Used fresnel lights.

traviswears

traviswears

Well-known member
Looking to buy a few small fresnels (MR 2901, 2801) (Arri 150, 300) or similar. I live in the Midwest, so haven't had any luck via craigslist. I know about eBay and have checked (with no success) B&H used & the Pyramid Films site but was wondering if there were other resources I should know about?

Also, besides LTM are there any other brands I should be aware of?

I'm not a big Lowel fan and I don't care much for the 'As Arri' knockoffs.
 
unfortunatly the smaller wattage lights are harder and more expensive to find than the larger lights.

strand lighting is a good brand, though mostly their higher end stuff (the lowest end stuff is pretty rough)
most of their stuff is 650 and above though....

i have grabbed a couple of ltm and mole Richardson small lights on ebay, but have paid the same (if not more) than my 1ks and 650s.
 
In the lower wattage Fresnel lights the Mole-Richardson Midgets and the LTM Peppers are the gold standard, IMHO. I don't know if there is anything else available that can even compare to them. On the few occasions I have been able to use them, I loved them and when holding them, dang near thought of them as works of art because of their outstanding build quality. I have been keeping my eye out for them on the used market sources, but they don't come up that frequently and you do pay a premium for them when they do.
 
Why are the low wattage Mole midgets and LTM Peppers so much better than their Arri equivalents?
 
arroway said:
Why are the low wattage Mole midgets and LTM Peppers so much better than their Arri equivalents?
Click to expand...

I know I will get crucified for this but while the Arri's are very nice they don't hold up well. Think of it as a Ferrarri and a Ford. The Arri is the Ferrarri, slick and cool. It just needs more service than the family Ford or the Mole.
 
As a Ferrari owner I can tell you that they have regular service intervals just like a Ford or any other car.

But I tend to agree with Paul that the Arri's don't hold up as well as Moles.
 
I've heard great things about the MRs. Haven't been able to work with them much. Mostly Arris around here. I would like to pick up a couple of MR 200s to use as backlights. I just missed some good deals on some used ones recently. Wish I'd been paying attention.
 
You guys sold me. I'd been on the lookout for a while and finally a couple of moles at a good price popped up on local Craigslist. 2 X 1K Solarspot with barn doors for $350 each with 2 extra bulbs thrown in. Also trying to talk one of the local rental houses into selling me both their 200W midgets that virtually never rent if I can get them down to the right price.
 
+1 for the LTM Peppers - I have two and I take them to every shot - almost artwork and a beautiful light.

Frank
 
YOu got a good deal. I bought to mole !K's a couple years ago and they have been workhorses. Can't go wrong with used Mole Richardson or Arri!
 
Congrats man! I just picked up my first two lights. A Diva and a used Arri 650. Can't wait to pick up a few more!
 
Check Pyramid weekly - and call them if you need something, they don't post everything on their site and they're good guys.

Before I shot a frame of video, I was a fashion shooter and started using cinema-techniques for lighting - trying to stand out, and I loved tungsten film for fashion stills.

I bought several theatrical Fresnels, 6", 500 - 1k. That was 20+ years ago and I use them for video to this day. If you're in a $$ pinch, keep an eye on eBay. I have a pile of rectangular open-faced lights with barn doors that were theatrical market - they are dynamite. I have "real" video lights in my rig now, but a fresnel is (pretty much) a fresnel. Some have so-so lenses, but decent ones for sixty bucks? Grab 'em.
 
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