Need help fast..Best lighting kit for under $1000

I don't know anything about that kit or make specifically, but the obvious question is, how are you going to do three-point lighting with only two lights in the kit?

Those open fluorescents are good for lighting a broad area, but they're not too easy to control for spill. And they definitely don't produce hard shadows. On the other hand, they're not as smooth and diffuse as a true softbox either. You really need a mix of hard and soft light sources to do a good job in a variety of situations. You could probably add one of that same maker's softboxes to your order and get your three lights, while staying under the $1000 budget. Of course, without seeing them, it is hard to know whether they're well made and will hold up for a long time. It is not clear from their photo and description whether you can switch the tubes on and off individually. You may well find that using all six at once gives you more light than you want in many situations. I would check on that before ordering. On the other hand, as long as the actual bulbs have a good color temperature and don't flicker, it's hard to go wrong in the basic design of a square box with fluorescent tubes in it -- the quality of light will probably be very similar to the Kino-Flos. I kind of like that they include extension cords and sandbags in the kit -- you will need those.

For a little more money, instead of the softbox, you could add a hard light source like a small fresnel to your kit. For something relatively economical and energy efficient while still being daylight balanced, I'm a fan of the 6", 150W Cool Lights CDM fresnel, but if you add a stand, case and set of scrims with the kit above, it will put you over the $1000 mark. Still, being able to cast real shadows, control the beamwidth and intensity, and use it with flags, cookies and diffusion material make it a really valuable addition to your bag of tricks. (http://www.coollights.biz/clmf0150-cool-lights-fresnel-p-63.html)

- Greg
 
Greg Smith said:
I don't know anything about that kit or make specifically, but the obvious question is, how are you going to do three-point lighting with only two lights in the kit?

Those open fluorescents are good for lighting a broad area, but they're not too easy to control for spill. And they definitely don't produce hard shadows. On the other hand, they're not as smooth and diffuse as a true softbox either. You really need a mix of hard and soft light sources to do a good job in a variety of situations. You could probably add one of that same maker's softboxes to your order and get your three lights, while staying under the $1000 budget. Of course, without seeing them, it is hard to know whether they're well made and will hold up for a long time. It is not clear from their photo and description whether you can switch the tubes on and off individually. You may well find that using all six at once gives you more light than you want in many situations. I would check on that before ordering. On the other hand, as long as the actual bulbs have a good color temperature and don't flicker, it's hard to go wrong in the basic design of a square box with fluorescent tubes in it -- the quality of light will probably be very similar to the Kino-Flos. I kind of like that they include extension cords and sandbags in the kit -- you will need those.

For a little more money, instead of the softbox, you could add a hard light source like a small fresnel to your kit. For something relatively economical and energy efficient while still being daylight balanced, I'm a fan of the 6", 150W Cool Lights CDM fresnel, but if you add a stand, case and set of scrims with the kit above, it will put you over the $1000 mark. Still, being able to cast real shadows, control the beamwidth and intensity, and use it with flags, cookies and diffusion material make it a really valuable addition to your bag of tricks. (http://www.coollights.biz/clmf0150-cool-lights-fresnel-p-63.html)

- Greg
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Thanks Greg. Any issues with ballest hum? Thats where I am getting stuck. I don't want any fan noise or noise in general coming from my lights.

I counter with this kit and maybe two soft-boxes? http://www.coollights.biz/cool-lights-tungsten-fresnel-1100w-p-137.html
 
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While I haven't used the Coollights HMI, I built a 3200K 150W HMI and if the Coollights is similar then I'd say get it. I Like the fact that it only about 1.5A of current per unit (for roughly 650W of tungsten light) so I can plug a couple of them into the same outlet, something that can save you time and money instead of buying expensive stingers and lugging them around trying to find different circuits at venues.
 
Ryan-Guy said:
Thanks Greg. Any issues with ballest hum? Thats where I am getting stuck. I don't want any fan noise or noise in general coming from my lights.

I counter with this kit and maybe two soft-boxes? http://www.coollights.biz/cool-lights-tungsten-fresnel-1100w-p-137.html
Click to expand...

That kit looks like good value for the money. Of course it's tungsten, which is still a more economical choice than fluorescent, HMI or LED lighting, but requires a lot more attention to power availability and heat concerns. Personally, I've more or less abandoned incandescent lights because I often shoot in relatively "unprepared" locations and sometimes have a hard time finding circuits with enough free capacity. There's nothing like blowing a breaker at a client's location to put everybody in a bad mood. People like working around (and in front of) the relatively cool lights a lot better, and many modern cameras perform a little better with daylight balanced sources. Still, if budget is the utmost concern, you can still get more lumens for your dollar with tungsten lights, and if you're in a hurry to get something bought and begin shooting, it's not a bad way to go for the short term.

My Cool Lights CDM and flo lights are either totally silent, or emit sound at such a high frequency that my 54-year-old ears can't hear it anymore (not a joke -- a real possibility). Of course, I can't speak about the PBL fluorescent kit you found because I've never seen one of those in real life.

- Greg
 
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