Joker-Bug 200/400 kit

cboyes

cboyes

Member
Hi All,

I'm looking for a complete daylight kit. I work at Northern Arizona University and all of our new buildings are letting in much more outdoor light than older construction. I think spending the money to get HMI's over Fluorescents seems like a good idea. Although I've never used either.

The Joker-Bug 200/400 kit with Chimera softbanks seems like a good and not-too-expensive solution.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...200400JBDOUB_Joker_Bug_200W_400W_HMI_PAR.html

Would anyone mind commenting on the quality/usefulness of these lights if you've used them? Also if anyone prefers another solution, please pass that on. I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks a bunch,
Chris Boyes
Videographer/Producer
Northern Arizona University
 
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If you shoot for a college, you'll probably have more than one instance or two of a "Run 'n' Gun type shoot. You might consider the 200 joker bug with the AC/DC operation option.
As of November 1st, I bought two 400/800 kits, 5 chimeras, a pancake lantern, extra bulbs,head cables ,Soft tube and an adapter to use one of the lights in an ellipsoidal / source 4. I had previously rented them so many times I could have bought a couple.. so I did finally make that commitment.
I could not be happier. I would suggest, as long as your spending that kind of change, skip the 200 all together and get a 400/800 kit. The 800 is really only a 1/2- 3/4 of a stop different from a 1200 par. I love my Joker's...Love, love, love...Never a problem, even with all the rentals I've used over the years.
 
No question that if you're fighting daylight coming in through windows then HMI is the way to go. As to whether a 200w / 400w kit is enough that is another issue. While it will definitely be better in throw and strength than fluorescents which may be overpowered quickly, you may find that a 200w or 400w is not bright enough. My thinking is that a 575w may be minimum for many situations where there are a small to medium amount of windows in a room and a 1200w if a huge amount of windows. As to whether its a good value, many have found K5600 products to be reliable and very usable.

Others will no doubt chime in...
 
Call Ryan at K5600, and tell him Jon in Iowa sent ya. I just saw him at NAB. Great guy.
He's also a Chimera dealer as well. Before you go the B&H route on price, let him work with ya....Add a couple of Cool Lights Flo's to your package with daylight bulbs, and your all set..

PM me if you have additional questions, I'd be glad to answer any and all questions about K5600's. No, I don't work for them or Cool Lights
Richard, do I get a free bulb..lol
 
Jokers

Jokers

It does seem like I'd be really set if I got a 400/800 combo kit and an AC/DC 200 for run'n'gun situations.

Which supplemental Cool Lights Flo's would you guys recommend?

One more question: We have a number of Lowel lights. I usually use the Rifa88 and 1-2 DPs for interview setups. For about $500 I can get the adapter to put 3 fluorescent lamps in the Rifa, 3 fluorescent lamps and dichroic filters for the DPs. Is the quality of the HMI's enough of an improvement over this solution to be worth the $$?

I feel like the answer is yes, I'd just like to read it from you guys if that's what you think.

Here's some examples of the amount of daylight I'm talking about. NAU is really into making every new building as "green" as possible. That includes a lot of windows.

http://www4.nau.edu/insidenau/bumps/2008/1_24_08/ard.htm

Thanks a bunch for your quick responses. This is why I love forums like this...

Chris Boyes
Videographer/Producer
Northern Arizona University
 
Yep, that's alot of windows...Green glass too I'm sure. I smell color correction..LOL
I don't know what your total budget is for gear, but the output alone of the Hmi's is worth the investment. Lensed lamps over open face... ?, I see this question as a no brainer.
I would just use your Rifa and DP's for tungsten projects, and gel them blue when needed for supplemental kicker or fill-background or edge lights when using your new Jokers...You'll also be happy to know that when you get a 400 joker, it comes with a tungsten, drop -in, glass filter.
Save your money for the Jokers. I wouldn't consider your other option with the Flo lamp adapters, and dichroic glass unless my University cut my funding.
Even then, a mogul base fixture with one of Coollights 250 watt Daylight flo tubes inside a Chinese lantern would be a little more forgiving for faces during interviews or lighting up a small scene .
If you took your lighting one step further, sell your Rifa and Dp's and pickup an Arri light kit with a softbox.
 
Thanks again for the input. I agree about the Lowels. They were already here when I took this job. At my previous job, I had the Arri Softbank II kit and absolutely LOVED it.
 
Yay!!!

Yay!!!

Just found I got approved to get a JB 200 ac/dc and a 400 and a 800. Pumped...

What stands would you guys recommend?
 
Hi Chris:

Are you in those cool buildings in the middle of Flagstaff? We have camped in Flagstaff and been over there a few times, love your town.

The advice you have been given here is right on the money. I used to own a Joker 1200 watt PAR that I bought used for a very good price. I used it for four years and I sold it for $800.00 more than I paid for it. Great product and company, I really miss it. You will love the smaller ones as well, they are great.

Stands? You will have the best lights made pretty much, why not get the best stands, American Grip. Made in Sun Valley, Ca. about 10 minutes away from K5600s place in Burbank.

Best of luck,

Dan
 
Hey Dan,

Yep, over here in Flag. Have only been here for about 6 months, but I do love it here.

Thanks for the stand advice. I rented a pair of American stands once and found them to be very solid.
 
I own Matthews, American and Norms and the American stuff is by far the best, followed by the Norms stuff. Matthews makes some good, innovative pieces but overall their build quality is not as good as Norms or American. Ask any LA Grip if they have a preference on what brand of grip equipment and the majority will say American.

What kind of camera package do you use there? Are you like the school's video crew or do you have a real crew that works with you?

We were seriously contemplating buying a place in Flagstaff and moving there because it's so beautiful and there are so many cool outdoor things to do there. My wife is a teacher and I am a producer/writer/DP. I know my wife could easily teach there but for me, most of the stuff I work on is tied to Hollywood, the studios and shooting all over LA, NY, Miami, London. I can't think of a way, short of never being home and flying out to LA all of the time, that I could make a living with video and film out there. It's nice that you can live there and have a career in media and get to enjoy all of the great surroundings.

Best of luck,

Dan
 
Dan,

NAU has a dept called TV Services which has 2 sides, Production and Interactive TV (or videoconferencing). The production side has been growing big-time over the past few years. We have a production truck and we produced almost 50 sporting events last year, many of which were shown on Fox Sports Net Arizona. We also produce two series. The Score, a NAU sports run-down, broadcasts on FSN Arizona and locally. InsideNAU, a show about NAU overall, broadcasts locally.

I was brought in to produce commercials as well as specialty programs for the different schools and colleges at NAU. I write, light, shoot, edit and do motion graphics. Here's some examples....

http://copper.conted.nau.edu/tvs/forestry_compressed2.mov
http://copper.conted.nau.edu/tvs/wbball_h264.mov
http://copper.conted.nau.edu/tvs/chorus_h264.mov

We're also open to working with outside clients when the opportunity arises.

We shoot using the Canon XL-H1. We have some extra funding so I'm trying to get us to purchase (at best) 3 HPX-500 packages or (at worst) 1 HPX-500 package and 1 HVX-200. I used the HVX at my previous job and loved it. We'll see what happens with that, but I'm happy that we were able to get the HMI's.

I'm only going into such depth because, as luck has it, the position for my boss is open right now...

http://mandy.com/1/jobs3.cfm?v=27724096

The application period closes on May 22. If you're ready to settle down a bit and live in a wonderful part of the country, your experiences seem to make you a good candidate. Aside from this job, there wouldn't be anything else in or around Flagstaff that would come close to what you do now.

This goes for anyone else who reads this post and who might also be interested in the position.
 
Hi Chris:

You do nice work, I bet you are like me, you have to wear a lot of different hats all of the time? I can do a lot of different jobs, some of them even competently! ;-)

I appreciate the heads up and I would love to someday move out to Flagstaff but two problems..

1. I know absolutely nothing about sports and would be useless for all of the sports programming. I do know classic films, dealing with the studios, freelancers, etc. Not so sure if academia would agree with me, I think it must be somewhat like corporate was. I did that for eight years before moving into entertainment.

2. My daughter was just accepted to a really great private high school here that she wants to graduate from for her college plan. Wife just got tenure as a teacher here. You know the rest. Maybe Arizona for retirement (not that I will ever retire, I will always be doing this, just perhaps not hustling as hard). To me, retirement without working, just leisure would be a death sentence. ;-) Cheerful today, aren't I?

But thanks for the suggestion.

Best of luck, I hope that you end up with a cool boss and when I am in town again, I will look you up and buy you a beer and we can discuss HVXs, HPXs and Jokers. Keep us up on how your experience is going there.

Dan
 
Got em!

Joker-Bug 200 ac/dc, 400, 800, softboxes. lenses, barndoors, extra lamp for all 3, American Grip stands...

Pumped.
 
cboyes said:
Got em!

Joker-Bug 200 ac/dc, 400, 800, softboxes. lenses, barndoors, extra lamp for all 3, American Grip stands...

Pumped.
Click to expand...
CBoyes, glad your lights arrived, I know you will enjoy using them.
Glad to hear from Ryan at K5600, he told me he now reads DVXUSER, and he is very interested in peoples feedback about the lights, and helping people with their questions about Joker's and the rest of their product line. There are some way cool accessories for these lights, especially the "Soft Tube" and Source 4- ellipsoidal attachment. If you like to project patterns or cookies, this attachment helps you throw a very bright pattern.
No, I don't work for them, just want folks to consider these lights if they are in the market for HMI's... Tell Ryan that Jon in Iowa sent ya.
www.k5600.com 1-800-662-5756 or in Calif- 818-762-5756
 
Congrats! I've been looking at a Joker 400 and 800 combo - just waiting to get onto a show to help pay for them!

I've been trying to rent the 400 when I can on projects. It's a great light!

The Source 4 attachment looks super interesting. I'm a huge fan of them in Tungsten flavor.
 
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