Rostronics Lights deals for DVXuser members

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zoomforce
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mojovideo said:
Hey all-
The rostronics lights which you reccomend may be just the thing Im looking for. Are these lights as durable and reliable as lowells? I am doing alot of interviews, and was thinking about the 1300 watt 2 softbox kit (650w. ea). Would I need that much wattage, or would 2 250 watt lights work well enough with softboxes? Any reviews/reccomendations of these lights would be appreciated.
Thanks
Brian
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Greets guys,
I am far from a lighting authority, but I just recieved a Rostronics Britek custom kit made from the one you are referencing.....three 300/600w dual lights w/ three softboxes and barndoors, and I'm using mine for interviews also. At three hundred watts with the softbox on, they are still very bright in an average sized room, and I will be needing some dimmer switches to bring em down a bit. I would say, if all you'll be doing is interviews, the 250's should definately do it, and you'd probably still want to have a dimmer with you in case! But I would also say that if you want to have a versatile kit that you can use for movie making, go ahead and go for the 300/600w duals and get some dimmers....this will give you a wide range of usability. Make note that the above information is based on testing with a single light w/ softbox and it was still tha bright, if I would have been actually doing an interview with a full setup (tested on my wife) the subject would be blinded without some dimming applied.

BTW, I dont know if Tom has any dimmers or not. You can get some from Walter Graffs website, or....what I'm doing, waiting on J Barnes to send me his step by step on building some yourself. If you guys want his step by step, just PM me and when he finally sends it I'll get it to you.

Hope this helps,
Daniel
 
Hey guys I have a quick and probably stupid question: What is the difference between using a true "softbox" and just shooting your light through a panel of diffusing material?

Context: I'm new to this, have been reading John Jackman's book, and am looking to buy an extremely basic setup to use for shooting interviews. I have a very low budget, and so far have been thinking about going with a Britek 250 for backlight, Britek 600/300 with softbox for key, and just trying to use a reflector for some cheap fill. The Westcott kit I picked up comes with both a reflector and a full stop or two stop diffusion panel. Can I save ~$50 on the Britek softbox, or will it give me better quality than shooting through the diffusion panel? Or am I totally misunderstanding the whole diffusion/soft light concept in the first place???

Thanks for your help!!
 
Softbox is very good at controlling the light forward, where diffusion creates some refractions and alot of spill if you back the diffussion back.. which is the other point, a softbox keeps the diffusion far enough away from the light that it is very soft. You can put eggcrates infront of the softbox to make the light more directional as well.
 
Does anyone know why Tom doesn't reply to e-mails or picks up his phone anymore? I just ordered a 2K light from the website, and it would be nice if he at least responded to any of my e-mails. Has he gone hidden in the LA underground with a bunch of soldiers of fortune driving around in a black van with a red stripe across, shooting guns at everyone, but not hitting anyone? :undecided
 
..people do go on vacation every now and then. he could be home sick or off in hawaii. who knows? lets give him the benifit of the doubt though eh.
 
iamloser said:
..people do go on vacation every now and then. he could be home sick or off in hawaii. who knows? lets give him the benifit of the doubt though eh.
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Oh, no, I didn't mean to be disrespectful towards him or his services in anyway, and I am VERY thankful for what all he has been providing for everyone here. I just want to be sure someone is at the other end when I submit my CREDIT info, you know I mean? And when the last time I actually spoke with Tom over the phone(over a complicated purchase, using different credit cards for different product purchases) was back in January, and add to the fact that I need the lights I ordered by Friday, you'll probably understand why I am a tad worried. It will all work out in the end, hopefully.
 
Anybody with experiences with the 200 watt, 300 watt and/or the 250's - I'd love you feedback on which of the 3 might be a better choice. Also, anyone know the size (dimensions) of the heads?

Appreciate any info,
Dale
 
Shawn order it quick, it was probably just a mistake. But a lot of times things are cheaper on ebay than on company websites. Any of the Elite Video materials are MUCH MUCH cheaper via ebay, sometimes a third of web site price.

FWIW, I just ordered a custom kit. The 1200 dual kit with two 300/600 lights, stands, carry bags, one barndoor, and softboxes, plus a 250 focusable light with 7.5 foot stand and barndoor. This actually works out cheaper than the 1400 kit, gives me a 7.5 stand for the third light, and allows me to use one of the 300/600 softboxes on the 250 if I want to. I am thinking it gives me a lot more flexibility, especially with the taller third stand.

Anyone know where I can buy some 600 watt dimmers?
 
planetearth said:
Anybody with experiences with the 200 watt, 300 watt and/or the 250's - I'd love you feedback on which of the 3 might be a better choice. Also, anyone know the size (dimensions) of the heads?

Appreciate any info,
Dale
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i have one of the new model 200's its a nice little light , perfect for a little backlight or for highlighting stuff. its the same as the bigger ones.. just smaller. you just need to know what size lights youll need for what your doing with them is all. the light output isnt goint to be that drastically different between the ones you mentioned though.
 
iamloser said:
i have one of the new model 200's its a nice little light , perfect for a little backlight or for highlighting stuff. its the same as the bigger ones.. just smaller. you just need to know what size lights youll need for what your doing with them is all. the light output isnt goint to be that drastically different between the ones you mentioned though.
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Guess I'm looking to supliment my kit with some "Inky" type of lights. Seems like the 200's may fit the bill.
 
Actually Shawn, I just followed your two links and it was $5 CHEAPER at the Rostronics home site ($170) than at eBay ($175). It was only $206 at Rostronics if you added a 8' HD light stand ($36), but since that's not included in the eBay price, it's not a fair comparison.

Add in the 5% discount and it's only $161.50 ($195.70 w/stand) at Rostronics. Tom was probably updating all of his web pages at both sites when you dropped in between updates.
 
Rogue, you're correct, thanks for pointing that out. I actually bought it from eBay anyway and told Tom that I would pay the higher price if was listed wrong on eBay, he seems like a nice enough guy, and I'm going to work with him on Monday putting together a final order, it's looking like I'll end up with:

1 - 200w G-2000 w/barndoor focus, and stand (question: Does anybody know if the only difference between the G-2000 and "250 watt studio light" is the wattage? )

1 - Dual 600w/300w w/barndoor, softbox, and heavy duty stand

1 - Dual 500w/1000w w/barndoor, softbox, and heavy duty stand

1 - 2000w focus control and barndoor (already purchased, but not paid, via eBay) *need to add heavy duty stand


1 - Arri 650 Fresnel (obviously not from Rostronics/Britek)

*Extra bulbs for all.


All with the heavy duty stands, though I have no idea how all these stands differ, I presume they all have adjustable heights that allow me a decent range. Will the 8' stands also go down as low as the 4.5' backfill stands?

And I'll need to see what bags/cases they sell.
 
Does anybody know anything about the boom stand that Rostronics sells with the 200w, it's $125... and although it seems that everything they sell is less expensive than a comparable brand name, I see the bogen 3398 is only ~$115, unfortunately Rostronics doesn't list any specs on accessories, or at least I can't find them so I don't know if I'm comparing apples to apples
 
Shawn I just ordered my lights, they have not come in yet. But I do know that the softbox wil work with the 250 and not the 200. So it is clearly a different housing, not just a higher wattage. I ordered 250, but am wondering if that was the right choice. I also ordered 7.5 stand instead of 4.5 footer. I never thought about it not going as low.
 
the question for me is do I want/need a (dimensionally) smaller unit for tight spots, or just a lower wattage(brightness), which if I only need the lower wattage then usually a large unit can take smaller bulbs, in which case it's more versatile, e.g. maybe the 300 unit can take 200w bulbs?
 
Dimmers are indispensable, you've got to have some. However, keep in mind that a dimmer doesn't solve all problems. Dimming a light a little is usually fine, but the more you dim it, typically the "redder" the light will get, which can throw your color balance off. And sometimes lights will make noise as they get dimmed down.

Scrims are another way to go, scrims will cut the light intensity without changing the color balance. Or ND gels that you clip to the barn doors are another way to cut the light output.

Using a smaller bulb may be a little more inconvenient, but it usually provides two other benefits: the light runs cooler, and draws less electricity.
 
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