Under $200 lighting for christmas?

skettalee

skettalee

Well-known member
I have $200 to spend and I went to get a lighting kit that has atleast enough to do the 3 point which is 3 (duh lol) but something with the biggest bang for that under $200. Id like adjustability for sure. Is that a word?

Anyone have an idea of what I should look for or even a site?
 
Well I don't think that under 200$ you can get a decent 3point light kit. If I were you I would save up and wait until you have enough money to get a 1500$up kit with two fresnels and an open face.

But I would try looking for offers in ebay.
or look for this kind of setups
 
Is it really necessary to spend $1500? For example, if there's a kit for around $500 with enough wattage that has the necessary features (barn doors, c stand, etc), then what's wrong with that for non professional use?
 
all the time.

I even fashioned "permanent" barn doors on a 500w home depot by rolling out a long piece (roughly three times the width of the light), folding it over to add strength, cutting a rectangular hole in the middle for the light, then removing the metal frame that holds the glass on from the light, placing the foil between the glass and the light, and then placing the frame back on and screwing through the foil.

You wind up with a light with two bendable barn doors on each side.
 
With only $200 to spend I wouldn't be looking for anything dedicated to video... buy the roll of blackwrap for a control element, but aside from that I'd look at worklights or other lights that are sold for another purpose.

You can still do a job w/o much money, but you have to accept some inconveniences.

There is a "router speed control" available from Harbor Freight... we've all talked about it before so search it out... and when it's on sale it's between $10-13 each, if memory serves me correctly... I know it's half the normal price. Anyway... that is your 1500w dimmer. I'd buy 2 or 3 of them.

Next for worklights... I would suggest you get the $8 worklights from Home Depot... the 250w model... it's tiny. You could also get a 500w version, but I'd start with 2 of the 250w and see what you can do with them.

You should have a reflector if you don't already. Something that's about 42" is good... I like the Westcott and/or Photoflex versions... I prefer the squared ones. Really you can get away with one that is simply white/silver or white/daylight, but you NEED the white reflective side more then anything else... so either get a 5-in-1... or at least make sure one side is white if you only get a 2 sided reflector. Don't get anything smaller then 32" for now. This will cost you at least $75 or so, but it will be of value until it wears out... which will be years from now.

You also need a reflector holder... there are many, but I'm using the Westcott version of that also... it's around $60 I think.

Surely you have stands... right? If not then don't even THINK of calling that part of your $200 budget. If you don't have stands and you are nearly broke then you can possibly look at worklights that come with stands, but honestly, that would be stupid... if you plan to do video for any length of time then you need to get at least 2 stands and really you should have 3. Bogen/Manfrotto has some decent "kit stands" that are around $60 each. Personally I'd suggest that you get two small stands and one medium sized stand... the 3398b is one of my favorite stands since it can also boom... which is great for audio and also for hair/rim lighting people w/o the stand being in the shot.

Do NOT put the reflector close to the worklight! That is NOT made to handle that kind of heat... the reflector is for bouncing the light that goes PAST people... back onto them... this way you only need TWO lights to have 3 point lighting. For your key light... you probably WILL be bouncing that off something though... you will need a white surface that is durable or disposable... and not positioned too close to the light... then bank that light off that white surface... an example of a cheap, but effective solution, would be some VENT material... like all metal heating/AC vent... with a 45 degree angle on it (this is a part readily available from Home Depot or Lowe's... then use high-temp flat white paint to paint the reflected surface OR keep the light away from the reflector box and put some white nylon or something else to diffuse the light... on the front of this part and shoot the light into it from a little distance away... but with the light pointing into the other end of this thing... do you follow me at all on this?

The point is that you need stands for sure... this is unavoidable... then you should get a reflector and a reflector holder... again... this is a must... the blackwrap is pretty nice too. Then for your actual lights, you could literally get away with less then $30 worth from Home Depot... but I'd also suggest that you get those "router speed controllers" which are perfect dimmers, from Harbor Freight.
 
You probably are able to get a good "lighting Kit" for less than $100. Go to the local Wal Mart and buy 5 chinese ball ( diferent sizes) now, get ten 200w bulb. You are good to go. With your black wrap, gaffer tape, paper tape, extension cords, good luck and a lot of experience you can do a nice lighting with this kit.
 
You probably are able to get a good "lighting Kit" for less than $100. Go to the local Wal Mart and buy 5 chinese ball ( diferent sizes) now, get ten 200w bulb. You are good to go. With your black wrap, gaffer tape, paper tape, extension cords, good luck and a lot of experience you can do a nice lighting with this kit.
Click to expand...

True, It all depend in how well you use it and which your aim is. I started with 4 worklights and as soon as I was able to buy two 1k theater fresnels (bigger but cheaper) I understood what light control means and how it saves setup time(well, at least for me).
 
The word "good" is being abused like an unwanted mutt... for sake of my contribution to this thread let's say "passable" or "plausibly functional".

There's no good light kit under $200.
 
MattinSTL said:
The word "good" is being abused like an unwanted mutt... for sake of my contribution to this thread let's say "passable" or "plausibly functional".

There's no good light kit under $200.
Click to expand...

cannot agree more

That advice is the key to your DIY set up right there,,,
Pro lights are going to offer best colour and temp specific to the film and video industry so nothing else is quite the same,,,

I am still on a DIY setup myself due to lack of funds and it is what is,

It's a 'PASSABLE' work-around for the moment.



The DIY stuff will work for you but concentrate on carefull white balance,,,
DO consider warm cards (you can make your own for two bucks) they help you to control hot halogen bulb reflections and spill like magic, and GELS GELS GELS,,, oh yeah, get a decent set of GELS.

Am learning how to by doing alot of 3 point in enclosed dark areas to learn to compose with em.


Cheers
 
You can easily put together a kit for $200 - try here.

http://www.briteklight.com/hali.html

I own a 3 x 650W kit that came with 2 x softboxes, and 3 x barndoors - all for the sum of $350. They are also 110V-120V / 230v-240v so you can use them anywhere in the world.

For most interviews you could use a 300W and reflector or 2 x 300W with some diffusion cloth and 1 x 200W hair light - approx $150 + stands.

I have toted them across Asia Pacific and the USA - over 300 interviews and 100 corporate videos, probably 50 live events, and they haven't missed a beat - not once.

Ask for some additional fuses - say 10, when you buty the lights. I have only blown 1 in 5 years.

There are a few on this forum people who knock the Britek lights, but most haven't ever owned them - just basing their opinion on someone they think they heard had a bad experience. I've searched this forum and there are very few specific issues with them.

Maybe Britek have some models that aren't as reliable, but these things (I have 3 of the GY-650) cool down very quickly, are light weight and VERY reliable, and there are plenty of people on this forum that also support them.

The standard stands that come with the kit are flimsy - upgrade to their pro-stands or buy your own elsewhere.

(and please - can we not have the usual whining comments from vendors carrying competitive brands - we can all see through what you're doing)

I have no connection whatsoever with Britek or any of their people, but would be happy to take a phone call or direct email to discuss my experience with them.

Phil Brown
 
Another thing that is cheap and would be great for a $200 light kit component is available at the grocery store. It is called Baking paper or cooking paper and is like wax paper but without the wax. When you put it on the front of a light as diffusion it has similar (not the same but remember it is a ton cheaper) softening characteristics as lee 216 diffusion. You should be able to get a 12"x25' box for about $2.00. Hope this helps.
 
Don't rule out fluorescent lights as well. There is a fitting that is an Edison socket on one end and a ungrounded plug on the other, they also make splitters allowing you to plug multiple lights in - grab some daylight fluorescent bulbs and plug this all into some power strips - tape or screw to a small board and then build a small box around it using foamcore - voila, you can get 400 - 800 watt lights very easy this way. Probably $30 per light too.

Like MattinSL said, stands are a big deal - you've gotta have something to hold your lights up - I second his idea on lower wattage work lights. At least with those you get stands.

I know your budget is limited - any chance of either borrowing better lights or finding a gig that will allow you to put some more aside for better lights?

cheno
 
I had good results using work lights from Lowes. The ones I used had a single stand with 2 halogen heads. Each head had a switch with both a low and high setting. So it was possible, through various switch settings, to have the light output 250W, 500W, 750W or 1000W. I think you can get the same light at someplace like Wal-Mart for less than $50.
 
Start out with this SV fllood kit, they are pretty nice lights I have 5 of them. then grab you about 50 bulbs, 500w and 250w, some black wrap, and they do make barn doors for these, 3 door set ups, them as you pick up some cash here and there hit ebay and start picking up some mole fresnel lights can be had for 100 to 150 a pop for =>1k. you don't have to buy all the lights you'll ever need all at once.

also take 50 bucks to home depote and pick up some work lights, and a couple drop lights, you can use the 250 and 500w bulbs with there drop heating lights. also pick up a few router dimmer stitched from harborfrieght.


next step getherdone
 
I mad a couple of fluorescents for the purpose of fill lighting when shooting offices, schools, and other locations with overhead fluorescents. I took a two shoplights from Lowes ($29 each) which are a new design called "black chrome". The area in back of the bulb is very reflective. Then I got two mic stands from Muscians friend ($12 each) and
bolted the shop lights to the movable part, using two sheet metal screws and 4 nuts as spacers. Total cost under $50 each. The fixtures use T-8 bulbs which are a newer, higher output design than T-12 and are available in 5 or more color temps such as
Daylight, Sunlight, Office, CoolWhite, etc. The ballasts are flicker free electronic.



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