HMI's, Arri, and Prices!

S

scribbles

Active member
I've always been curious, how come arri prices are so much higher than other lighting companies? For HMI's their prices are almost double!!!! What can be 'different', or even better? Build quality? Length of use? Something to do with the ballast?
I produce commercial videos and make short films for fun, I would love an HMI lighting setup, is it really worth it to go arri? What are some other brands out there you would reccommend? Thankyou!
 
i once read that the ultimate HMI experience was a german outfit call Briese.

their reputation earned from packing an unreal amount of power in a tiny form. They are expensive even by HMI standards (of 4-5K per fixture).
 
Germany is an expensive country to live (as a worker or engineer) and do business in -- and those costs get transferred to the consumer.
 
Pmark23 said it best. Arri is a German corporation based in Germany. The economic environment of Europe in general will contribute a lot to the cost of anything manufactured there.

We have been trying to contribute to bringing down the cost of using metal halide starting with our CL-MF0150 metal halide fresnel 150w unit which has been well-appreciated by many. We're working our way up from there with two lines the CDM or "cold start" line (of which the MF0150 belongs there) using long life commercial grade high CRI metal halide bulbs and the HMI or "hot start" line using regular osram or philips type HMI metal halide bulbs.

At the moment we're finishing up our 1200w HMI par and we're also in the early stages of a 250w CDM and 70w pepper CDM fresnel too. So, we're getting there a bit at a time. I expect there to be more and more downward pressure on the HMI lines from all manufacturers.

One thing that may always keep the price up there a bit though is the added costs of support as HMI ballasts and ignitors are just a bit more "cranky" than other kinds like fluorescent which is in a great stage of maturity and very reliable. Part of this is due to the horrendous startup cycle of the whole system and the wear and tear that takes on it from one end to the other.
 
I have used lots of Arri HMIs, they are nice but if I was buying some HMIs today, K5600 Jokers are really great lights and pretty reasonably priced. Once Richard has all of his HMIs done, I bet they will be the new low cost leaders, the specs looks promising.

I was under the impression that a Briese light was a strobe for photography. Do they make HMIs as well?

Dan
 
puredrifting said:
if I was buying some HMIs today, K5600 Jokers are really great lights and pretty reasonably priced.
Click to expand...

Have you seen the Arri Pocket Pars?

They have a little better reputation for build quality and long term reliability, in particular the Power Gems ballast that Arri includes, over the K5600 models. Pocket Par's are also available with "lighthouse" attachment for using inside a soft box, just like the Joker's. There's not much of a difference in price, either.

Jokers are probably fine in owner / operator environments, just not my #1 choice for long term use..
 
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thisiswells said:
Have you seen the Arri Pocket Pars?

They have a little better reputation for build quality and long term reliability, in particular the Power Gems ballast that Arri includes, over the K5600 models. Pocket Par's are also available with "lighthouse" attachment for using inside a soft box, just like the Joker's. There's not much of a difference in price, either.

Jokers are probably fine in owner / operator environments, just not my #1 choice for long term use..
Click to expand...

I have used Arri HMIs but alway as rentals.

I have owned two K5600 Jokers.

I own mostly Arri tungsten instruments with a smattering of Moles and DeSistis.

Personally, I would be happy with an HMI from Mole, Arri, K5600, they are all good. Honestly, between those three brands, I would go off of price, they are all great instruments. I would also consider used, one of my Jokers was used and I bought in almost new condition for 40% of retail, used it for four years, then sold it for $800.00 more than I paid for it. Yes, if you take care of them and buy good ones, HMIs are a solid investment.

Dan

Dan
 
I still prefer Arri, but at today's prices I'd think twice. When I looked at prices two years ago there wasn't more than about a 5% difference in price between Joker and Arri. Today it is MUCH greater.. like 25-30%. What happened? Is that just the exchange rate effect?
 
Anything German is going up, I know that the Schoeps mics just had a 20-30% price hike. That wimpy dollar is killing us.

The K5600 Jokers are built in France, I think?

Dan
 
Arri's are worth it, IMO. I've used Lowells and Moles in the past...they just don't add up to the build quality of Arri. Plus, Arris are sort of the classic 'standard' in tungsten lighting. Lots of people use(d) them and they get a reputation, and the price 'can' go up, then.
 
I've got a hodge-podge of lights arri/colortran/b&m/mole/lowell all second hand and the best of the lot is none of them. They throw lihgt and dont break. Hard to see a real difference in build quality as some are heavier than others.
 
Arri's are a solid choice across their entire product line. I have used them for years. That said, I just bought an Altman 575 watt fresnel to give it shot. Better price point than the Arri and its pretty much a knock off of the Arri. Its an American made product to boot.

The Altman is well constructed and been on the job for the last four months without complaint - we are looking to buy another one. A good way to save a few bucks if that interests you.
 
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