Lowel pro light or Arri fresnel 150 watt

Mitch Gross said:
I actually did a video comparing these two very lights a few years back. Perhaps this will be illuminating for you:

resources.abelcine.com/2009/09/04/lighting-fixture-comparison-price-v-performance/
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I really like most Lowel lights, & have a dozen in a single case, but don't use them as much as other options. They'd never hold up as rentals, but perfect for their intended market.

If I was renting I'd usually choose the Arri instead. Even with the accessory lenses the Pro-light is not a versatile as a fresnel. And the bulbs burnout much quicker. The only real reasons to choose them is for their lightweight, & the increased intensity of open-face lights.

But between the Arri, & the Dedo, I'd choose the latter. Dedo's are remarkable, & surprisingly robust. Their rep used to demo them by throwing burning units onto concrete floors.
 
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Party is over for me , at the end of the day , weight, size, and versatility, ( spot with snoot, and diff, barndoors, and open face umbrella type ) weights more than any thing.
Just ordered 2 Prolights, to make company to my 2 DP and 2 Omnis, Besides wrote a letter to Lowel to get a sticker for my office window, some T shirts with the Lowel logo
for my trip, Love Lowel, Will talk after the trip, bye bye , This was lit with a DP and a dichroic.

 
Arnold Newman often used a single open-faced tungsten similar to a DP, or Omni, plus a 6x6' silk, or bed sheet.

https://lightning.safe-order.net/ar...option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9

Meanwhile Helmut Newton often used a cheap hardware store clamp-on fixture, & screw-in 500w flood light fitted with Mole's clip-on two-way barn doors.

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=helmut+newton&pbx=1&oq=helmut+newton&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=0l0l0l14933l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&biw=1440&bih=783&cad=cbv&sei=EeQlT4mBC-ifiQLhyomECA
 
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Bern Caughey said:
Arnold Newman often used a single open-faced tungsten similar to a DP, or Omni, plus a 6x6' silk, or bed sheet.

https://lightning.safe-order.net/ar...option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9

Meanwhile Helmut Newton often used a cheap hardware store clamp-on fixture, & screw-in 500w flood light fitted with Mole's clip-on two-way barn doors.

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=helmut+newton&pbx=1&oq=helmut+newton&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=0l0l0l14933l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&biw=1440&bih=783&cad=cbv&sei=EeQlT4mBC-ifiQLhyomECA
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bern-

thanks for the links.

i/we so often forget the tools don't make the finished product, i/we do.

those newman portraits are great.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
 
Felipe Henao said:
Party is over for me , at the end of the day , weight, size, and versatility, ( spot with snoot, and diff, barndoors, and open face umbrella type ) weights more than any thing.
Just ordered 2 Prolights, to make company to my 2 DP and 2 Omnis, Besides wrote a letter to Lowel to get a sticker for my office window, some T shirts with the Lowel logo
for my trip, Love Lowel, Will talk after the trip, bye bye , This was lit with a DP and a dichroic.

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You better pull those bulbs out of the Prolights before you travel with them. And never move them when they are hot or sneeze on them because those bulbs pop so easy. I hate that light. I will never use them. They fail so often and the barn doors are the worst I have ever used.
Ok got that out of my system.

But seriously I don’t like that fixture at all. I had them in a news lighting kit a long time ago and the bulbs are so fragile no matter what brand I got they popped so often. Maybe its better now but I doubt it. Again those barn doors a horrible.

Good luck with them. Your going to need it. :)
 
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Erik Naso said:
You better pull those bulbs out of the Prolights before you travel with them. And never move them when they are hot or sneeze on them because those bulbs pop so easy. I hate that light. I will never use them. They fail so often and the barn doors are the worst I have ever used.
Ok got that out of my system.

But seriously I don’t like that fixture at all. I had them in a news lighting kit a long time ago and the bulbs are so fragile no matter what brand I got they popped so often. Maybe its better now but I doubt it. Again those barn doors a horrible.

Good luck with them. Your going to need it. :)
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Thank you for your help Erik, Probably Lowel solved the problem,or Sylvania made the right bulb
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/540967-REG/Sylvania_FVL_Lamp_200.html
 
The FVL 200 watt lamp is now the standard recommended lamp for the Pro-light, 2003 and newer. They put out about the same intensity but more importantly they seem to be more robust than the GCA lamps. The GCA and other previous lamps still fit and work well in the newer Pro-lights but the pre 2003 lights need to be modified to accept the FVL and FVM 100 watt lamps.
 
Erik Naso said:
If Lowel fixed the issue with those horrible bulbs then they are half way their, but the barn doors?
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Barndoors DO shape the light, but following your warning about them, I also ordered The flexishaft and the totaflag

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/31902-REG/Lowel_T1_50_Flexi_Shaft_Pack_of.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/32264-REG/Lowel_T1_52_Tota_Flag_8_x.html

So if any unwanted spill , there they are. Also planning to order the snoot, as I said before is a very versatile light with a lot of punch and control.
Size and weight are almost nothing.
 
The barn doors over time get loose and the leafs don’t stay in place. They have like 8 leafs. Crazy design.
 
The old barn doors used rivets which would work loose over time, making the doors slip. But a gentle squeeze with a pair of pliers and the tension was as good as new.
 
I own lowels, arri and kino and the lowels are hardly used much. Being open face you will almost always need modifiers, flags, etc... to make them usable so I see them more of a hassle than anything. Nothing beats a smooth solid fresnel or softlight from a flo.

In the end it all depends on your application and final look you are going after. I've used tungsten flood lights in same cases so there is no right or wrong.
 
let me know how those work out for you, i've been trying to decide if they'll work well enough to justify purchasing, or if i should just let my lowel lights be nifty set/background lights and put my money towards fresnels
 
Lowel Pro lights are a good low end solution but can not compare to a good Arri or Mole Richardson Fresnel. The Pros break bulbs at the least little vibration, the barn doors are very difficult to work with and when you need to change a hot bulb fast forget about it. The smallest 200 Fresnel I have found is the Mole Richardson Tiny "Inkie" 200. I've carried these light all over the world, they are rugged, can be used for countless applications and are very small. They are well worth checking out!
 
Arri Fresnel, with no question...... Those lights are built like tanks. Not to long ago on a shoot somebody bumped one of them over while it was on and knocked it down pretty bad, I'm talking about a serious fall. Hit the concrete and all, after about 5 mins and some quick adjustments it was working like nothing ever happened.


Arri Fresnel are worth the money, simply amazing lighting for their price.
 
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