Arri Flo Lampheads / Studio Cool 4 & similar
 

Looking for advice from someone who regularly uses Flo lighting such as above.

My main use will be indoors and so the Cool 4 most likely will be too much @ 220 watt - which is about the same light as a 1K incandescent. So basically I need advice on the most useful/practical size for purchase

I would wish to avoid the Star Trek Voyager / Office kind of flo lighting since I prefer a much more dimensional look, so indoors I am likely to be throwing some halogen 150-300W into the mix for hairlights and such

So what are the most practical size and type of units I should be looking at?

Can't say I've used Arri's fluorescent heads before, but Kino-Flos seem to be the preferred fluorescent brand (though I find them a bit too flimsy). The Kino 4' 4-bank lights are the most common, and at only 40w per tube, draws only 160w total. For more punch, there are the Wall-O-Lights with 10 tubes at 400w total-- still a safe wattage to plug into house power. Of course, there are other brands-- I've wanted to try the Mole Biax lights because they are WAY more rugged and "grip-proof" than Kinos.

I love using fluorescents when applicable because they run practically cold, they produce great soft light, and you can fit a lot of fixtures onto a single breaker. The downside, if you're on a tight budget, is the price. Because of this, I've taken to building my own fluorescent units and renting more if I need them.

Yep the Parabeam 400's are very similar in that they use 4 x 55w tubes 2ft long, however Ive just learned that the 80w 2ft tubes are coming out which wont fit these units so I will hang on for a while

4ft tubes are a tad bulky for me.

Hi John, where are you looking in the UK for your flo lights, as I'm thinking about them for a couple of specific types of gigs but don't know which dealers?

Hi Gary

The flos that have most captured my attention are the Arri Studio Cool 4's (they no longer seem to market the Studio Cool 2's) and the Ianiro Ice 4's and Ice 2's.

The feature I especially like about the Ianiros is the four leaved mirrored intensifiers here
http://www.ianirouk.co.uk/ice4.asp

Both take the studio versions of Philips and Osram tubes so availability should not be a problem.

If your talking new then shop from this list
http://www.4rfv.co.uk/brieflisting.a...=36251&start=0

if your talking second user then obviously for Arri
http://www.arri-auction.com/
or even
http://mandy.com/1/class.cfm