Lighting Kit for $2K

S

Scotty Fox

Member
Hi All

I'm a writer/director who's looking to get my own lighting kit due to shooting more content on my own without large crews. Typically I hire gaffers dp etc., but I'm really looking to increase my knowledge in this area by handling more of the shooting and lighting for these smaller projects.

I'll be shooting mostly narrative. Tend to be sci fi, horror, some humor, but virtually all with higher contrast, shadows and so on.

My budget is about $2k. This could change. But I'm looking for a kit that can start me out with practical experience so I can start learning what can and can't be done with certain lights setups etc. and then building from there. Or renting if necessary the larger pieces.

I've looked at a few lower end brands. But would be interested to know what are some of the better options out there for small budgets? Fresnel vs. LED Or a combination?

Thanks!
 
You will no doubt receive responses recommending that you go with LED lights exclusively, but for your budget and with your having said you want high contrast / shadowing, I suggest you spend $1500 on a ARRI fresnel kit like the one linked below that is for sale on eBay and then put the remaining $500 towards reflectors, gels, dimmers, & stingers.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Arri-Softbank-D2-Fresnel-Lighting-Kit-1250-Watts-1x-650W-2x-300W-extas/273047012763?hash=item3f92dec59b:g:MR0AAOSw8NVab9PE


Whatever you decide, even if it is to go LED-only, include fresnels. LED softs panels are all the rage today and as a result the art of lighting with hard light is somewhat forsaken, unfortunately. But hard light is some of the most expressive lighting and you will learn more executing hard lighting / contrasty lighting than you will just using LED soft lights and doing the "flat", low contrast s-Log look where everything is washed out. And hard lighting / high contrast lighting is conducive to horror-themed narrative work you mentioned. You can always make hard lights soft but you can never make soft lights hard.
 
Hi JP,

Thanks for the response.

I see what you're saying regarding the LED vs fresnels. Most of what I work on (or worked on) tended to lean more toward ARRI fresnels, Joker HMIs, Astra (I think that was the better LED brand) vs ONLY LEDs, so I'm more familiar with those lights anyway...

Which leads into your next point which is something I was thinking about... if it's better to purchase used lights but better brands (ie ARRI) vs picking up something from say, Cool Lights or another company. Obviously from your post I'd bet you're for picking up the used better brands. But any upside to possibly picking up this ARRI used kit, and also grabbing maybe an HMI from Cool Lights (seen mixed reviews on them though).
 
Razyr 7 300W Daylight balanced fresnel (as powerful as a 575w HMI / Joker Bug 400), Quasar tube bicolor LED fixtures, a few cheap and flexible led panels like the Travor 3060.

With a diffusion frame, grid and some party gels, those should have you covered for most situations. If you can get two Rayzrs, go for that.
 
Kroaton said:
Razyr 7 300W Daylight balanced fresnel (as powerful as a 575w HMI / Joker Bug 400), Quasar tube bicolor LED fixtures, a few cheap and flexible led panels like the Travor 3060.

With a diffusion frame, grid and some party gels, those should have you covered for most situations. If you can get two Rayzrs, go for that.
Click to expand...

A Rayzr 7 daylight is roughly $1585 shipped with barn doors and case. Add around $150 for the soft box with grid. Thats around $1735 including shipping. That leaves $265 for the rest of his kit. So he can get a stand, stinger, gel, sandbag.

So only a single light if going the Rayzr 7 route with a $2K budget.
 
Yeah you need to either up your budget, or not go with LEDs.

Even then... your budget is pretty tight. As don't forget it is the modifiers/flags/etc that can really make the difference, not just the lights themselves.
 
Seems like for horror, some punchy lights could really go a long way. You could get some cheap open-face 1K's, though I'd be inclined to go for something like a couple Aputure 120D's or something since the built in dimming and remote control and daylight color balance could come in handy and they can be either broad lights or fresnels with an attachment and run on batteries if needed. They are starting to get a pretty good reputation since they seem to do the midrange single source LED pretty well and there aren't many other options with similar features. What are you looking for in a light kit? Something versatile you can learn to light with or something you can hand to a DP/gaffer that they will be able to use? I have lots of great inexpensive and extremely versatile LEDs and HMIs I recommend but most of them are hard to hand to a gaffer without them giving me funny looks since they are far from industry standard.

Personally I'd stay away from tungsten unless you don't mind them being hot and having to worry about blowing breakers. Only buy tungsten if you are getting used lights for cheap frankly. And they can be bought used for quite cheap these days.

My $2k light kit consists of 2 575W HMI pars, 3 100W LED mats, 6 40W remote control control LED mats that can clip anywhere, some lowel totas, a 1k openface, softboxes, 3ft and 4ft collapsible diffusers/reflectors, 8x8 lt grid, stands, arms, clamps, gel packs, diffusion/duve scraps, practical led bulbs, dimmers. Only thing I find missing sometimes is it'd be nice to have compact leko of some sort and some inkie-type lights for specials and rigging in locations since both of mine broke a while back. Ok maybe it cost more like $2500 for everything over the years...
 
Last edited:
nyvz said:
Seems like for horror, some punchy lights could really go a long way. You could get some cheap open-face 1K's, though I'd be inclined to go for something like a couple Aputure 120D's or something since the built in dimming and remote control and daylight color balance could come in handy and they can be either broad lights or fresnels with an attachment and run on batteries if needed. They are starting to get a pretty good reputation since they seem to do the midrange single source LED pretty well and there aren't many other options with similar features. What are you looking for in a light kit? Something versatile you can learn to light with or something you can hand to a DP/gaffer that they will be able to use? I have lots of great inexpensive and extremely versatile LEDs and HMIs I recommend but most of them are hard to hand to a gaffer without them giving me funny looks since they are far from industry standard.

Personally I'd stay away from tungsten unless you don't mind them being hot and having to worry about blowing breakers. Only buy tungsten if you are getting used lights for cheap frankly. And they can be bought used for quite cheap these days.

My $2k light kit consists of 2 575W HMI pars, 3 100W LED mats, 6 40W remote control control LED mats that can clip anywhere, some lowel totas, a 1k openface, softboxes, 3ft and 4ft collapsible diffusers/reflectors, 8x8 lt grid, stands, arms, clamps, gel packs, diffusion/duve scraps, practical led bulbs, dimmers. Only thing I find missing sometimes is it'd be nice to have compact leko of some sort and some inkie-type lights for specials and rigging in locations since both of mine broke a while back. Ok maybe it cost more like $2500 for everything over the years...
Click to expand...

I'd probably lean toward the "get the job done and learn with versatile equipment" vs not being looked at funny when handing them to a DP. I just heard back from a gaffer friend of mine who said get LED's, as he owns quite a few of both (tungsten & LED) and rarely uses the tungsten anymore if at all. He gave me some cheaper, alternative brands such as Falconeyes, Came TV Boltzen lights. Anyone ever used those? Any major issues with green spikes or anything else?

I was looking at Aputure as well, but if I'm not mistaken those get a bit pricier? I'll have to go back and compare.

While I have used tungsten in the past and I'm more familiar with them, it would be nice to not have the heat and power issues.
 
The real question is: How much light do you need? If you are lighting a larger space, $2000 won't go too far. It will buy you enough light for a 2 person interview kit in either daylight or tungsten.

In an inside world without windows, I'd go tungstens in a heartbeat. I just love Arri tungsten fresnels. Just make sure to buy a fan and be ready to worry over the amount of power they draw. Dealing with the intrusion of daylight in your work when using tungsten will always be a pain. If you do go tungsten, be ready to gel windows or gel the fixtures to daylight and take the light loss. Having said that, I have seen the occasional larger (200w) led fresnel for around $1000 on sale. Couple that with some 1x1 panels and that is a workable kit. Dracasts are useable quality and much less than LEDs from Arri.

On a side note, used Arri and Mole tungstens have been decreasing in value (somewhat) so if you hunt bargains, you can get more. The LED market is pretty volatile. I've seen lots of serious discounts on Dracasts on the BH dealzone offerings but they go quick so be ready.
 
I have some 70 different lighting instruments in my kit. Tungsten, HMI, Fluorescent, and LED. They all have jobs which they excel at, and each has shortcomings. That's why I felt the need to assemble a well rounded lighting kit as my projects have varried from shoot to shoot. My first thought is.... Buying used is a great way to make a limited budget go farther. including things like C-stands and high quality stingers. As budgets continue to decline, video production businesses continue to close. So watch places like eBay for deals on used gear which will save you a s#it ton of cash. As a matter of fact, I would be willing to sell you a $2K light kit.

All the best!

Dave
 
David W. Jones said:
I have some 70 different lighting instruments in my kit. Tungsten, HMI, Fluorescent, and LED. They all have jobs which they excel at, and each has shortcomings. That's why I felt the need to assemble a well rounded lighting kit as my projects have varried from shoot to shoot. My first thought is.... Buying used is a great way to make a limited budget go farther. including things like C-stands and high quality stingers. As budgets continue to decline, video production businesses continue to close. So watch places like eBay for deals on used gear which will save you a s#it ton of cash. As a matter of fact, I would be willing to sell you a $2K light kit.
Dave
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info Dave. I've narrowed it down to a few different options for myself, but I'd be interested to see a breakdown of what you'd include for a $2K lighting kit. Let me know.

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top