Light kit for the financially impaired ($50)

[mattsdni]

FYI to the first post. That bulb will put out about the equivalent of a 60w bulb. I have a few of them for daylight practicals.

 

[Bern Caughey]

I bought one of the Cool Lights 150W CDM fresnels ... It has that beautiful Fresnel creamy smoothness...

I picked up one to test too, & there's a lot to like, but not the pattern from the fresnel. It doesn't project a circular pattern, rather an oblong vertical that's shaped more like a PAR with medium lens.

I'd love to test the Coolight's daylight bulb in a DeSisti CD15F, but can't find one for rent, & am hesitant to special order the fixture.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._3410_210_150W_Ceramic_Discharge_Fresnel.html

 

[Greg Smith]

I picked up one to test too, & there's a lot to like, but not the pattern from the fresnel. It doesn't project a circular pattern, rather an oblong vertical that's shaped more like a PAR with medium lens.

Must be a sample-to-sample variation in the bulb, lens or reflector. Mine is very close to perfectly circular. But I'll certainly test any future units I pick up.

- GDS

 

[Bern Caughey]

Must be a sample-to-sample variation in the bulb, lens or reflector. Mine is very close to perfectly circular.

Interesting.

I'll need to investigate further. Would have bought more of these lamps if they behaved like yours.

 

[Pietro Impagliazzo]

I bought one of the Cool Lights 150W CDM fresnels to try it out and now have more on my wish list. I haven't done any rigorous tests but have been using it the better part of a year now packed in a bag to carry on location, and in a studio-like space from time to time, and do have some impressions you might find useful. In short, I absolutely love the light. It has that beautiful Fresnel creamy smoothness, focuses over a wide range, and is small and light compared to a tungsten instrument of equal output. I like that it's daylight balanced, doesn't emit much heat, and that the bulb lasts a long time and is economical to replace. It's not built as rock solid as the Mole or Arri fresnels I've used, but it's probably good enough, and it is much more portable.

Obvious downsides are that you have to drag the ballast around, it takes a few minutes to reach the correct color when struck, and you have to let it cool down five minutes or so before restriking. That last "feature" has been a bit of a pain a few times, but I can live with it for the price and other positives of the light.

You definitely will want a set of scrims to go with it. Modern cameras are pretty sensitive, and there have been a lot more times I have needed to dim this light a bit rather than feeling like I needed any more output.

This is probably the cheapest and most practical way to get that fresnel goodness in a high efficiency daylight balanced fixture. I really, really don't want to shoot with tungsten again.

- Greg

Great feedback man, thank you!