Kino Flo Barfly (Pre-Purchase Questions) ...

T

thisiswells

Retired
Does anyone here have any hands on experience with the Kino Flo Barfly series lights?

One of my chief concerns is the reliability of the color temperature, specifically the "mired" shift towards magenta that was VERY evident in the 55W Biax Tubes used in the Diva-Lite's. It should be noted that I sold my Diva-Lites because of this issue.

I have also noticed this "mired shift" when using a 4' Kino Flo tube in "Standard Output" or "2 Foot" mode on the Select Ballast. In "High Output" aka "4 foot" mode, the mired color temp looks as close to tungsten (or photographic daylight) as it can be, with no green or magenta cast. I really, really like the Kino Flo 4Bank Select for this reason.

Does it seem reasonable that the "new" High Output mode on the Barfly ballast would correct this mired color shift that was so disappointing on the Diva Lite? Please chime in your thoughts. I live in a part of the country where these lights are not available for rental, so any feedback from the forum would be GREATLY appreciated before a potential buy.

Thank you!
 
From what I've dug up, the magenta shift from kino flo bulbs is only apparent to the naked eye. The bulbs emit a green spike in their spectra that our eye is insensitive to, but which would show up on film and video, so kino flo added a compound of some kind to bias the bulbs slightly magenta to compensate for the green spike. Since we can't see the green spike, we see the bulbs as magenta, but film and video won't detect this.

and remember that mired shift, and color temp / CRI as a whole assume a blackbody emitter. CRI and color temp indications on floros are given as a reference, not as a calibration. Color temp meters in theory shouldn't work accurately with floros because they emit a discontinuous spectrum while the meter scans for the entire spectrum, thus biasing the results.

If this wasn't the issue and the tubes were heavily magenta on both film and video as well as the naked eye, then disregard that. I own a diva 400 and was concerned as well, but once I found the explanation and ran tests, I had to agree. My tungsten tubes render as perfect white on 3200K setting and on film (well... 16mm Kodak at least)
 
If your tubes are still biasing magenta, you could always throw a 1/4 or 1/2 +green onto the fixture to correct it. it shouldnt cut down light too much, and god knows the diva is bright enough as is...
 
I haven't actually used the Barfly lights but did get a look at them in a shop in Phoenix. The guys there love them and raved about their versatility.. I own a Diva 400 and 200 and the Barfly seems like the perfect compliment. Bet they would make a great small key through diff or a really nice edge/cheek light. Very sturdy build and easily rigable. Seems like if you took a chance on them and were unhappy, a used unit would sell quick.
 
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