If you were to purchase just ONE light?

E

eco_bach

Well-known member
Hi
Absolute beginner when it comes to using continuous light sources. Picked up a Z96 LED for my 7D but think it may be wise to invest in something with more light output.

Ideally what I need is something that is

1-daylight balanced
2-low wattage with high output(can't risk blowing any fuses)
3-relatively cool
4-flexible in a variety of situations

Would something like this put me on the right track?
http://www.fjwestcott.com/products/array.cfm?tbl=td5new&catname=spiderlites&head=td5

What about diffusion, and or reflectors?
 
The upcoming TD6 is the successor to the TD5 - replacing the smaller center mounted "modeling" CFL with a full-size lamp. These are fantastic soft sources for those on a budget. The integrated speed-ring allows you to mount a number of modifiers directly to the light for shaping and other control.
 
Just one light will never be enough. With that said, what you're talking about is basically an HMI fixture (daylight, high output, cool temperature) which is extremely expensive and bulky to carry around. That light that you linked is a fluorescent light which is not at all a flexible light to have. It's a soft light only, with limited throw (amount of light over a large distance). For all all purpose light, a tungsten fresnel is the most affordable. It's not daylight balance, energy efficient, or cool running, but it's a cheap hard light source that can be softened in a variety of ways.
 
Based on his criteria, fluorescent makes the most sense. Getting tungsten to daylight is a costly venture (in terms of output efficiency, anyway). I was about to suggest an Arri 650, but re-read his specification before I replied. Heat is an issue. Draw is an issue. Color temperature is an issue. For modification, it is a top-contender. You can run a Fresnel into a soft-box or go completely in the opposite direction and remove the lens for a lovely hard source.
 
I might agree except that you'll have to pull a TD5 pretty far back to get any real hardness out of it, and I don't know that it has the throw. Flexibility will be an issue.
 
Based on your criteria, I will go ahead and suggest the Arri 650 with fresnel. Daylight balanced with a gel, though with a moderate drop in output . . . low-enough wattage so two shouldn't blow the fuse . . . "relatively" cool? - sort of . . . and most important -- flexibility miles beyond LED or fluorescent with the lens, scrims, barndoors, gels and diffusion. I have a soft light similar to the one you're looking at and it's the most used light I have - when lighting interview subjects. There's a reason the Arri has been so popular for the past 10-20 years. Find a used one in good shape and it won't lose its value. Lighting instruments are like musical instruments - they all have certain strengths and weaknesses depending on the particular situation. If you plan to do this for years, start building a collection of different types of lights and you will fear no room.
 
If you can stand for your transmission to drop 60%, then 3/4 and full CTB on that Arri won't be an issue. It is always better to start with a daylight source and use CTO to get where you need to be. With 58 - 73% resulting transmission, you're getting more much more light (with less heat) from CTO.

The flo is going to be intrinsically soft - which may or may not be desireable to the OP.
 
I was going to suggest a Lowel Rifa with the 65W fluorescent bulbs, but that's not too terribly different from the Westcott light you referenced. Similar price, too. Either one would probably work more or less the same.

If I could manage *two* lights, I'd add the Cool Lights 150W CDM fresnel -- it's pretty compact, daylight balanced, energy efficient, and has that nice creamy-but-hard fresnel mojo. (And you can focus, flag, barndoor, gel, bounce and diffuse it to get a huge variety of looks out of it.) The only real downside is that it's not hot-restrike capable and must be allowed to cool for five minutes before you can turn it back on.

- Greg
 
Honestly a 1200 par or fresnel HMI is really the light that you're asking for...maybe a 575, but even that begins to be a little limiting.
 
Absolutely. But if you're asking for advice to buy only one light, you're not looking to spend $3600 plus.

Which is a very good question -- what IS the budget here?
 
Hah, that's what I was sort of trying to get out of him. Very hard to say what to buy if you don't know how much you want to spend.
 
Mitch Gross said:
How about one light that can be used as one strong light or three regular ones, on AC power or on battery power?

http://blog.abelcine.com/2010/06/04/introducing-ianiros-ianiled54-lighting-system/
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link and the demo Mitch. That is one very clever & innovative approach to lighting. It looks like it would be great in a flight kit and outdoors, but I'd worry about serious light spill problems indoors. Care to comment? Also, the nearing-$4000 price tag with a few attachments, a couple batteries & mounting plate is getting up there.
 
We rep most studio lighting manufacturers and I'm having some difficulty finding an Ianiro footprint in the USA. Looking into this!
 
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