lowel totas?

Pros- compact, great fill light, easy to use, great for run and gun

Cons- fragile, spills light, easy to burn gells, power cords are loose in the back of the light

I have used them from interviews to features and they are great for their intended purpose.... fill light.
 
I use a tota/softbox combo a whole lot for interviews. For a little over $200 you can have a nice little 750watt softbox.

You can find totas used on ebay for about $60-$75 if you look hard enough.

Also I would recommend that you build your own light kit. You can get way more for your money if you buy used and search hard enough.
 
DM_rider said:
I use a tota/softbox combo a whole lot for interviews. For a little over $200 you can have a nice little 750watt softbox.

You can find totas used on ebay for about $60-$75 if you look hard enough.

Also I would recommend that you build your own light kit. You can get way more for your money if you buy used and search hard enough.
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I wholeheartedly agree. Don't waste your money on buying new, but used. I own a 1/2 ton G&E package that in the end cost only around $1000 because I waited for the best deal I could find on each instrument. I have 2 totas in the package that cost only $40 each and they are in excellent condition.

A tota is the only Lowel brand light I recommend. They are sturdy and small and do their jobs well.
 
I Just bought 6 totas, 2 1k's and 4 of those sqaure lights with the handle (new to lowel. sorry) with stands, filters and hard cases at a yard sale for $25.00. They look to be about 10 years old or so but they all worked and used them last night on set and I am never going back to the elcheapo kit was using.
 
you got a super deal!!


But buy used. I have bought all of my lights used. I have some old colortrans and I just rewired them for cheap. So look for old moles or colortrans and you can save tons of money
 
KKeller said:
A tota is the only Lowel brand light I recommend. They are sturdy and small and do their jobs well.
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The Pro Light is another nice one as a kicker/hair light etc., and their Rifa softboxes are quite decent and affordable too. But the entire line is intentionally very lightly built, which means compact and lightweight (good) and somewhat fragile (not so good).
 
thanks for all of your help. i figured they would work good for interviews and maybe some short films as light to just brighten up the room so i dont have to turn my gain on.
 
lairhair said:
Pros- compact, great fill light, easy to use, great for run and gun

Cons- fragile, spills light, easy to burn gells, power cords are loose in the back of the light

I have used them from interviews to features and they are great for their intended purpose.... fill light.
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True all this... I use one and the cable in the back is all loose... the thing is beat to hell but functions like a pro.



Richard J. Johnson said:
I Just bought 6 totas, 2 1k's and 4 of those sqaure lights with the handle (new to lowel. sorry) with stands, filters and hard cases at a yard sale for $25.00. They look to be about 10 years old or so but they all worked and used them last night on set and I am never going back to the elcheapo kit was using.
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Thats a hell of a deal - nice. Lowel is still kind of considered a cheap brand though...
 
Richard J. Johnson said:
I Just bought 6 totas, 2 1k's and 4 of those sqaure lights with the handle (new to lowel. sorry) with stands, filters and hard cases at a yard sale for $25.00. They look to be about 10 years old or so but they all worked and used them last night on set and I am never going back to the elcheapo kit was using.
Click to expand...


Do you have ANY idea how luck you are? AHHHHHH lol. How did you find a deal like that? You go to a yard sale and they just happen to have film equipment?
 
I like the Tota lights after using them a lot in film classes back in the day. I have been looking to pick up a couple, but would only buy them used. There seems to be quite a lot of them out there for sale. Like all open faced lights, they are hard to control, but used as bounce light, broad area light or, as noted above, used with a diffuser, like Chimeras, they will be great.
 
Tota's get a bad rap for no reason. When you know how to use them, they work terrifically. They are a broad light, pure and simple. I used mine twice this past weekend on a film shoot. We basically had a tracking shot through a dimly lit area. The tota was bounced off the ceiling and gave us 1.5 stops for the entire 15ft we needed to track. It was like having a mini-balloon on the ceiling. Just perfect.

In another instance, we needed to bring up ambient in a store with cheap overhead lighting. Again, the tota was bounced off the ceiling to simulate the practical lighting already in place. Worked a treat.

Any time I need to wash a wall, power some light down a hallway, or raise ambient, the tota is the first light I look for. It's powerful, very small, and versatile. If you want a light that is easily controlled, look elsewhere.

I don't understand this loose cord thing. Mine is as tight as a drum. And fragile? It's got two sturdy metal flaps that go over the bulb. The entire thing is metal. What do you want for $100?

I also used my DP lights (1k open face) and Rifa 88s this weekend. The RIFA is just SO wonderful. The ability to drop fluorescent bulbs in it and color match is just icing on the cake.
 
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