Paper vs Nylon China Balls

Macville

Macville

Well-known member
Hey guys, so I'm thinking of buying china balls to expand my lighting kit. My question is though, should I buy Paper or Nylon ones? I would imagine that the diffusion quality is different since they are quite different materials. I'm probably not going to put more than 500 watts in each ball (most likely 200 for most uses.) I would think if I'm going to be putting more than 200, I would want nylon because it's less likely to catch fire easily.

Also, does anyone have a better souce than: http://www.paperlanternstore.com

Thanks,

Matthew
 
how much heat can these handle. I know my 500watte globes get damed hot. the touch paper and poof, and back in the day of coffie filter filters, I got maybe ten minutes and poof.
 
As for diffusion qualities between paper and nylon, the paper ones may be more efficient but I preferred the nylon ones for many reasons though--heat resistance and durability being major ones.

For heat and maximum wattages: I've been using the nylon ones for a while and the sheet of paper that came with it was a bit different for each size. As I recall, the 36" for example had a maximum rating of 300w. Each lower size has a bit of scale down in wattage capacity for obvious reasons.
 
does anybody have experience with paper vs nylon china balls? the nylon ones seem to be the way to go for durability. if paper is a more pleasing diffuser however, i dont mind going through them faster since they are so cheap. any first hand experience is much appreciated.
 
I've tried a nylon - kinda "mehhh" compared to paper. Little bit harder light.

Check filmtools web site, they list ratings for their chinas. They also sell the LanternLock, which takes "proprietary" chinas - that may have higher ratings as well?

I understand some of the various spray-on fireproofers can be helpful with chinas - don't know if they yellow. Then again, often I like the neutral colored (unbleached paper??) chinas, esp. wtih flos or the 150 HIDs I use in 'em a lot.

I saw a post where someone used those white plastic "balls" that come with some park lights - those old-school outdoor lamps with three big white balls? Rigged them up to hang with a fixture. Very nice light.
 
I'm a big fan of china balls and used both the paper and nylon on a feature last year in just about every scene. Not a huge difference in light quality (especially in the larger sizes) but the nylons held up so much better than the paper, not to mention they dont catch fire quite as easily. The paper lanterns tear incredibly easy and don't patch well. If you plan to use your lanterns more than once I'd highly recommend going nylon.
 
Top gaffers swear by the light quality of paper over nylon. Reinforce the paper with clear tape on the inside to increase durability.
 
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