Never thought a light could be sexy!

puredrifting

puredrifting

Major Contributor
Today was a good day, look what UPS brought by. This is the most serious LED fresnel I've had my hands on yet other than the Arris. Yes, that's an 8" Borosilicate Fresnel lens, not some plastic crap. This thing is a heavy beast, must weigh at least 20lbs, possibly 30lbs? I am looking forward to putting it through it's paces. Let me know if you want me to test out or try anything with it. Luckily I still have my Medium Chimera Quartz Pro to put this through and I will be shooting some hard light tests as well. I know very little about it but will update this thread as I discover what this light is all about. It's refreshing to pick up modern LED light that feels like it's an Arri or Mole old school light instead everything that is Nylon/Plastic. This thing is all metal, it weighs a lot and seems to be built very robustly.

We'll see what Fiilex has here. I love that the power unit says "Suitable for use in dry, damp and wet locations", Yeehaw

IMG_7089.jpgIMG_7088.jpg
 
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Please do... I'm quite interested...I"ve been using my Fiilex Matrix a lot lately - both Mon & Tue this week - and have come to really depend on it. The power supply for it is very similar - but don't believe it says that on it. I really like that the Matrix comes with that clamp to easily attach the PS to a C stand leg - or light stand. So - this bad boy looks to be maybe twice the output (or more) of the Matrix - which puts out a lot of great soft light! Looking forward to reading / seeing more...
 
Curious about the price?

A while back, I had this Dracast light (see link) on order until I realized how large and heavy it is. It wouldn't fit in any of my existing luggage for transport and at north of 20#....well it just seems like a monster. But a grand for a 300 watt fresnel with decent quality isn't too bad. I have some other Dracast gear and it isn't Arri quality, but it isn't at Arri prices either. Overall, for an owner-operator, it's OK. I wouldn't put it on a grip truck though. However, since it is Bicolor, you're not getting the full monte for bright, but much more versatile. Dracast claims 2000w equivalent to tungsten, but I think all of us buying LEDs have become pretty skeptical of the claims. They have a daylight version, which inexplicably, is $750 more.

So wondering how this will shake out.

Grant

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...drwf_fl_3000b_led3000_fresnel_with_wi_fi.html
 
LennyLevy said:
The big question to me is whether you can get sharp shadows when you are in flood mode.
Click to expand...

I'll check that out for you Lenny when I get around to testing. I am kind of backed up with testing the GH5S and some other gear and won't get to this light for a few weeks, other than to just set it up and play with it. My review isn't due for almost a month.
 
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ggrantly said:
Curious about the price?

A while back, I had this Dracast light (see link) on order until I realized how large and heavy it is. It wouldn't fit in any of my existing luggage for transport and at north of 20#....well it just seems like a monster. But a grand for a 300 watt fresnel with decent quality isn't too bad. I have some other Dracast gear and it isn't Arri quality, but it isn't at Arri prices either. Overall, for an owner-operator, it's OK. I wouldn't put it on a grip truck though. However, since it is Bicolor, you're not getting the full monte for bright, but much more versatile. Dracast claims 2000w equivalent to tungsten, but I think all of us buying LEDs have become pretty skeptical of the claims. They have a daylight version, which inexplicably, is $750 more.

So wondering how this will shake out.

Grant

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...drwf_fl_3000b_led3000_fresnel_with_wi_fi.html
Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but judging how much other Fiilex lights cost, this won't anywhere near Dracast prices. When you pick it up, it looks and feels like $3k to $5k light. Of course, I might be dead wrong, I have no model/selling price info. It feels more like an Arri L-10 area light, even though it's smaller. Personally, I wouldn't travel with this light, it's in a Storm case and is nice but it's a beast, really heavy in the case, it has casters and a handle on the case.
 
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What I want:

A true 1000w equivalent in daylight spectrum. Quiet, as in no fan noise if it does have one. The same size and weight as a Arri 1000. I want it to be decent quality: just good enough for an owner operator. And I want it to cost $1000 or less.

I don't need Bi-color. If it had remote control, that's swell, but don't really need it. Dimming would be nice, but I can live without that too.

Just a nice simple daylight fresnel that is bright with a good form factor at $1000. This seems like such a no-brainer, but so far, it hasn't happened to the best of my knowledge. Anyone have a good suggestion?

The closest thing so far seems to be buy an Arri fixture and convert with a Visionsmith conversion for about $1300 including a new Arri T1

Grant

http://visionsmith.com/relamp-system/?v=7516fd43adaa
 
I own three 1K ReLamp fixtures and use them in Mole 407 fixtures I picked up off eBay for cheap. If you want to optimize their output, you need to remove the reflector and use their acrylic lens replacement. Doing this on the Mole fixtures will be a PITA if you're not also rewiring them like I had to. Just something to note; Maybe it's easier on the Arri fixtures...
 
The other day I jumped in, and then got jumped on - because first impressions of another LED light were poor. In the same way first impressions of this one are positive. I too look at glass on the business end and draw conclusions. Lights are like the tools in your toolbox - you have a favourite screwdriver, or wrench for no real reason apart from it feels 'right'.

More info please.
 
Been over a year since I spoke to VisionSmith’s reps about the ReLamps but back then they said it wasn’t necessary to replace ARRIs’ glass with a acrylic fresnel. Think the plastic lens is more appropriate for Mole’s semi-frosted fresnels, & as PeopleCanFly stated, only if your looking to maximize output.
 
ggrantly said:
Just a nice simple daylight fresnel that is bright with a good form factor at $1000. Anyone have a good suggestion?
Click to expand...

I've been looking for something in this category as well - although I want / need bi-color. I think any LED with decent output will have a fan (some have option to switch off but then power/lumens decrease) - but some are certainly quiet enough to use near a mic. The two lights - purchased in the last year - I'm happy with so far are the Matrix (much higher priced) and Hive's 100-C. Both need accessory to become "fresnel". Now the Hive isn't near as bright as the Matrix - but it's in that $1k range - and puts out in the ballpark range of a 650 Arri. I like it because it is quite versatile. Haven't personally tried any of these others - but this category continues to expand...

Razyr (200watt version is close to that $1k price) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1340399-REG/rayzr_7_123050031231_rayzr_7_200_daylight.html
Sola 4 (claims an output comparable to a 575 W HMI fixture) https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1339835-REG/litepanels_906_4024_sola_4_led_fresnel.html
Light Cannon F-165 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1322932-REG/intellytech_173015_light_cannon_f_165_5500k.html
Dracast 1500 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...drwf_fl_1500d_led1500_fresnel_with_wi_fi.html or the Dracast 2000 is just a bit over $1k...https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1062269-REG/dracast_dr_lf2000d_led_200w_fresnel_daylight.html
 
Just for fun, I am going to test this side by side with my Arri 650 fresnels and possibly with my Arri 1k open face with both punched through a diffusor. Should be an interesting comparison, huh? I talked myself out of the Relamps once I saw some real world similar tests, the Relamped Arri 650 had quite a bit less output than the tungsten bulb. If I'm going to pay that much for a fancy bulb, I expect at least the same FC output.
 
Are you guys using these so-called fresnels with batteries or need bicolor?
Because if they only have the output of a 650 Arri tungsten fresnel then I really don't get the appeal when a Cool light 150 CDM will give you a far better light (sharp shadows ) for way less money , same output, with cheap $30 bulbs and the option to put a tungsten or daylight bulb in it. I'm mystified. If it had way more output or you need a battery operated light , then I get it. But you can't throw a pattern with these things. Explain the "what for" please.

lenny
 
Tried two Cool Lights CDM(s) & neither could produce the circular beam of light associated with fresnels due to improper centering of the globe.
 
Is Cool Lights still in business for real? Their website looks suspiciously like a liquidation. Everything is on sale, but no new products at all. Owner Richard Andrewski used to contribute here regularly, but I haven't seen a comment from him in a long time. Too bad, I thought they were OK especially as a company that embraced relatively inexpensive chinese manufacturing of lighting early on and backed their products reasonably well and actually had spare parts. I am sure the whole Vitec LED patent infringement lawsuit nightmare slowed them down like the rest of the industry. Might of killed them off.

Back to Visionsmith: So does a 1K relamp actually produce a 1K equivalent? If not, how much not.
 
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Bern,
That's strange. I bought one used for $2 or $300 and it came packed with practically no bubble wrap or anything. It bounced around in the box and scared me when I opened it . However despite that abuse, it behaves perfectly and has exactly the same quality, pattern and output of my Arri 650 tungsten fresnel but its blue. A little bit of magenta in the pattern but its well worth the trade offs. I love it and have thought of buying another if its still possible.

I looked at all the LED Fresnels at NAB last year but lost interest when I tried to cast a shadow. I'm still kind of mystified about what people do with them honestly. Kind of harsh to use direct. If there was a lot of output i could see shooting them through diffusion but wouldn't some kind of open face be more efficient? I am interested in knowing and have asked that question a few times but no one has responded. I'm not trying to be a jerk and figure I must be missing something obvious. Been shooting for over 25 years though so I'm not a total idiot.

I assumed you try to fix the centering? Someone else on here said his stopped working after he turned it on once but I wondered if he understood there was a lag time for restrike. Too bad if they went under.

I haven't communicated with them since Richard was on the boards, though I agree the website looks feels like a morgue.
 
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