Anyone from 220/240 volt land bought Lowel lights from the US?

[Aaron Koolen]

Just wanting to know if anyone has and how they worked out. From what I can tell on lowel's site, lights like their Omni and Tota (but not the Pro) will work over here at 230/240 50Hz but was wondering if that's built into the light, or do you need special versions?

I ask because I can save hundreds if I order from somewhere like B&H as opposed to buying locally and if it's pretty much hassle free (Apart from changing the plugs over) I'll go that way.

Anyone got any experience or words of warning?


Cheers
Aaron


BTW: Yes I did email Lowel but haven't got a reply ;)

[Peter Jefferson]

mate, i have a lowel tota, and running 240v, basically it uses a standard kettle plug... kettle, laptop, synth, its teh 3 pin femaile im referring to

[John Locke]

What's with these companies not answering their mail?

I also never got a respons back from Lowel...nor from Frezzi. Guess they're off on a beach in the Caribbean somewhere sipping Cuba Libres and letting their answering machines run their businesses.

Anyway...I have a Caselite and a Scandle. The Caselite has a switch on the back that you need to flip to 240. The Scandle apparently works with 120 or 240, depending on the fuses you've got in it (it comes with the maximum aperage fuses, so it works either way).

So, looks like you don't have to worry about the wattage issue much with Lowel.

Peter, are you using your Tota as a portable? If so, what kind of belt are you using and how long a burn do you get?

[Aaron Koolen]

Yeah I guess being computer savvy I tend to get annoyed with companies that aren't checking their email regularly like I do. It's a bit of a shame.


Anyway it all sounds good, I should be ordering soon once I've finalised what I need.

Cheers
Aaron

[Richard Veil]

Hi
The Lowel Tota, omni and DP can be adapted from 120 to 220 or vise versa by changing the bulb to the desired voltage and adapting the cord. Having sold many Lowel products I can tell you that you don't need the special 220 cord to adapt from 120 to 220 only an adapter set and the correct bulb.
let me know if you have more questions. BH is a good place to go if that is what you want to do.
Strength and honor
r

[John Locke]

Richard,

Welcome to the boards! Glad we'll be able to get facts straight from the horses mouth on this kind of stuff. There's a related thread about the Omni that you can find by clicking here. Can you help out and give us your two cents there, too?

[Aaron Koolen]

Thanks Richard for the advice here and in the other thread I had questions in. The more I read the more confused I get. Some say not to bother with the Lowell and spend the extra and get Arri or such from the word go. If I could live with 1 (Possibly 2) lights maybe I would but I feel I might need 3 and the expensive Arri's etc wouldn't be a go on my budget then - who knows. Back to the research.

Cheers
Aaron

[John Locke]

Aaron,

You'll get a lot of conflicting information...believe me, I know how hard it is to decide what to get. I'd also read a lot of people saying that hot lights were the way to go. But then not long ago I was watching an interview with George Clooney, and they showed a wide shot that included the lighting setup. They had two Lowel Caselites on different sides to hit George and the interviewer who were sitting facing each other. Since each Caselite was over the shoulder of one of them, the two lights created both the key light and the rim light for both of them. There were some smaller lights for lighting the walls behind them, but I couldn't tell what they were. So, obviously, some people think they're worth using. Seeing that helped me to make my decision...the selling point for me to buy fluorescents was the coolness factor, and the fact that the bulbs last so long.

I think it boils down to the fact that both types of lighting...hot lights and fluorescents...serve a purpose and both are necessary at one time or another. Perhaps you have an interview to do in a small office...then cool, portable fluorescents would be a convenient way to go. But then there will be times when something like Arris will work out better.

I wouldn't think of it as an "either/or" decision. Consider it one part of what will someday be a complete light setup.

[Aaron Koolen]

Yeah John, I think what you said about considering anything I buy to be part of a someday complete setup, is very true. Guess I tend to be a bit conservative and concerned about this stuff seeing as I make no money from it so need to be a bit more selective.

A bit more research and I'll have to decide because I need lights for our LadyX episode and need to get used to using them way before I start shooting. I think I'll write a book after that titled

"Learn cinematography in 21 days"

I'm sure it will be as worthwhile a book as the ones I've seen called "Learn C++ in 21 days" - which as a programmer, make me laugh whenever I see them.

Cheers
Aaron