are these lights any good?
 

I found these on ebay, Im on a budget so I dont want to spend a fortune- but am kinda leary of using shop lights. I have no lights at all right now and just want a couple of simple versatile lights.

any good?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3802396562

Interesting that they say the color of daylight is 6500 K when its generally accepted to be at 5,500 K. But I guess you can always fix that with a manual white balance.

Make sure you can mout or clamp it somewhere like a light stand or a fixture. Probably would make a wide key or background light.

Check at your local Walmart first. I once bought a worklight that looks and specs exactly like the one on e-bay for $25 there about a year ago. It was too blue to be of use to me and I returned it.

The e-bay ad not only gives a high color temp but it also indicates that the CRI is only 84 --typically poor color rendering for a fluorescent, and that it needs substantial color correction with gels. Oh and that it doesnt have a stand mount.

My guess is that this is a cheap flo worklight being marketed as a movie light.

You will do just as well for less money at your local hardware store.

Wow, thanks for the sound advice

gas

Having spend a couple hundred on cheap junk to start myself, I would reccomend the following as the cheapest set up to learn lighting. The advantage is that it's real stuff you wont outgrow anytime soon. Also, throw in a couple ordinary halogen bulbs in ordinary fixtures for back/background lights and some foam core for reflectors and you can actually tape something decent with this setup.

Get the book and some sort of entry-level pro light and go nuts.

Bill

The following is from bhphoto.com:

Book: Lighting for Digital Video & TV by John Jackman
MFR #1578201152 • B&H #CMLDVT $ 34.95 ($24 at Amazon)

Lowel Pro-Light Tungsten Spot Light with Bulb
MFR #P2101 • B&H #LOPLL $ 114.95

Lowel 4-Way Barndoor for Pro and i-Light
MFR #IP20 • B&H #LOBD4PL $ 33.95

Lowel Cl-15 - Gel-Jawz - Clips
MFR #CL15 • B&H #LOGJ $ 9.95

Bogen / Manfrotto #FP209 - Variety Filter Pack
MFR #FP209 • B&H #BOFP209 $ 19.95

Bogen / Manfrotto 3097 - Lightweight Pro Light Stand - 7' 9"
MFR #3097 • B&H #BO3097 $ 51.95

Sub Total: $265.70
(Excluding Shipping & Handling)

thanks Bill, Ill check that out

nah.. no good.. green spike, low CRI... typical junk

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=5342&is=REG&si=spec#goto_itemInfo

For the same money you can buy the 3086 stand that will hold twice the weight.

Read some more of these and other threads. Video works better with soft indirect light (IMO) The prolight is great as an accent but by the time you bounce it or run it through a baffle there's not much left (250 watts)

I aggree that it's a waste of money to run out and buy cheap crap.

Also hold off on the gels and hoders until you get some basics under your belt