Getting a lighter Interview lighting kit. Any ideas?

Jon Furtado

Jon Furtado

Well-known member
I'm trying to find a lighter solution to my current interview lighting kit. I tend to do mostly interviews. So, I'm trying to find something that will work in place of my current Mole Richardson kit: 650w open faced, 650w fresnel, 300w fresnel. This kit is huge, bulky, makes my tallent sweat and heats up the room too much. I've been debating on replace it with a LED kit since a lot of people seem to be moving in that direction. But i just can't seem to pull the trigger on the right kit. Also, it seems that I don't need a bunch of panels. I would think I might need: (1) 600-900LED Key, (1) 600-900LED background and perhaps a dedo style focusable hair light.

Of course, I would have to double this for a two person interview. But, so far i'm doing more talking heads.

I want to keep the weight/cost down and have something a little less hot on set.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Super portability, I think the lowel rifa (1000w) and maybe a 250w fresnel does the trick in most cases of run/gun
 
It's always a real pickle when trying to change up a lighting kit. I'm lucky enough to have a pretty broad range of lighting instruments so I just pick what's needed from my van. A couple of thoughts... Size/weight issues: While LED lights put out much less heat than your Mole lights, the weight and footprint of LED lights are roughly the same as your Moles, so your required stands will be the same occuping the same floor footprint. BIAX Diva style fluorescent lights will have a better CRI than LED lights and put out a little more heat than LEDs, but are larger than both LEDs and your current Mole kit. In reality you can find cooler lights than your current tungsten kit, but they will likely be larger fixtures than your Moles.

All the Best!

Dave
 
Lowel Pro lights are poorly made pieces of junk, but that said they put out an enormous amount of tungstun light and weigh next to nothing. The chimera ring for them is very cheap and gives you a lightweight soft key and back that is small and cheap. Also Lowell will repair them for free which offsets the cheap build quality. I use them more for backlights as I like a stronger bigger key though. Rifa or a tota chimera is the best bet for a lightweight tungstun key but if you need daylight I would get a Diva light or a knock off biax. LED's are expensive not very soft and don't have a lot of output. They are good only when you need a battery operated light.
 
A "very" portable battery alternative kit. Why not double up on them?...
Tons of powerful LED lights to be found all for around $50-70. Ranging up too about 2000 lumen.
With such a cheap price range, you could double up on them and have a pretty powerful "lightweight" kit.
The CN-160 is probably the most common to be found - $39
Amazon.com: 160 LED CN-160 Dimmable Ultra High Power Panel Digital Camera / Camcorder Video Light, LED Light for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Panasonic,SONY, Samsung and Olympus Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Also the YN-160, a bit newer... but basically the same.
Amazon.com: Yongnuo Pro LED Video / Studio Light YN-160s, LED Panel for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung Camcorder or Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Then you could go for some larger panels, but these usually require an AC power-source.
Amazon.com: ePhoto Dimmable 500 LED Light Panel Studio Video Photo Photography LED Lighting 100V-240V by ePhotoInc VL500: Camera & Photo

And some newer larger, but very portable panels to consider.
Amazon.com: Square Perfect LED 210 Photography Light for Still or Video Cameras 8 Watts: Camera & Photo

Amazon.com: Polaroid 312 Ultra High Powered Super Bright LED Camera / Camcorder Video Light With Variable Color Temp. (3200K-5600K) & Dimmable
Brightness Control Knobs (Includes Battery, Charger, Filter, Carry Case) For The Canon Digital EOS Rebel T4i (650D), T3 (1100D), T3i (600D), T1i (500D), T2i (550D), XSI (450D), XS (1000D), XTI (400D), XT (350D), 1D C, 60D, 60Da, 50D, 40D, 30D, 20D, 10D, 5D, 1D X, 1D, 5D Mark 2, 5D Mark 3, 7D Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo


I know, im linking some "cheap" alternatives, but i just wanted to give you something else to consider...Because i stack these together when the job requires... and it all cost me (3-4 hour batts included) well under $400. Works well for most "portable" circumstances.
 
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As the OP lives, & most likely works, in SoCal I'd advise against tungstens simply due to heat issues. HMI, & Kinos, would be my first choice.
 
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