Light Kit (Under $1500)

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DDirector

Veteran
I've been searching for weeks, used and new and still haven't found anything.
I originally wanted Kino Flo, but have not seen anything under 1500, but just one light. Thats not enough for me.

I'm NOT looking at buying some cheap china make. I want the good stuff that will last me.
But, I need something for under $1,500 CAD.

I am looking for a minimum of 3 lights + a soft box. I have to have a large soft source as most of my stuff require soft light than hard light.

A kit so I can shoot short films. I dont want to be using my schools equipment anymore.
Any recommendations out there?

I saw some Arri kits, 3 lights (150, 300, 650 + soft box) but everything is over $1800. :(
Ugh.. I cant find anything.
 
The ONLY thing I ever found was if I got this:

Westcott BDS 54x72" Shallow BoxKit
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/632984-REG/Westcott_3704_BDS_54_x_72.html

Manfrotto 368B Light Stand
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546528-REG/Manfrotto_368B_368B_Basic_Black_Light.html

Westcott Spiderlite TD5 Medium Plus
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/579124-REG/Westcott_4892_Spiderlite_TD5_Medium_Plus.html

They are two softboxes, one large one, which is really nice and big, and another smaller one. I want the bigger one, but Maybe sub something in for the smaller one and get something else? - Possibly a 650W or 300W Arri Fresnel instead?
 
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Not sure how much work you want to do but DIY solutions can save you money. I bought some old Strand stage fresnels and some light stands from EBAY for really cheap. I had to machine my own mountings between the light hoops and the stand but it saved me a LOT of money. It's not as pretty and exciting as some new lights are but they'll last a while just the same.
 
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I did a lot of searching for a cheap soft box for interviews and ended up with a Linco flora. Easy to set up, no rods it's umbrella based and the light output is sweet. Check out this review along side a Kino 4 tube-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlFW331_1N0

Here's the ebay link, sure it's made in China but who cares, it's a sturdy 5500k soft light and stand for 260 bucks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/studio-lighting...646?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f054c4aee
http://stores.ebay.com/lincostudiolightingtechnology

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DDirector said:
I'm NOT looking at buying some cheap china make. I want the good stuff that will last me.
But, I need something for under $1,500 CAD.
Click to expand...

Repeat after me - "Buy cheap, buy twice."

Lights, unlike camera technology will be good for years and years and years. Buy name brands, get the durable stuff, and that includes stands and stingers. You don't want to put a 1k next to your talent on a stand that could go at any minute. I would not be looking at a whole kit for that sum. Doable? Sure, but I think you would be much better served by starting with a couple fixtures for that sum.
 
Have you considered buying individual lights, not sold as part of a kit?

I recently picked up a Source 4 light. It can do both hard light (harder than a fresnel) and soft light (by bouncing it). You could get one of these, a smaller light or two (like china balls or smaller fresnels) and a couple of C stands, and still come in under your budget if you shop wisely.

For more on the Source 4, see my other thread here: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?237372-Source-4
 
William_Robinette said:
Repeat after me - "Buy cheap, buy twice."

Lights, unlike camera technology will be good for years and years and years. Buy name brands, get the durable stuff, and that includes stands and stingers. You don't want to put a 1k next to your talent on a stand that could go at any minute. I would not be looking at a whole kit for that sum. Doable? Sure, but I think you would be much better served by starting with a couple fixtures for that sum.
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That's what I am trying to do. Stick with the name brand lights that I know are good and will not break down on me.

Im not looking for a whole kit full of many lights and a whole bunch of accessories. Thats going to be way out of my price range.

I probably just have enough to get two lights and a softbox. That's why I wanted a large soft source for lighting the scene in general and another Arri light.
And that would be my kit for now. Its not much, but if I want to shoot a living room scene with two actors standing and talking, I would just want something to light the room and light the actors enough for it to look good. - So maybe that Arri 650 to light the room and the actors and fill in the shadows with the softbox. Or softbox as to light actors and use the Arri to light just the room. Hard to explain as I am a visual person. hope you know what I mean.. keeping in mind, I would try to have as much natural light as possible.

For the Westcott Softbox kit, is that any good? Should I even be using those types of lights? - Ive seen them before, and they looked alright, but will it be good and will it be okay to mix with Arri lights?
 
Honestly spending money on a decent softbox with such a low budget isn't the best way to get the most out of your money in my opinion. I say this because fresnals aren't the best light for softboxes and when you factor in a speed ring and decent (read chimera) softbox you've already blown a good part of your budget. Fresnals are probably the best way to go now and there are plenty of options to pick them up one at a time. You can soften light in many ways and you can soften the beam from a fresnal in ways cheaper than a softbox. I think it would be wiser to focus on good fixtures and bounce off foamcore or use a silk than to spend so much on a single softbox. Not every source of light needs to come from a lamp. I actually usually cringe when I hear fill light, mostly because I do my best to create fill naturally, by bouncing the key back in. It's just my style, there's a million ways to do things, I just feel you won't always have a light balancing your face perfectly in real life. But using a setup like that you can even fill and key someone with one 650. Bounce a 650 off the ceiling and you have some base ambience. It can be as simple and cheap as that! Perhaps buying some Arris one at a time might be a good investment.

Edit: I should add, when learning I bought my lights one at a time. I had nothing but a fresnal or two at a point and was forced to come up with creative ways to soften and get the most out of it. So I feel that starting small can have it's advantages in the long run. I've seen friends use 5-6 lights to do something I'd do with 2 or 3. I don't claim that one method is superior over another, I just feel that it's been right for me and it might be helpful for you as well.
 
Understand. I had to work with two Arri 1000W lights being only a few feet away from the person. Which sucked as it was hot and I couldnt shine it at them because of the heat and it was too strong. I had to bounce the light twice to just get the key light. A big pain. lol

Thats why I thought about the Westcott softbox. Its fairly cheap and large. But, it can only be used for those lights. Its a cool light so, it can be very close to the subject, which is awesome.
 
Soft boxes are nice, but they are not worth the price when you are on a tight budget. You can soften with bounce cards, diffusion gels, silk frames, the ceiling etc. Shoot through umbrellas are also a cheap alternative. Foamcore and poster board are cheap and readily available. For the price of a chimara and speed ring you can get another light. 1k and 650 open face are the best bang for the buck. They can be used full strength when needed or diffused at other times. Any easy interview set-up with one light would be to use the hot light as a 3/4 back light rimming hair and cheek and then bounce back onto face.
 
So, instead of buying that Westcott Softbox, I should get an Arri 1000W Fresnel instead?
Its only 650 for the large version.
 
You want some variety. You had that problem because you used a 1k. If you had a 650 you mightve had more luck or coudlve relamped it to a 300. It goes a long way when you make it work with something simple like that. It also saves you money.

Also, falloff matters. You'll get nasty hotspots if the light is that close to the talent anyway. It's important to work with the different ways the light changes as distance is introduced to the fixture.
 
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get multiple wattage bulbs for each fixture, that way you can tailor to the scene and not need so many different fixtures.
 
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1500 is just enough, you just have to look in the right places...

Get two Mole Richardson babys and a tweenie. A while ago I got two 2k zips and a baby on craigslist for 400 bucks, so deals are out there....I'm sure if you look in the right places you can find those two babys and a tweenie for maybe 700 tops. Then say you buy 3 C-stands, get these instead of beefy babys because for some reason they're $40 less and more versatile. On adorama you can get matthews ones for 130 a piece. Get three and you've got 390.

Now...it does get a little difficult here. Instead of a softbox I might opt for a 4x4 frame with diffusion. Maybe some 250 or opal. This will cost you 50 bucks instead of the 150 or more that the softbox will cost you and it'll get you a much bigger source. Sure you'll have a little more spill, but I'm sure you can get creative here. Since your budget is limited you get broad strokes, not pin point precision.

Now you're at...340. You'll have to get a c-stand for the 4x4 frame which will cost you 130, a matthews one from adorama. 210 left

You'll probably want a bounce card and a c-stand for fill. We'll say 135 for the c-stand and bounce card. You got 75 bucks left. With the rest, I'd just buy stingers. I know it's pricey, but I would just get this stuff.

http://www.filmtools.com/25st12sjoeco.html

It's industry standard and if you buy anything else, you'll want to replace it within a year.

Depending on how long the cable is on your lights, you can get away with maybe just one on a cube tap. You'll have to run power from another room to power the baby and tweenie, but if your cable is long enough on your other baby you can just run power from the room you're in. Really depends on the rooms you're shooting in.

So there you go. I admit there will be shipping costs, you really could use a sand bag or two, and you'll probably need some gels, but if you buy used you can save a lot of money while still buying the industry standard stuff, and this will get you through your day.

As a side note, I really wouldn't recommend Arri for tungsten fixtures. I just find them a bit overpriced and they're tougher to find used.
 
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Ive never heard of such lights.
I want to stick with something I know is reliable and just in case, I want to ensure it will sell if I ever want/need to sell them.
 
DDirector said:
Ive never heard of such lights.
I want to stick with something I know is reliable and just in case, I want to ensure it will sell if I ever want/need to sell them.
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: (

A large large majority of major motion pictures use Mole lighting. Heck, I just recently prepped a bunch of gear for the new Soderbergh movie with Matt Damon and Gwenth Paltrow (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/combined) and we made sure to specifically give them all mole equipment.

It's just a very rare thing to work on a real movie and not work with mole gear. It's the industry standard for tungsten lighting.
 
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RyanT said:
Now...it does get a little difficult here. Instead of a softbox I might opt for a 4x4 frame with diffusion. Maybe some 250 or opal. This will cost you 50 bucks instead of the 150 or more that the softbox will cost you and it'll get you a much bigger source. Sure you'll have a little more spill, but I'm sure you can get creative here. Since your budget is limited you get broad strokes, not pin point precision.
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Ryan, where did you see the 4x4 frame for 50? Not busting on you, I've always seen them for much more but I'd definitely scoop one up at that price.

And I'll join in the mole bandwagon. I swear by moles myself. They outlive you. They're always the light of choice on any large production I've worked with as well. Honestly at this point it might make more sense to get a better feel for the different types of lights out there before digging in and buying one. It'll help you make a much wiser decision.
 
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