Mole Richardson vs Arri Fresnals

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NeoSlashX

Active member
Hello,

I just recently complied a list of what I want to buy to start my light kit and I was sold on the Arri Fresnal 650w to start off with. However, I went on Craigslist today and someone is selling a Mole Richardson 4051 Teenie Weenie 650w with Barndoors for 120 bucks. I was ready to pay $620 for the Arri so I'm just confused at this point.

I am familiar with Mole being the standard in Hollywood and that they are built to outlast your life. The pictures the seller provided, it's banged up but that's to be expected with any used light on a set and says it works just fine.

My questions are:

Is there any difference between the Mole 4051 and the Arri 650w in light quality? I'm just hesitant because of the 4051 being only 120 bucks, I know it looks banged up but I guess I"m just never this lucky when it comes to deals.

What does Baby-Baby mean when dealing with Moles? Mickey Moles? I assume teenie-weenie means compact in size.
 
Keep an eye open on eBay. There is always a good supply of quality used lights cycling thru for sale. You might for example look for something like a Mole 407, which is basically a 6" Fresnel which can be lamped as a 1K, 750w, 500w, so it would make a great heavy duty starter piece which would last for a very long time. I picked up my last one for $150. You could in fact put together a nice starter light kit with stands for the $620 you were going to spend on a single new ARRI light.

Good Luck!

Dave
 
I JUST got a Teenie Weenie, paid $150 for mine with barn doors and a working bulb. It is an open face, but it can be focused from spot to flood (kind of) and the light is focused enough you can cut it. I am building my whole kit on used mole. I have the Teenie Weenie, a midget, a mini, and a 1K Solar Spot (the 407) so far. I'd still like to find a tweenie (the 650 fresnel) and get another Teenie Weenie.
 
gonzo_entertainment said:
I JUST got a Teenie Weenie, paid $150 for mine with barn doors and a working bulb. It is an open face, but it can be focused from spot to flood (kind of) and the light is focused enough you can cut it. I am building my whole kit on used mole. I have the Teenie Weenie, a midget, a mini, and a 1K Solar Spot (the 407) so far. I'd still like to find a tweenie (the 650 fresnel) and get another Teenie Weenie.
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I have to second that approach also. Now, I took a different track, and have put together a working kit with a lot of unconventional lights, but the thought of a person just starting out spending over $600.00 for a single light new just drives me crazy. The used market for lighting is huge. Study up on the specs of the lights that you want then hit the used market hard. Auction sites like eBay are a god send when looking for used high quality lighting. Of course, buying used takes some savvy, so don't think that you will not end up with some bad transactions along the way. However, if you are smart and persistent, you will end up with an outstanding light kit, for much less than buying the items new.
 
Agree, buying used is a huge money saver. As a matter of fact the only new lights in my kit are LED and BIAX. Every other light was purchased used. An example of my latest buys... 3 Mini-Moles for $300. The Mini-Mole is small flexible Fresnel which can be lamped at 100w, 150w, 200w, 250w.
 
Moles are extremely high quality lights and not "over engineered" like Arris. I have both and the Arris need repairs more often and are harder to repair as they have way more parts and do nothing more functionally, and in some cases less! The Arris probably cool faster having higher tech designs, but you have to be more mechanically inclined to repair the more complicated Arri mechanisms. The Arri 150's are especially prone to break (the wires inside the head and the lamp base) and have a limited spot focus compared to the MR Inkie (mini mole). I have Dedolights that are very reliable (but very expensive) that take the place of Arri 150/300s. Some substitue switches, plugs and screws can be found at Home Depot for Moles! All that being said, I use low quality Tota lights with speed rings for my Chimeras as the wide lamp "fills" the Chimera better than any other open face light I own! (If you take care to put a wide loop strain release at the head, the header/AC cables last for a very long time. Bottom line is Arris look cooler (no pun intended), but Moles will live on past your retirement and work for the next generation.
 
Thank you guys for the responses! The list that David posted helped me understand what tweenie, betweenie, and such actually meant. That was confusing me. I managed to score a Mole Baby 407 for $230 that's practically brand new so you guys saved me a bit of cash to purchase a couple of more things.

gonzo_entertainment - I definitely like that idea of building a kit with used moles.

gkantziper - Hmm, yeah now I see why the Arri cost more and they do look cooler. I"m all about what will last me for the next 50 years.

I just have one more question, I found some barn doors on Ebay that have a 12.75" mount. I couldn't find the dimensions of the front of the Baby 407, so would these barn doors fit without any issues?

Thank you guys again, I really enjoy the lightning aspect of production and want to continue learning as much as possible.
 
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Simple as this: Drop an Arri, you'll be picking up dust and shattered dreams. Drop a Mole, and maybe you may have to replace the bulb.
I use all Mole Richardson for tungsten, and honestly use arri lights as work lights. I don't find them worthy of putting on a beefy baby stand.

Congrats on the mole baby buy, I definitely love mine. And I'm sure you will too
 
Arris are excellent, but you need three hands if you open up one of the popular extruded ali Fresnels. There's a definite knack to getting the inner parts to drop into the art end plates that I've still not quite got the hang of. I'm not sure you can compare it with what is really a metal cased Redhead. Different kind of light - and lacking the lovely soft edges of a Fresnel lens.

However - Mole Fresnels are hugely tough, and I still have a 1K that dates back to the 60s and I love the light. Compared to a 1K Arri Fresnel - the Arris is crisper, harder shadows and the Mole runs cooler (a bit) but the Mole also weighs a lot more - and needs a very sturdy stand.
 
And speaking of sturdy stands, I just scored a couple beefy baby triple risers off eBay for under $100 each.

Deals are out there if you pay attention.
 
David W. Jones said:
And speaking of sturdy stands, I just scored a couple beefy baby triple risers off eBay for under $100 each.

Deals are out there if you pay attention.
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Damn brother, nice find right there! And yes ebay has a lot of deals, I get 90% of my gear there, and have saved way over average of 30-50% from buying new
 
RickyC said:
Simple as this: Drop an Arri, you'll be picking up dust and shattered dreams. Drop a Mole, and maybe you may have to replace the bulb.
I use all Mole Richardson for tungsten, and honestly use arri lights as work lights. I don't find them worthy of putting on a beefy baby stand.

Congrats on the mole baby buy, I definitely love mine. And I'm sure you will too
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I've seen a Mole 5k dropped from 15' with only a dent and a cracked lens and a crack in a Fresnel lens isn't that critical. Shattered is.
 
dwiener said:
I've seen a Mole 5k dropped from 15' with only a dent and a cracked lens and a crack in a Fresnel lens isn't that critical. Shattered is.
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If that would have been an Arri it would have sent flying shrapnel on all directions haha
 
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