Lighting in foreign lands

Bus No. 8

Bus No. 8

Well-known member
I'm going to be shooting in Copenhagen in September and will be shooting a fair number of interviews.

My question is if there is an effective way to use my Lowell lights with electricity converters, or if I should plan on coming up with some creative, local (that is to say, Danish) light sources than run on the power supply they have there. My guess is the latter.

It seems like plugging in even a simple three light set-up will be difficult if not impossible or even dangerous.

Any ideas or facts?

Thanks,

Robert
 
Wouldn't go the voltage-change route:
Most (all?) Lowel lights accept 240V bulbs, and you can buy them right here in the US. Works like a charm; and all you'd need is a plug adapter then.
 
Hey Robert... I think they have 220-240 volts like us in oz (australia).

A trick the music industry uses with 110V par cans is they connect them in series... seems to work a treat just make up a well labeled "series double adapter".

Downside: you have to light in pairs, if one lamp blows they both go out... but it might get you out of a pickle.

But then if you can afford to go there, you can afford to hire the lamps.

Even better just get some 240V lamps to put in your housing... the same wattage draws half the current, so the wiring shuld be safe (better check though, 240 volts reee-aally hurts!)... nyuk nyuk.
 
Thanks - very helpful and made sense immediately.

I would like to add, however, that being able to literally scrape the money together to fly to Copenhagen is not the same as being able to hire lamps or any other equipment beyond what I already own. No one is paying us to do this (yet). We're just doing what we need to do with what we have.

Just wanted to shed a little perspective on that.

Thanks,

Robert
 
Bus No. 8 said:
We're just doing what we need to do with what we have.
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Understood: I'd hope that a few 240V bulbs wouldn't break the bank though. Depending on which Lowel lights you have it really is as simple as replacing a few bulbs before you go.
Which Lowels do you have?
 
Bus No. 8 said:
I would like to add, however, that being able to literally scrape the money together to fly to Copenhagen is not the same as being able to hire lamps or any other equipment beyond what I already own.

Just wanted to shed a little perspective on that.
Click to expand...

Well you have thought this over so you know better than us, but a light kit rental should be really cheap.

Anyway, buy 240V bulbs, and some plug adaptors and you are good to go with your kit. It should be pretty straightforward!
 
Thanks, vidled and taubkin. Didn't mean to sound defensive!

I have a basic Lowell kit with an omni, a tota, a pro-light (L-light) and a Rifa light. It sounds like it will be pretty simple to run these with 240v bulbs, which I can afford. Renting there might be fairly cheap for our two-week shoot (although Copenhagen is very expensive in general), but we are hoping to raise funds and grants to return for an extended period, like a year, so using my own kit if possible would be ideal. The main drag will be schlepping that damn heavy case around.

Robert
 
I went to Russia last year. Their power sucks. One place we plugged into was doing about 280v and took out the 220 bulbs in the totas. Not a good place to find replacements either.

Your next problem is going to be the floresent lights. The frequency (50 hz) will show as flicker on your NTSC camera. You can tweak with the shutter rate, same as syncing with a computer monitor, and get rid of most of it. Their floro's are also quite green.

You have 2 choices then. Color balance and hope. Add +12 green to your lights and take the green out in post. This is a film trick.

Enjoy your trip. It's a wonderful country with pretty good food, great beer, and fun people.
bob
 
Bus No. 8 said:
The main drag will be schlepping that damn heavy case around.

Robert
Click to expand...

Exactly, to me that is the main problem with taking your lights with you on a trip. Still, nothing that a strong back and some persistence can't solve...

Good Luck out there. I'd be thrilled to visit Coppenhagen!
 
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