Would you recommend this as a cheap lighting kit?

No, build up gradually with used lights from reputable manufacturers.
Nobody really uses tungsten softlights like those on location either except as worklights.
 
Hmmm,

The thing is if I get the Arri 650 plus and the Altman 650 L, are those 2 lights sufficient for a 3-point lighting to conduct an interview? Don't I still need to purchase umbrellas? I understand I want to build up but my initial purchase still needs to be sufficient for 3 point lighting which is why I considered the kit....
 
The kit you posted won't be more useful than a couple 650w and 200w fresnels. Don't do it unless you need something for a job within the next couple weeks and there are no rental companies in your market.
 
Okay, so what about this. What if I purchase an Arri 650 ($380) that I can use for the keylight. And an Arri 150 Watt ($280) for the fill light. Then I can purchase the barndoors and some umbrellas and be round 700 bucks. I won't have a hairlight but think a good key and fill light will be fine for now....
 
Or you could use the 150 for the hairlight and get a reflector for fill. That setup works really well.
 
Wait till you see a better deal on eBay or craigslist than to buy a brand new Arri 650. That's the most expensive way you could possibly go.
 
Yep. Arri and Mole-Richardson come up on ebay all the time. You can save a lot of money if you are just a bit patient. Even 3 light kits with case and stands show up.
 
I still think that Lowel kits offer great versatility for little price, specially for "starter" kits. After you keep upgrading in the future they will still prove useful for many things.
 
I would look at less expensive soft box kits for key and fill and a small fresnel for your kicker if you want to get going on a budget. I did what everyone else did. I bought fresnels second hand but even if you use a 650 Fresnel for a key, unless you want something pretty hard, you're going to bounce it or diffuse it. Fresnels work best with grip gear but even a 300 with 216 clipped to the barndoors will do an OK job. What you want is a large soft source close to your talent. Barry Green's DVD on film lighting provides and excellent overview on types of lights and results you can achieve with each.
 
never ever buy a lighting kit until you have the job for it. I'm lucky enough to have a big stock of lighting kit, and the redhead kit I bough 5 years ago hasn't been used more than once, because every job after that needed something just a bit different, and in the end, my mainstay are Fresnels, reflectors and some specialist stuff - the redheads were just not so useful for what I actually do, rather than what I thought I'd be doing.
 
the chinese arris are hit and miss for quality and delivery. You can get them from inside the US from Julius Studio. Also consider Colortran, Strand, Altman and other fresnels. They are very inexpensive used on Ebay.
Fresnels are da bomb, but you should have an open face or 2 for bounce and diffusion. They are much more efficient than fresnels that way. I'll second the call for Source Four PARS also, but Lowel DP is another good inexpensive option. But you could even use the 500w or 1k work lights from a hardware store.
 
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Denialorcoped said:
After reading through your feedback and talking with some people I determined this would be the bet kit for me. I think I need a 300 and 150 in my kit cause I will be doing some projects just in front of a green screen in my apartment and 600w is prob overkill, but this kit includes 1 600w as well for other sets.

Only problem is this is $1750!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/541089-REG/Arri_571959W_Compact_Fresnel_Three_Light_Kit.html
Click to expand...

I don't know why you're so hellbent on getting a kit of brand new Arri's.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Desisti-650...872?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25852ec180
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Desisti-Leo...-NO-RESERVE-/181270898008?hash=item2a34966558
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LTM-pepper-...825?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4acce707f9
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Colortran-Berkey-/190991970519?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c780230d7

Also, trust me, 600w is hardly ever overkill. You can always dim/scrim/bulb down from there too.
 
I have some coollights as well and they have worked great for me so far. I can get the light and a matthews metal stand for the price of an arri light.
 
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