How Hot Is A Rifa 55?

K

Kelly Olsen

Well-known member
I know this is subjective but how hot does the Rifa 55 or a Rifa 44 get?

I've heard some complain that in a regular size living room they get really uncomfortable and others make no mention of it at all. Anybody here have experience one way of the other?
 
Kelly Olsen said:
I know this is subjective but how hot does the Rifa 55 or a Rifa 44 get?

I've heard some complain that in a regular size living room they get really uncomfortable and others make no mention of it at all. Anybody here have experience one way of the other?
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Well Kelly, I don't know how hot these get and if they are uncomfortable or not but I just bought one for $445.00 and when I get it I'll give you a report. If it is too hot for me maybe you can buy it off me.

Kelly
 
Kelly Olsen said:
Well Kelly, I don't know how hot these get and if they are uncomfortable or not but I just bought one for $445.00 and when I get it I'll give you a report. If it is too hot for me maybe you can buy it off me.

Kelly
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Thanks Kelly, I look forward to hearing what you think about it.

Kelly
 
I have the Rifa 55. It does not significantly heat up the room, but the actual fixture gets really really hot. It can take 20 o 30 minutes to cool down enough so you can put it away.

Chris
 
CMessineo said:
I have the Rifa 55. It does not significantly heat up the room, but the actual fixture gets really really hot. It can take 20 o 30 minutes to cool down enough so you can put it away.

Chris
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Chris,

How is it on the talent or subject recieveing the light? Does the heat make it uncomfortable on the person in the light?

Thanks.

Kelly
P.S. Ignore that other Kelly
 
I guess it really depends on the size and ventilation in the room and how close it is in relation to your subject. I have a Chimera softbox which at 8-10ft or so it's fine to sit in front of.
 
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Kelly Olsen said:
Chris,

How is it on the talent or subject recieveing the light? Does the heat make it uncomfortable on the person in the light?

Thanks.

Kelly
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I always use it with the cover on. I have used it for shooting short films and for interviews and no one has ever had any issue with the heat.

Chris
 
CMessineo said:
I always use it with the cover on. I have used it for shooting short films and for interviews and no one has ever had any issue with the heat.

Chris
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Thanks Chris, I'm happy to hear this. I started asking the question about heat on the Rifa 55 when I was bidding on one on Ebay and I didn't get a response before the end of the auction but I went ahead and out bid others anyway thinking I could resell it for close to what I paid if it was too hot for my purposes but It sounds like it is going to be OK.
 
CMessineo said:
I always use it with the cover on. I have used it for shooting short films and for interviews and no one has ever had any issue with the heat.
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Ditto. I've used mine for a bunch of interviews and nobody has ever said anything.

At 500 watts, it shouldn't be putting out any more heat than any other 500 watt tungsten light.

Now if you had 3 or 4 running all day long in a room, it would probably warm things up. I don't know the exact efficiency for a tungsten bulb, but I'd be surprised if it was higher than 5-10%... which means a 500 watt light is going to be the equivalent of a 450 watt space heater in terms of heat output.
 
Has anybody seen a bulb for the Rifa 55 that will fit that is lower than 500 watts? The Rifa 44 will take 300, 250, 150, ect, but it has a smaller base. The Rifa 55, 66 etc, has the larger base but I can't find anything lower than a 500 watt bulb. I went to Samy's here in LA and they were clueless about bulbs in general.

Why do I want lower wattage? Glad you asked. 500 is just way too bright. it just fills the room with light and for a sit down interview you can't get any contrast or subtle effects on the face. Plus you have to get farther back to lessen the intensity and this creates harder shadows on the face and spreads the light around the room even farther. I could get the egg crate in 30 or 40 degrees and I actually would like one but at $225 or so this is making this one light about $700. Also, this just cuts angle or spread of light, not how intense the light is.

I just can't imagine that there is not a way to get a lower wattage bulb or an adapter that will accept a lower wattage small base for the Rifa 55 and above. Yes, I could use a dimmer from Harbor Freight, but this changes the color tempeture to warmer than 3200K. Or I could use a neutral density filter on the soft box but I'd rather not be using that hot of a light if i'm not actually needing or using all of the wattage. Why pay the price heat wise of using 500 watts when you are really out putting 300?

Sent an e-mail to Lowel but have not heard back. Appreciate any suggestions.
 
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Ok, I found something. Thorn makes a 375 watt 3200k bulb which has a G9.5 medium base which is what the Rifa 55 and all the other Rifa lights higher in number use. The Rifa 44 takes a different smaller base.

Bulbconnections.com, Bulbtronics.com, and Replacementbulbs.com all have it listed. So if anybody has one of the Rifas 55 and above and wants a lower wattage bulb, it lives!
 
try just slapping some ND12 across the face of it and use a couple of clothespins to hold it. mellows it out nicely and much easier than changing bulbs. i use my 55 all the time and it is no hotter than any other 500w light. probably cooler if anything...
 
cheezweezl said:
try just slapping some ND12 across the face of it and use a couple of clothespins to hold it. mellows it out nicely and much easier than changing bulbs. i use my 55 all the time and it is no hotter than any other 500w light. probably cooler if anything...
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He said earlier "Or I could use a neutral density filter on the soft box but I'd rather not be using that hot of a light if i'm not actually needing or using all of the wattage. Why pay the price heat wise of using 500 watts when you are really out putting 300?
"
 
cheezweezl said:
try just slapping some ND12 across the face of it and use a couple of clothespins to hold it. mellows it out nicely and much easier than changing bulbs. i use my 55 all the time and it is no hotter than any other 500w light. probably cooler if anything...
Click to expand...

Does the ND deal with the excess spill for you or do you use the egg crate or do you not have any issue with spill? As I stated before the light fills the room and it looks like it would be difficult to get contrast. Although I admit I'm speaking without actually pulling out the camera and looking through it and seeing how it reads the spill. I've been making these observations by eye ball which is probably much different than how the chips read the light. This is kind of like looking at suit on a hanger and saying how it fits without actually putting it on.

But I'm getting the 375 watt bulb anyway just to have the option. I do love the ease of use of the Rifa and how compact it is to store. Just need to learn how to use it correctly.

When you use your 55 in a sit down interview do you use a fill light or reflector and a kicker (rim light) and if so, which ones and what wattage? Do you also light the wall behind and does that overide the spill from the 55?

Appreciate your experience.
 
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