Looking for lights at a $2,000 budget

T

tolawr

Member
Hi all,

I am a user of the DVX100B and am starting to work on some larger shoots for the first time and am trying to put together a small 3-piece multi-purpose light kit for interviews, music videos, etc. I have a budget of about $2,000. I expect $1,750 to go directly towards the major equipment (the lights, bulbs, barn doors, c-stands, light stands and light-boxes themselves) and another $250 more or less to go for accessories (flags, gels, dimmers from home depot, etc.).

One key to my purchases is that they will LAST. I don't want to buy something that I will simply have to buy again and look at this as an investment. Any suggestions on a set-up and why? I am open to any type of light (tungsten, fluorescent, etc.) as long as it works in combination with the others as an all-purpose lighting set-up along with a general array of gels and accessories. I plan on buying more lights in the future but hope to have a set that will last me for a year or so before I expand upon it with more lights.

Thanks in advance for all your input!
 
Man... there's a lot of potential answers to this question.

A lot boils down to what you're shooting, but you seem ready to shoot it all; an interview kit may be much different than a music video kit, for instance.

You also need to think of daylight (flo's and HMIs, etc) vs. tungsten.

What has worked for me, as a video and still shooter (discounting all the strobe gear I use):

Three rectangular open-faced lights with barn doors; the first one I got I purchased new, it's so dang handy I got two more (eBay, used, maybe $20 each). You can flood a room with 'em, use them with cookies, refectors, and scrims. A LOT of light for a few bucks. They can be lamped from 150 to 750 or some even 1k. Colortran & Smith Victor made some nice ones, and there's the Tota Lights (which don't have super-useful barn doors). If possible, get open lights that use the same size bulb for convenience. Honestly, in my work experience, there's simply nothing more versatile than a rectangular pen-face with doors that can close very small.

Three 8" fresnels - they can be lamped 500-750 (there's a lot of 1ks out there, too). I bought new L&E fresnels years ago, but there's a lot of lights in that range on eBay. I really love a fresnel as opposed to an open face (and you can pop the lens out for an open). I also found (it was a lucky day!) grids for these size lights - awesome!

3 or 4 small fresnels in the 100 - 150 watt range. These are handy if you're doing lower key stuff and want to pick out something in the set. Again, paid $10-$30 each on the 'bay.

Four or five chinas, in the 18-20" range. I have a set of bayonet lamp fixtures that will take up to 150 watts or so (6 sockets for $8 on eBay); thus my chinas are dimmable. You can of course use CFLs - I use the bayonet lamps because they also fit my smaller fresnels. Also, look into colored chinas for special effects - they're so dang cheap.

If you find a deal on theatrical lights with the pipe clamp, you can get a spud from matthews or avenger for under $14 and bolt it on. A theater fresnel or open face is fine for video, just stick a spud where the clamp was. I find theater (& cinema) lights from the 70's on to be sturdier, more useful, and more pro-looking than the current "video kit" stuff.

Any used light you buy - open it up and check for brittle insulation, etc. You can buy that braided heat protector stuff on-line; if a light is REALLY old, it may have an asbestos shield in it, so be careful. Most lights can be re-wired easily and safely.

I also try to get every available lamp wattage for my lights. Search eBay with the lamp code - you can get new lamps for cheap if you look - I found 750 BTN's for my fresnels for $12 a pop - used to pay $30. Take an old brief case & some foam and make a lamp carrier with everything clearly labeled for quick changes.

You can buy 7" - 16" grids made for the various strobe systems (speedotron, say) and DIY them to slide into a gel holder slot (a pop-rivet tool is cool!). There's a ton of ideas here regarding reflectors & scrims & overheads, too.

You can get used c-stands if you hunt around; a mix of c's and tripod-style is handy, as the tripods move easier.

Dimmers - the average household dimmer is 600 watts max - you can wire up a dimmer box with a dual-gang outlet box, but if you want to dim a 650 or something, go to Harbor Freight and get a "Router Speed Control" - they're all over eBay, too, new under $30.

All-of-the-above was maybe $500 max, would have been less if I hadn't bought new lights. (Of course, I built this up over time, too - that's the rub with eBay & Craig's list).

The next thing I really want is a big 2K fresnel, with like a 12" lens; but I'll lamp it for 1500 or so for household circuits. I want that big broad lens. I'll need a junior stand as well, but... I'm a good shopper.

I don't do interviews - if I did I'd own a lot of flo's, starting with Richard's cool lights. Those tungstens are hot!

That's my .02 - works for me, hope it helps.
 
Thank you for your help and all the details. I plan on saving a little bit of money aside for a few accessories but what I'm looking for now are just a few quality lights to ensure 3-point, give me a little artistic freedom and will last from now til doomsday. An example set-up I am thinking about:

http://www.dvworkshops.com/newsletters/perfectlight.html

But it seems like there could be some adjustments made or advice given beyond that particular workshop.
 
tolawr said:
Thank you for your help and all the details. I plan on saving a little bit of money aside for a few accessories but what I'm looking for now are just a few quality lights to ensure 3-point, give me a little artistic freedom and will last from now til doomsday. An example set-up I am thinking about:

http://www.dvworkshops.com/newsletters/perfectlight.html

But it seems like there could be some adjustments made or advice given beyond that particular workshop.
Click to expand...

thats a great little article
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top