If you could take ONE light, in a suitcase...

N

nimbleal

Member
...what would it be?

I need a super portable system.
This isn't for creative DOPing but just to get a good soft light on subject(s) for training videos.

I was thinking of just bouncing something off the ceiling... but I need it to be small, plug into the mains and not cost too much. I also don't want something that can burn your hand from a yard away.

what do you reckon?

Shooting with DVXs so I don't need 2K+ ;)
Thanks
 
Soft light and small, don't go in the same sentence. That said, a Lowel Omni is about ideal I'd think if you HAVE to have a small, low wattage light. Are you going to take a light stand also? Might do, to take something like a 750w open face, bounce it off the wall behind the camera, and let that fill in. Can you take a small umbrella? That would help tremendously also and be VERY compact.
 
While far from my favorite light look at the Tota's as an option too. They pack up really small for 750W. And Like Perrone mentioned an umbrella would pack up small too. If I remember right Lowell makes a few stands that pack up really small and light. Its more than one light but the lowell pro-light also packs up tiny and is great for seperation and background accents. Oh and almost forgot the Rifa - great softbox that folds up small if you need something that sets up quick too. Not as versatile but its another option.
 
Ditto on the Rifa. With a Lowel stand a Rifa 55 could probably pack into a medium sized suitcase (with lots of room left over for clothes!). It's a softbox, but you can take off the front diffuser for a harder look too. Its eggcrates fold up to near-pocket size.
 
Ted Spencer said:
Ditto on the Rifa. With a Lowel stand a Rifa 55 could probably pack into a medium sized suitcase (with lots of room left over for clothes!). It's a softbox, but you can take off the front diffuser for a harder look too. Its eggcrates fold up to near-pocket size.
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And you can balance it for daylight. I didn't think to mention the Rifa simply because I have the 88 and it's pretty large. I forget the others are quite a bit smaller.
 
I do a lot of run and gun. It makes up about 70percent of my work. I agree with Lowell products. But it all comes down to hiow much light you need to do the job.
I carry a tota light, a lightweight manfrotto stand and umbrella in my porta-brace tripod bag. I throw a lowel pro,small stand, barndoors and a cheap but very effective small Amvona softbox in my with my clothes. I bought these two at a time for about 40 bucks each and have yet to wear ou the first one a year later. For most stuff this works well along with whatever "practical" fixtures I can find on the shoot.
I recently bought a Cool-Lux 4 light kit used and it is awesome. IT is a 4 light kit two stands and two clamps and a collection of very handy adapters, filters ,dimmers etc. all in a case the size of an legal style briefcase.
This kit makes life easy for the amount of space it requires.
hope this is of some help.
Brian
 
650 fresnel: can bounce, silk, diff, scrim, spot & flood. and open the the can for bare bulb blasting.
 
10s said:
650 fresnel: can bounce, silk, diff, scrim, spot & flood. and open the the can for bare bulb blasting.
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I completely agree but would pack a 1k fresnel. Why not? :)

You can always reduce light, so a larger punch would be ideal for me. Especially if I am using heavy diffusion or CTB gels (if there is a daylight window in background), and you never know when you need a medium wide shot. Scrims and a chimera would be absolutely necessary.

(Full CTB is around 2 stops of light loss, diffusion varies but has considerable loss.)
 
I think if its just ONE light I would go with the 1k fresnel and bring a dimmer in my pocket... However currently my 1 light setup for run and gun interviews is a 750watt tota. I want to get a 1k DP light soon open faced is not fun.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
I completely agree but would pack a 1k fresnel. Why not? :)

You can always reduce light, so a larger punch would be ideal for me. Especially if I am using heavy diffusion or CTB gels (if there is a daylight window in background), and you never know when you need a medium wide shot. Scrims and a chimera would be absolutely necessary.

(Full CTB is around 2 stops of light loss, diffusion varies but has considerable loss.)
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Ok a 1k, I'm easy, if I it's small enough for the suitcase and I can bring along a dimmer then I'll go with it; dimmers are great for cheating. I always get that sneaky feeling when using a dimmer that I'm cheating, it feels wonderful!

A fresenal will give the effect of any other light but the others can't match a fresnel look. Fresnels are my basic building blocks for lighting.
 
Lowel DP. It's a 1K, focusable, compact, and should give more output than a 1K fresnel since it has no lens (to break maybe also), and it's lighter than a fresnel. Take two! Find/use white bounce at location as needed.

.
 
I'd go with the lowel DP as a single light also. But I also suggest you reconsider the 1 light limitation.

You can get an 800W Chinese redhead on ebay for less than $100. The weight overhead is minimal and the added flexibility is high.

And I'd stay away from fresnels in this setup. They are heavy and require additional set up time to get them right.

If you were taking a third light (backlight), I'd consider a Lowel pro or a 200W fresnel. But not for the first or second light.
 
As far as the Lowel's... I just used a bunch of 650's that were made available to me from a friend. I liked the light output, but hated the construction. The housing was not complex by my standards but much too complex for what was necessary in a 650 housing. Took me an unexcused amount of time to get the fresnel lens off for a certain shot. Wasted time which made me look slow.

Second of all, when I put a chimera on the front, the screw which grips the end of a gobo arm would not tighten with enough strength to keep the light from "sagging" with gravity and slowly facing downward.

These are both problems I have NEVER had from my Arri Fresnels. Just my recent experience with Lowells. Good light quality, bad construction.
 
An ARRI 1 K Studio fresnel or a Pepper is a high quality small compact lightweight fixture producing a fresnel look. So what's so special with a fresnel? After all aren't all lights equal? No!

A fresnel gives an even light compared to all other lights. That is why fresenls are known for portrait quality light. The lens collects light from the front of the bulb, the sides and off the rear reflector and puts them into a phase configuration. Run a test using different lights and you'll see the difference immediately. A fresnel has no dark spots in the circle of light, whereas an open face does. You find these big ugly dark spots showing the uneven throw from the fixture.

So if you have only one light, it's wise to start with the best quality and work your way down. As stated previously, a fresnel can do all jobs using silks, spun, bounce, and other lighting tricks.
 
Lowel made a 650w fresnel called the Fren-L. It has been discontinued. It was suprisingly expensive considering the brand. Quite the opposite of the business model Lowel had for themselves. It wasn't at all competetive with other similar wattage fresnels.

My vote goes for a Lowel DP. It's just my favorite light and the first one that usually comes out of my kit. I like to carry lower wattage bulbs (500-700w) in addition to the 1Ks, just in case I run into a situation where I think the power situation might be less than ideal.

~~Dave
 
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