Lighting kits

Re: Lighting kits

I just ordered my "kit" yesterday. Basically, if you send an email to Rostronics.com they will configure any kit you want. I got
2 600W, 2 barn doors, 2 stands, 2 soft boxes for $360 and then I applied the 5% discount to that. Shipping was round $30. Tom was very helpful and friendly.


I consider that a very good deal and the think the lights will work nicely for my purposes.
 
Re: Lighting kits

you just put DVXuser in the discount box to get the discount.. and Im glad you guys are having good experiences.. Tom is a kick ass guy.
 
Re: Lighting kits

Looks irresistible. I just ordered a couple of the 250's, I'll let you know what I think when I get 'em. I like the Lowel Pro-Light okay, but for a focusable 250 with barn doors it's twice as expensive as the Briteks. Two Britek 250's with doors (and lamps? Wasn't clear on that) cost (after DVXUser discount!) $150. How can you beat that?
 
Re: Lighting kits

Two quick questions:

- When we order these lights, should we be ordering at the Rostronics home site or their eBay site?

- Has anyone ordered the lights with the stands and are they any good? The stands, I mean.

Thanx
 
Re: Lighting kits

not sure if anyone here does digital still shots but I am wondering if 2 250s would be enough for portrait shots in addition to standard video interviews etc etc...
 
Re: Lighting kits

so whats good to get...

I'm planning to spend about $200-$400 on lighting kit that will last me for a long time.
 
Re: Lighting kits

[quote author=Woodson link=board=lighting;num=1084814927;start=45#45 date=07/20/04 at 17:20:33]so whats good to get...

I'm planning to spend about $200-$400 on lighting kit that will last me for a long time.[/quote]

Ummm... have you read this thread.... ? Rostronics are tough to beat and a fabulous price point!   :D
 
Re: Lighting kits

[quote author=dvlisarrr link=board=lighting;num=1084814927;start=45#46 date=07/20/04 at 18:15:42]

Ummm... have you read this thread.... ?  Rostronics are tough to beat and a fabulous price point!   :D[/quote]

Definetly agree... what kind of Rostronics though?
 
Re: Lighting kits

Okay, I just got the Britek 250's.

At first glance I was a little skeptical -- the stand mount is a plastic thing that seems to combine the tilt, pan, and grip all in one... what's the big idea?

Then I used it -- it's cute as heck! The stand mount is actually quite clever, simple to use, it's one knob that does all the functions -- quite crafty!

It's a focusable unit, not quite like a fresnel but close enough. The pattern doesn't vary very much, but it's enough to give you some much-needed control. And the unit stays cool! That is so important -- I left it on long after my pro-light would be frying eggs on its surface, and the Britek was cool to the touch.

Comparing it directly to the Lowel Pro-Light: the Pro-Light is much smaller, the Britek is a lot bigger. As for focusing, the Pro-Light has a lot more range, can go much wider and a little tighter. And the Pro-Light has a lot more punch -- I tried the Britek pointing at a white wall and the DVX gave me readings of f/5.6 to f/9.6 (wide to spot) whereas the Pro-Light, also a 250-watt light, gave me readings of f/11 to f/16. Truth be told I usually find the Pro-Light too strong for the situations I want to use it in, so the Briteks being wider and smoother and less focused is just fine, but if someone's looking for a tight powerful beam from a small fixture, the Pro-Light definitely splashes more light on the scene.

The Britek has a much larger face to it, which should mean slightly softer light, but if you want soft light get a softbox, these are hard lights we're talking about.

The barn doors on the Britek are so superior to the Lowel that it's laughable. I hate the Lowel barn door contraption, the Britek has a good, large, solid, usable, fully adjustable barn door system, and they include gel clips right on 'em! Nice design.

Lastly, the Briteks included bulbs and barn doors and cost about half what the Pro-Light does.

For such an incredibly inexpensive product, I'm quite impressed (based off initial reactions). Obviously I haven't used them in any sort of production yet, I just got the things, but we're shooting something Mon/Tue where they should probably get a workout, and we'll see how they hold up.

However, with quality lights like these available for $76 (after DVXUser discount), let me loudly proclaim: WORKLIGHTS ARE DEAD. Anyone who tries to light a scene using worklights instead of these Briteks is being just plain silly. The Briteks are very impressive for the price. I may pick up a few 600's to round out my tungsten kit now, and at less than half the price of the B&M 650's, it's quite compelling. And the B&M's were less than half the cost of Mole's or Arri's. These small Briteks are not fresnels (meaning, they don't have a fresnel lens), and I don't think the 600's do either, but for the price they appear to be a fantastic deal.
 
Re: Lighting kits

(Question for Barry and lighting pro's)

Great! Thanks for the review Barry. If you say:

Then I used it -- it's cute as heck!  
Click to expand...

Then I gotta get them! :)

Actually...I'm using a studio's lights right now. They're REALLY expensive...Which means two things:
1. If I break them, I have to buy them, and they still won't be mine!
2. And since they're not mine, I have to ask everytime I need to use them.

So do you think I should keep using those because they're probably better than these? Or would you buy a Britek kit?

Thanks for your help.

(Just looking for opinions.)
 
Re: Lighting kits

AmPro--

No contest for me there. If it's between borrowing top quality lighting instruments for free and buying cheap open-faced lights--the first option is a lot more appealing :). You don't need to own everything--you just need access to everything. The exception would be if the borrowing is causing friction between you and the lender or is extremely inconvenient.
 
Re: Lighting kits

Word. Thanks Barry. If anything it'll teach me to treat everything with extreme care...even more than I do now, right?

Thanks.
 
Re: Lighting kits

The Briteks are not superb lights, but they are superbly inexpensive.  What I'm saying is, nobody should ever buy a Home Depot worklight again, now that the Briteks are available.

I certainly wouldn't recommend them over traditional professional lights like Mole's or Arri's.  But then again, at 1/5 the price, they do warrant a look.

If you can use professional instruments, do so.  If you're looking to put a kit together of your own, and you can't afford professional instruments, these are quite a bit of bang for the buck, and not much buck at that.  I may get a few more to supplement my kit, but then again I've got Mole, B&M, Ianiro and LightTech fresnels, HMI's and fluo's.  I don't know that I would want my whole kit made up of nothing but Briteks, especially as I've only used 'em a couple of times... but if all you had was $500, you could put together a decent kit from Briteks.

And they're definitely more useable and cost-effective than Lowels.

But Lowels are a lot smaller, if that's a factor.
 
Re: Lighting kits

Gotcha. These are the cheapest, good quality lights, still being best bang for your buck. Thanks Barry.
 
Re: Lighting kits

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=lighting;num=1084814927;start=45#53 date=07/21/04 at 22:04:17]...What I'm saying is, nobody should ever buy a Home Depot worklight again, now that the Briteks are available...[/quote]

Amen to that! If you need to buy lights--the Briteks are worth considering. I get tired of seeing some people only offer expensive options for equipment recommendations. The majority of us have some real budget constraints and real creativity is finding good low-priced options. It's good to see what the options are for *your* budget.
 
Re: Lighting kits

Yes, these Briteks are fantastic for people with limited means. They act like real professional lights, and they have controllability, and they don't get too hot... my only real question about them will be durability, we'll see how they hold up in a few years. Mole lights are a buy-it-and-forget-it prospect, some fixtures have been in use for, what, 30 years or more? I don't know how durable the Briteks will prove to be, only time will tell, but I'd much rather see someone try to learn lighting using these rather than cobbling together some crappy worklight solution. After all, most of the art of lighting is CONTROLLING light, and worklights offer no ability to control light. The new Briteks (the box says "BriFocus" on it) offer focusability, barn doors, gel clips, and a frame that could accomodate scrims. I think someone could actually learn the art of lighting using these things, and that's a good thing.

I'm certainly not above using cheap equipment, if it gets the job done (I still use a skateboard dolly I made for $60!) The Briteks look like the best entry-level light system I've seen yet. If they prove to be durable as well, they'll get a high recommendation from me for anyone wanting to learn lighting or who's just starting out and on a limited budget.
 
Re: Lighting kits

[quote author=Barry_Green link=board=lighting;num=1084814927;start=45#56 date=07/22/04 at 12:28:03]I'm certainly not above using cheap equipment, if it gets the job done (I still use a skateboard dolly I made for $60!)  [/quote]


pics? I want to build one and I have been collecting info lately...


thread hijack attempt!
 
Re: Lighting kits

Barry, do the Briteks have any kind of lens in front of the bulb? Safety glass, even?

Either way, what's to prevent you from buying a "replacement" fresnel lens from another manufacturer and putting it on the Britek? Most of th sizes a pretty standard, otherwise, you could slip it into the scrim holder, which I noticed the Britex has.

Whaddya think?
 
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