i need to buy a light kit, any suggestions ?
- Thread starter ReIs
- Start date
You won't find anything useful, much less versatile, for $500. (Maybe if you buy used you can find something, but it won't be a very well-stocked kit.) I'd rent, if it's for paying gigs, and save up for something better later.
Three-point kits are great, if you are doing mostly news/interviews. A four-point kit can be pretty flexible, too, but is still limiting. If you're doing narrative work or anything larger than a seated interview, you'll need a lot more than three or four lights. Also, lights alone aren't the answer. You need control as well... gels, scrims, softboxes, barn doors. And stands are a must, plus sand bags. Cheap kits come with cheap stands that can be easily knocked over, though sand bags help there as well.
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of Lowell kits as primary lighting packages. At $500, you'd also be hard-pressed to buy even one Lowell RIFA (great softbox lights). Personally, I'd rather get an Arri fresnel/softbox kit. But those are $2000-3000.
Three-point kits are great, if you are doing mostly news/interviews. A four-point kit can be pretty flexible, too, but is still limiting. If you're doing narrative work or anything larger than a seated interview, you'll need a lot more than three or four lights. Also, lights alone aren't the answer. You need control as well... gels, scrims, softboxes, barn doors. And stands are a must, plus sand bags. Cheap kits come with cheap stands that can be easily knocked over, though sand bags help there as well.
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of Lowell kits as primary lighting packages. At $500, you'd also be hard-pressed to buy even one Lowell RIFA (great softbox lights). Personally, I'd rather get an Arri fresnel/softbox kit. But those are $2000-3000.
Azmyth
Veteran
Its important to look at what you want to do, and how well you want to do it.
Alot of the advice I have learned you will receive here is from working professionals who, of course use the best of the best whenever it is available to them. Their advice is always great, but it doesn't apply if you working with any sort of budget. Renting lights can be a great option as long as you have the budget for it, but depending on what you are trying to do there are ways around spending a ton of money for lighting, by using what is already available.
Look for locations with sources of light already present, or use the good ol' sun via a reflector if your outside.
I've seen plenty of low budget stuff shot with nothing but clamp lights with flourescent bulbs. You should look at what you want to do, and try to achieve it with what you can afford. Having expensive gear is great, but as many of the pros here will tell you.. its not what you have.. its what you can do with it.
Alot of the advice I have learned you will receive here is from working professionals who, of course use the best of the best whenever it is available to them. Their advice is always great, but it doesn't apply if you working with any sort of budget. Renting lights can be a great option as long as you have the budget for it, but depending on what you are trying to do there are ways around spending a ton of money for lighting, by using what is already available.
Look for locations with sources of light already present, or use the good ol' sun via a reflector if your outside.
I've seen plenty of low budget stuff shot with nothing but clamp lights with flourescent bulbs. You should look at what you want to do, and try to achieve it with what you can afford. Having expensive gear is great, but as many of the pros here will tell you.. its not what you have.. its what you can do with it.
PerroneFord
Deals in Lead
Yep,
If you gave me a few clamp lights, some good PAs, and a few Lowel's, I could light most small movies. But I darn sure couldn't have done it when I was looking to buy my first set of lights.
As you gain more experience, you learn what rules you can bend, and which you can break. And still make something look good. When you're just starting out, you don't know these things and it takes a lot more effort to get a solid look.
This afternoon, I was called to work up some lighting for a conference room in the building for a video conference that will be taking place this week. Normal conference room with 4 banks of ceiling fluorescents. I looked at the room, got my meter, and studied the room. An hour later I was bouncing a RIFA 88 off the far wall to get flat lighting on the podium, and I had put 2 layers of diffusion on the third bank of fluos, and turned off the 4th bank. I also dropped half of the first bank.
The comment from the client... "Gee it looks even from back to front, and everything is soft and nice." That took an hour. 2 years ago it would have taken me 5 lights and a full day.
Hey Perrone - we meet again (Ryan Mitchell - traded e-mails with you). Curious about your light meter - what meter are you using? I haven't "graduated" to using one yet but I can see me wanting to as time goes on...
And I agree with you about the five lights thing - I think I'm still there...
And I agree with you about the five lights thing - I think I'm still there...
PerroneFord
Deals in Lead
Hey Perrone - we meet again (Ryan Mitchell - traded e-mails with you). Curious about your light meter - what meter are you using? I haven't "graduated" to using one yet but I can see me wanting to as time goes on...
And I agree with you about the five lights thing - I think I'm still there...
Hey Ryan, good to see you again.
I am using the SpectraCine IV. It's rather basic, but easy to understand and very accurate. At least in my hands it has been. It doesn't have all the computational power of the Sekonic's but it's half the price.