New Hive lighting 1000w plasma lights!

[rob norton]

It's just a regular old yoke, so looks like you can mount whatever kind of TVMP adapter you want. I'd want one of the Junior-Spigot/Baby-Reciever combos so that you could put it on anything.

Are you going to buy one grug?

 

[Grug]

Are you going to buy one grug?

It's certainly way up on my list. It's looking like it'll be this or an M18 for my next medium-sized light. The efficiency of the plasma is very, very tempting along with the variable colour temperature.

The big question left for me is how the total size/weight of the fixtures compare. Having to deal with par lenses with the Hive is a bit of a niggle compared to the wonderful simplicity of the arrimax reflector. But the solid state nature of the plasma gives it certain advantages of its own.

 

[rob norton]

Any word on how weather proof the Hives are?

Are ease of repairs part of your buying criteria? I guess both an M18 and Hive would be out of commission for a while if they needed to be fixed, but the Hive is more likely to require a trip overseas (or not?).

Like you said, the variable colour temperature sounds very appealing and re efficiency, the smaller the generator the better!

 

[Grug]

Any word on how weather proof the Hives are?

Are ease of repairs part of your buying criteria? I guess both an M18 and Hive would be out of commission for a while if they needed to be fixed, but the Hive is more likely to require a trip overseas (or not?).

Like you said, the variable colour temperature sounds very appealing and re efficiency, the smaller the generator the better!

Certainly another consideration. It's really no big trouble finding a technician for HMI ballasts in any major city, so that's a point in the Arri's favour.

 

[StrobelPhotography]

Any word on how weather proof the Hives are?

They spun a yarn while I was in their rental space about a bunch of their fixtures that were plugged in under the Brooklyn bridge or similar bridge in nyc and left on for several weeks in rain etc. he went on to say that they make no claims to their weather proofing but all the lights functioned great during this time. (This is a very rough retelling so don't hold me to its accuracy)

 

[Bern Caughey]

It's looking like it'll be this or an M18 for my next medium-sized light. The efficiency of the plasma is very, very tempting along with the variable colour temperature.

The M18 punches well above it's weight, & I'd like to see a side-by-side test against the 1000w Hive.

 

[Mitch Gross]

They spun a yarn while I was in their rental space about a bunch of their fixtures that were plugged in under the Brooklyn bridge or similar bridge in nyc and left on for several weeks in rain etc. he went on to say that they make no claims to their weather proofing but all the lights functioned great during this time. (This is a very rough retelling so don't hold me to its accuracy)

Actually it was that they were in a rooftop installation at the new Whitney Museum in downtown Manhattan. Not just rain, they were also buried in several feet of snow at one point. Kept working.

I believe everything but the power plugs themselves are IP65 rated.

 

[StrobelPhotography]

Actually it was that they were in a rooftop installation at the new Whitney Museum in downtown Manhattan. Not just rain, they were also buried in several feet of snow at one point. Kept working.

I believe everything but the power plugs themselves are IP65 rated.

Mitch you have the memory of an Elephant. Thank you.

I picked up my light from service today and I have to say again, what a bunch of awesome guys. My light needed a bulb and a new driver and guess what they didn't charge me a dime! Amazing. I love the guys over at hive.

I mentioned this thread to shay and how many people here would love to test drive their new light and he said he would love to help as many people as he can to do just that. I'm going to send him the thread and I'm guessing he won't mind me giving out his email so you can contact him directly. ​sprentice@hivelighting.com

 

[Mitch Gross]

It's certainly way up on my list. It's looking like it'll be this or an M18 for my next medium-sized light. The efficiency of the plasma is very, very tempting along with the variable colour temperature.

The big question left for me is how the total size/weight of the fixtures compare. Having to deal with par lenses with the Hive is a bit of a niggle compared to the wonderful simplicity of the arrimax reflector. But the solid state nature of the plasma gives it certain advantages of its own.

Some stats from HIVE comparing the 1000w Wasp to the ARRI M18.

Power Consumption: Wasp uses 55% less
Wasp - 9.5 Amps
M18 - 21 Amps


Cost: Wasp is $2000 less on average ($3000 for high speed)
Wasp 1000 Kit - $8K
M18 Kit - $10K


Output: equivalent output
(at 24fps, 400ISO, 180 shutter)


25ft Wasp 1000 Spot - F22
25ft M18 Spot - F22

25ft Wasp 1000 Flood - F5.6/F8 split
25ft M18 Flood - F5.6/F8 split



50ft Wasp 1000 Spot - F8/F11 split
50ft M18 Spot - F8/F11 split

50ft Wasp 1000 Flood - F2.8/4 split
50ft M18 Flood - F2.8/4 split



Weight and Size: Is smaller and weighs less

Wasp1000 head - 21.5 lbs 15.5” x 14.5” x 14"
M18 head - 23.1lbs 27.5" x 15.25 x 15.25"


Color: Wasp has a higher CRI


Wasp1000 - 98CRI at 5600K
M18 - 90CRI at 5600K

​

 

[Grug]

Some stats from HIVE comparing the 1000w Wasp to the ARRI M18.

​

Brilliant, thanks Mitch! You're a legend.

Matching the M18 point for point is a hell of an achievement. The size certainly looks impressive, though once you add the lens case and ballasts, there's unlikely to be much between them. The Wasp will probably be easier to pack though.

Being able to effectively run the equivalent of two M18s on a single household 10amp 240v circuit blows my mind. That could be a huge boon for location lighting (only needing to run a single cable outside to power the lights you're pushing through the windows). I could also run two of them off my little 3000w suitcase gennie, which makes night exterior lighting on a budget a whole lot easier.

It's such an exciting time for lighting technology.

When they build a 2kw version of the Wasp, that gives me the equivalent of a 4kw HMI that I can plug into any old household socket, that's going to be a game changer on a grand scale - you'd be able to smoothly balance daytime interiors with the outside ambience with a single fixture. I hope it comes sooner rather than later - because I'll take two!

 

[David W. Jones]

I will likely call Shay and rent one for testing in the near future. We have stopped renting the M18, and instead have been renting a Joker 1600 when needed.

This new Hive Wasp looks like it just might be what I have been looking for.

 

[PeopleCanFly]

I'm very interested in some real world, hands on feedback with this unit. I'm already loving the 275w Par...

 

[Jon Edward Miller]

Hi all,

This is Jon Miller from Hive Lighting, I'm the guy looking sooo cool in that screen grab from the video posted earlier in the thread. Just wanted to jump in and hopefully answer a couple of the questions. Of course I encourage all who are interested to contact me directly at jmiller@hivelighting.com but I will try to answer all the questions I can here:

Re-strike - A little clarification, these are hot re-strike lights but not instant re-strike. What does that mean? The 250 Watt plasma bulbs have a 90 - 120 second re-strike time, the 1000 Watt plasma have a 30 - 60 second re-strike. No good for flashing effects, but also do not have to wait to be turned on and off. There was an early batch of 250 Watt bulbs that were having re-strike problems, their electronics were defaulting into a "sleep" mode at a certain physical temperature and would not come out until they had cooled, which could take up to 10 minutes. All of the electronics in those units have been recalled and replaced over a year ago.

Color Temp Adjustable - YES! The 1000W will be adjustable, it will have a smaller range than the 250, but will give you 4800K - 6500K

Mount - The mount is a hybrid baby receiver/junior pin from matthews, it can be used on either a baby or junior stand for flexibility since the head weight can be held by both kind of stands depending on the make and model.

Weatherproof - the new heads on the units are IP45 the power supplies are IP65 which is fancy for power supplies can sit in the rain the heads can get wet but if there is going to be constant downpour it is best to cover. The Wasp250s are IP65 and IP67 which makes them extremely water resistant and actually both of those stories are true, last year we had 10 lights rigged under a bridge in Harlem through the Summer and a hurricane and this year we had 12 lights on the roof of the Whitney Museum through Winter, including a couple blizzards.

Please check out this spec sheet for more info http://hivelighting.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Wasp-1000.pdf

 

[Mitch Gross]

Brilliant, thanks Mitch! You're a legend.

Matching the M18 point for point is a hell of an achievement. The size certainly looks impressive, though once you add the lens case and ballasts, there's unlikely to be much between them. The Wasp will probably be easier to pack though.

While I'm not sure about the ballasts, I can tell you there's a huge difference in the lens case. Because the HIVE puts out practically no heat out the lens (there is a minor amount radiated out the back), the lenses do not have to be made of heat resistant glass. Instead the lamp uses holographic lenses, which is a fancy way of saying etched acrylic. This means that the lenses are inexpensive, gel-sheet thin and weigh almost nothing. They come in a nylon pouch along with some scrims. Hardly the big box that accompanies an M18.

 

[Eric Coughlin]

What is the size and weight of the ballast?


Anyone bought a light yet or have experience with them? Thoughts?

 

[rob norton]

Someone on cinematography.com said output is closer to a 1.2, not an m18... though I don't have any experience with one.

 

[Run&Gun]

What is the size and weight of the ballast?


Anyone bought a light yet or have experience with them? Thoughts?

Tried to line up a demo back in November or early December with my local Barbizon and still haven't gotten anywhere with it. I was seriously considering buying one at the end of the year, but not without a demo.