F3: Shooting with tungsten whenever I can
- Thread starter pchristoph
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Bern Caughey
Veteran
I've got flight case for golf clubs that holds a pair each of Chimera's 6x6', 4x4', & 2x2', collapsible frames, plus a couple different sized California Sunbounce's silver/white reflectors, & RoadRags. Been meaning to add to a pair of Advantage Gripware's collapsible 4x4' frames, & floppy slip-ons, to the mix. Used them once on a gig & they felt robust enough. Seems slip-on rags from Matthews, or Canvas Grip, would work just as well as Advantage's.
http://www.advantagegrip.com/e-z travel.htm
Love the skin tones tungsten render, but for practical purposes I rarely use them anymore. Recently I've mostly relied on SkyPanels, combined with Arri's bi-color LED fresnels, usually the L7-C. When these are not available locally, & impractical to ship, then my go to is M18s, & JoLekos, though for lesser needs I often use just Kino Flos.
The SkyPanels are great, but their cases are bulky. The L7-C, & L10-C, are somewhat less great, & bulky for what the offer. Both leave a footprint that I'm not always comfortable with, & somewhat pricey as rentals, so I'm building a kit for simple needs, especially documentary. My hope is to have bi-color LED kit that can be powered by AC, or batteries, & fits into a small rolling suitcasee (not a Pelican case in order to remain stealthy).
Picked up an Aladdin Bi Fex 2 (1x2') last week, & after testing ordered another, the intention being to stack them side-by-side to form a 2x2' keylight, or possibly pushed thru a larger frame. The Aladdin has nearly 800 emitters which make it remarkable bright & scores very high on TLCI ratings at all color temperatures. It's so light that it can be supported by those little stands with reversing legs, or rigged almost anywhere with a bit of twine, or tape. Hate to use the term, but for many of my gigs these will be a true game changer, especially as they can be powered by AC, or onboard brick batteries.
But I still need to supplement these with hard lights. I'm very interested in the bi-color DLED7 Turbo, but haven't seen them in person, & switching between AC & battery, requires a different, & somewhat pricey, ballast. They also produce a lot of heat, which makes me a bit concerned for the longevity of the emitters, & overall energy efficiency. Hope to check them out soon, & imagine I may still be lured over.
I'm leaving the country later in the week, & need something right away (B&H is closed) so headed to Kinotecknik's distributor to checkout the bi-color Practilite 602, & a battery solution. While not as powerful as a DLED7 it seems it might be still be useful, & more travel friendly.
Side by side I did a while back when I got my Red Scarlet-W.
Tungsten light was Chimera Pancake Lamp / AKA Chimera China Ball. Daylight source was Cool Lights Fluorescent High CRI 90+.
Obviously, daylight is great for offices or anytime you need to convey daylight. But on a sound stage or a controlled set, I just love Tungsten skin tones. Also, as I mentioned before Tungsten is very consistent in look so you generally know what skin tones you're getting. With Daylight sources - Fluorescent, HMI, LED, etc... there's always a color variance even with the highest quality daylight sources, so skin tones appear different depending on what type of daylight source you're using.
Link to see full size
http://www.builtbyugene.com/images_misc/LightTest2.jpg
Tungsten light was Chimera Pancake Lamp / AKA Chimera China Ball. Daylight source was Cool Lights Fluorescent High CRI 90+.
Obviously, daylight is great for offices or anytime you need to convey daylight. But on a sound stage or a controlled set, I just love Tungsten skin tones. Also, as I mentioned before Tungsten is very consistent in look so you generally know what skin tones you're getting. With Daylight sources - Fluorescent, HMI, LED, etc... there's always a color variance even with the highest quality daylight sources, so skin tones appear different depending on what type of daylight source you're using.
Link to see full size
http://www.builtbyugene.com/images_misc/LightTest2.jpg
Last edited:
basspig
Veteran
I shot this under LED lighting and I really love the way the FS7 rendered the colors. The intent was to make the food look appetizing, like a TV commercial, rather than render it as it looks to the naked eye. I used one of Sony's LUTs, the S Gamut to LC709, which tends to make greens look "nuclear" which is why I don't use it for nature shots, but in this instance, the reds and yellows are appealing.
