VisionSmith LED bulbs

G

ggrantly

Veteran
Hello Listers,

If you follow Erik Naso's blog, in his latest post, he reports on the new VisionSmith LED bulb that can replace the typical and traditional tungsten bulbs used in Arri Fresnels and the like. They are freeking expensive, at close to or more than the original fixture! However, since they are available in daylight spectrum, it seems like an ideal situation to convert a tungsten Arri, to a daylight LED. This is such a great solution for those of us that have a fleet of tungsten lights that also want daylight spectrum lights. Erik hasn't given any updates on actually using these so has anyone actually used these in the field? I'd love to convert a 650 or 1000 to compliment my wimpy little daylight panels.

Grant

http://eriknaso.com/2017/01/21/bringing-new-life-to-my-arri-650-with-led-relamp-from-visionsmith/
 
No personal experience beyond chatting with their Reps at CineGear, but many of the movie studios have adopted the ReLamps causing orders to be back logged.
 
I am curious about these as I have a full tungsten kit. Though i would eventually like to have some panels and only bring a few fresnels for accents/background etc.
 
I have the 1K and 650 versions. Did a lot of testing and will finish the review soon. I'll look for this color ring but so far I haven't seen it on the Arri 650 or the 1K Mole SolorSpot. I don't have the fresnel replacement. Both are new updated designs as well.
 
Here is a shot of the VisionSmith Arri 650 LED DropIn set to a tighter beam so you can see the outer area. Compression is taking a hit on the image and adding banding but to my eye when looking at the actual light I don't see any color issues at all.

DSC00819.jpg
 
cinebuddy said:
I think their custom lens gets rid of the color ring...?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately their lens does not get rid of the ring. I do love the 2k led and i use it often on interviews through a silk. Worth it, especially if you have some arri or moles collecting dust.
 
robmneilson said:
Unfortunately their lens does not get rid of the ring. I do love the 2k led and i use it often on interviews through a silk. Worth it, especially if you have some arri or moles collecting dust.
Click to expand...
Damn. I'm gonna look at the samples again. That 2k looks awesome.
 
I have to say, I have been dreaming about a LED bulb to drop into old Arri Fresnels, but was almost not expecting it to ever happen. These are looking very intriguing to me.

Hoping Eric will be able to finish up the review soon.
 
I was about to sell my Arri kit on E-Bay when I saw these. I'm thinking I'll buy the Relamps and deal the with bulk/weight to have the nice Arri fixtures & control. I inquired about the 150 and received a reply yesterday that they expect the Relamp bulb for the Arri 150 in June.
 
I am really on the fence. I love my Arri tungsten lights but I would only buy the Relamps if they meet the same output as the tungsten bulbs. I have seen some non scientific test shoots where they didn't have as much output as the original tungsten bulbs. But that could have been flawed testing? It would be a lot easier decision if they weren't so costly. I would never want to replace my glass fresnel lenses with a plastic lens, that's not happening.
 
Last edited:
At last years CineGear/LA a Rep from ReLamp told me the Arris didn't need their Fresnel lens to be replaced by a plastic one.
 
Sorry for the delay on the full review folks.

I can answer a few questions for you since I'm taking a lifetime to get the full review up. This is the big info I think you all really want.

Just how bright are they?

The lamps are technically brighter than the tungsten bulbs they replace however the LED is front facing and doesn't get the extra output from the reflector since that is removed to insert the LED. Here are the readings I got when testing the output from the ARRI 650.

Arri 650
10 Feet 89 FC 52˚ With reflector and 650 watt lamp.
10 Feet 46 FC 52˚ Tungsten 650 watt lamp without the reflector

Arrii 650 With VisionSmith LED
10 feet 67 FC 52˚ wide open

So you get a decrease of 22 FC in output with the LED drop ins but what you gain is low heat 75 watt 5300K daylight color temperature fixture. Yes I wish it was 5600K but 300K really isn't that much of a difference and the CRI is very good at 98. I don't have a color meter to test this but using it has not shown any color issues at all. Very happy with it. If you think of it this way you would lose much more than 22 FC output if you used CTB on the fixture to get it to 5300K.

Some have said the LED lamps have a issue with a color shift in outer part of the light like a ring of amber but I believe the new models have fixed this issue a while back and I haven't seen any color issues like this on the two models I have.

As for the fresnel lens. You won't need to replace the ARRi lens on any model. They are the best they can be however if you have an older Mole fixture those will benefit from a upgraded lens. The benefit is higher output.

VisionSmith 1K.jpg

Speaking of the Mole 1K's I also have this LED and I love it! It's become my main light for everything lately here in my home studio setting for reviews. It's awesome and the output is perfect for punching through a 4x4 and pretty much anything I need a 1K for.
Same thing applies to output. It will be a little less than the tungsten lamp.

Here is a review I recently shot using only the 1K Mole fixture and VisionSmith LED replacement for my on-camera parts and the b-roll of the monitor.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo1j_Otsa4g

All in all I'm really happy with the LED lamps. I'm going to order the lens for the Mole soon to get the extra output but as is it's great. The R&D that went into designing these are pretty steep. Thats why you don't see anyone else making them. In theory it looks simple but it just isn't the case.

Hopes this helps and again sorry for the delay.
 
Last edited:
Have any of you guys considered the Cool Lights 150W CDM. Its a great light. Same size , output and pattern as my Arri 650 fresnel but its daylight. Even will use the same scrims and I think the same barndoors though I'm not sure about that. Daylight or tungsten bulbs are only $30 @. There are a few minor downsides that have never bothered me. It has a five minute warmup time to reach color temp. Also on flood there is a slight magenta discoloring in the pattern, but frankly in actual use its never bothered me at all and I'm picky. Right now its only $499. It does have a small separate power supply but it doesn't make noise. I love mine and I got mine used for $300. Its a steal IMHO.

http://www.coollights.biz/product_info.php?products_id=63
 
LennyLevy said:
Have any of you guys considered the Cool Lights 150W CDM. Its a great light. Same size , output and pattern as my Arri 650 fresnel but its daylight. Even will use the same scrims and I think the same barndoors though I'm not sure about that. Daylight or tungsten bulbs are only $30 @. There are a few minor downsides that have never bothered me. It has a five minute warmup time to reach color temp. Also on flood there is a slight magenta discoloring in the pattern, but frankly in actual use its never bothered me at all and I'm picky. Right now its only $499. It does have a small separate power supply but it doesn't make noise. I love mine and I got mine used for $300. Its a steal IMHO.

http://www.coollights.biz/product_info.php?products_id=63
Click to expand...

Wow I didn't know CoolLights was still in business. I bought a couple LED panels from them 10 years ago. These are interesting but the variable 80-90 CRI is strange.
 
LennyLevy said:
Have any of you guys considered the Cool Lights 150W CDM. Its a great light. Same size , output and pattern as my Arri 650 fresnel but its daylight. Even will use the same scrims and I think the same barndoors though I'm not sure about that. Daylight or tungsten bulbs are only $30 @. There are a few minor downsides that have never bothered me. It has a five minute warmup time to reach color temp. Also on flood there is a slight magenta discoloring in the pattern, but frankly in actual use its never bothered me at all and I'm picky. Right now its only $499. It does have a small separate power supply but it doesn't make noise. I love mine and I got mine used for $300. Its a steal IMHO.

http://www.coollights.biz/product_info.php?products_id=63
Click to expand...

They're a good concept. The first two lights I bought were a pair of their 150w CDMs, so that I could have both tungsten and daylight 650w equivalent fixtures. The versatility seemed like a great idea. But the build quality was very cheap, and mine had basically fallen to bits within 12 months of use. For the same price I could have had two Arri 650w Fresnels instead, and those would still be with me.

I really like the concept of these Visionsmith relamps. If I had space for it in the ute, I'd have 2 or 3 of their 2k replacements in Arri 2k Fresnel housings. You may lose some total output compared to the tungsten bulbs - but compared to what you'd get with the same lamps through full CTB? These things would wipe the floor with it.
 
I guess the simple question is...are the relamps a better deal than any of the other LED fresnel products currently out there (or coming soon) in terms of price, CRI, control, etc.?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top