, equipped with Squeezers. Love the simplicity of Tungstens, but they almost felt old fashioned next to the LEDs.

PS The EU is phasing out incandescent light bulbs for general lighting, & California has done away with 100W household bulbs, but both are open to recent energy-efficient developments that may bring them back. And (AFAIK) both still allow the sales of tungsten globes for studio lamps.
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A lot of household tungsten 'bulbs', now, are actually halogen lamps encased in a "normal glass light bulb". Hold one up to the light and look inside. Even here on the east coast, it's almost impossible to find 100W incandescent household bulbs in any of the big box stores. I started buying them on Amazon. Most of the household/consumer LED's are still $h!t. I've bought several different ones to try and they all give sickly skin tones or are just plain "off". I tried one in my bedroom lamp and it has a yellow/green cast and makes everything look sick. Even my dogs coats don't look right, at least the ones with tan coats. I tried some GE Reveal LED bulbs in another room and they are MAGENTA(!). And the one I put up in my gear closest is actually the least objectionable of the ones indoors, it looks like a normal fluorescent. The best I've found so far are the outdoor flood lights. At least the ones that I have. I went with "tungsten" and they actually look right(granted this is outside, too). I believe the flood lights use Cree emitters.
 
I use Lowell Pro DP Lights and 1,000 watt dimmers. They do get hot, but they are powerful, full spectrum lights. I have flags, scrims, and other modifiers I use with them. For interviews, I often found just one sufficient with an umbrella as a soft source from the side. For other situations, I use Kino Flo True Match in a 4-socket configuration. I like the Kino Flo True Match 26 watts because they come 3200 and 5000 K and can screw in anywhere. I've found those lights to have well-controlled green. I have yet to find a reasonably priced LED panel that's not spikey. I'm also a big proponent of reflectors and bouncing in fill light when and where I can, so I have a variety of reflectors and stands as well. There's an old joke about a cinematographer who said he likes shooting with available lighting---whatever's available in the truck.
 
When I first saw Westcott’s Flex lights, I was amazed. How useful. Lightweight and easy to transport. But so bloody expensive. I’ve been using Diva 400/200 units for some years and although they work quite well, they represent two case to transport, bulbs that can break and an awkward unit to move about on a set.

Not long ago I watched a YouTube video where some Flex light type units were demonstrated. They were made in China and were ridiculously inexpensive. One unit, the FalconEyes RX-18T, caught my eye. The daylight unit appeared to have accurate color temperature compared to actual daylight. So I bought one. $161.00.

I used it on an interview last week. She looked fine. Fast set-up, the light weighs nothing, rolls up and packs into a soft pouch along with its power unit/dimmer. The color temperature I measured indicated 5000K. So I bought some blue gel to bring it up. If this works out, I’m ditching my Diva lights. I consider the gel thing as minor. I will use it on more interviews and ask the producers how they like it in post.

I ordered a 2nd unit last weekend.

I also own a Joker 400 when I need some daylight punch in a Chimera Pancake or Soft Box, a Source Four when I need to put up a pattern on a large surface or light a speaker at a podium some distance away, and a full set of Arri fresnels which I almost never use these days. I also own 3 Tota Lights which are handy for lighting up green screens and backdrops.

Producers ask me when I travel by air, “how many cases are you bringing…?
When I say 6 (7 including my cart), they cringe and ask if I can take less. Maybe soon I can say one or two less.
 
Nice to see what folks are using, nowadays.

My kit for one-man-band, or skeleton crew:
-Arri Skypanel S60 (heavy, but powerful and versatile at over 500w) with chimera soft-box
-Source 4 LED V.2 w/ gobo kit (not the most powerful, but very handy)
-Tungsten 1k fresnel (can be gelled and diffused with still enough output)
-Two C-stands
-1 Aluminum combo stand
-1 Steel Combo stand
-1 Junior boom
-4 pop-out rag kits 4x3ish
-Misc gel rolls

I can carry all of this, plus two tripods, two cameras & batteries, AC kit, lenses and small grip kit in a RocknRoller R18 cart with the stand-bag attached...but my SUV is likely a bit larger than the OPs Subaru?

I am waiting for the LiteMats to release their new RGB versions, which I will add to this kit when available (likely a 4 and a 2).

When the job requires, I get a Hive 1k, or an M18...but then I'd likely be able to rent a grip truck.
 
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If more of my jobs didn't require air travel I'd buy the new LiteMats, but like you, I'd wait for RGB versions.

Used a LiteMat 4 with diffusion, & grid, as a key in the PSA mentioned previously. Needed something a bit smaller for a follow on gig, & could 't get a LiteMat 3, so went with a S30-C with Chimera, & Eggcrate. While a huge fan of the ARRIs, especially when needing raw power, transporting, & rigging, a LiteMat is so much simpler. Plus I really like the LiteMats' grids which keep the head shallow, & don't show up as much a Eggcrates in reflections, especially eyeglasses'.

The major downside of the LiteMats is the janky cabeling (ours would intermittently cut out, & spark, when adjusting it's position), but their releasing new versions with proper feeder cables.
 
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