Opinions wanted. Aquiring a good light kit?

[Charles Papert]

I for one am very surprised to learn that the Moles weigh more than the Arri's! It must be psychological, the Moles have thicker walls.

I just peeked at Mole's website, and it is VERY INTERESTING to see that their more recent smaller instruments (the horrifically named "litewate" line) finally feature a fourth bracket to hold scrims and barn doors, but the rest of their inventory still has the classic three sided bracket. The wisdom is that you invert the yoke, not the light, so the hardware shouldn't fall out; plus it's a lot quicker to pop in scrims without having to work the spring clamp such as on the Arri's. But obviously they have seen the need in their lower end lights to go with the flow and add the mechanism.

[John Locke]

This is a really informative thread...I wonder if I can get two more bits of information...

1. What exactly are pepper lights and in what specific instances would they be used?

2. I need a light that is portable, meaning it can be hand held and carried by someone as we move along, able to attach a softbox to it, and, of course, can be hooked up to a battery belt? Anyone have any suggestions of a good setup for this? Is the Lowel Omni the best bet for the light? Then what battery setup would you use for an XL1?

[Bryan Beasleigh]

Matt
A fresnell requires a special long throated soft box. It's a focused light and not really appropriate for use in a softbox. Why not buy a Tota and mount it in a Photoflex or chimera. At $109 US it's a good deal and it's made in the USA

My arri lights have plastic knobs and no light's yoke can really stand the weight of an umbrella or softbox. I have a few lobo brackets for that purpose.My photoflex has it's own light tite bkt

Most kit lights are flimsy, not just lowels. that's why I didn't buy a kit

Some lowel lights could be relamped from a local hardware store, maybe not in the proper 3200k but close. Lowel lamps are no more difficult than others to find.

[Wayne Orr]

A fresnell requires a special long throated soft box. It's a focused light and not really appropriate for use in a softbox. Why not buy a Tota and mount it in a Photoflex or chimera. At $109 US it's a good deal and it's made in the USA"

Actually, a "fresnel" only requires a "constant source" softbox versus the more shallow softbox used with strobe lights. Why not a tota in a Photoflex? No reason at all, but you will need a heavier stand, plus a speed ring, plus a bulb, and by the time you are finished you will have spent around $350.00. But it will be a fine light. But to buy a tota because its "made in the USA," is a bit off base. My feeling is, if more people boycotted the low end of the Lowel line, they might feel compelled to improve their product. I have a lot of experience with totas, DPs, and Omnis, and don't much like them. And obviously from the comments of others, I am not alone.

"Most kit lights are flimsy, not just lowels. that's why I didn't buy a kit"

As a matter of fact, most light kits consist of products that the company sells individually, that have been packaged as a kit.


Yes, I feel that the Everlight Kit is good value for dollar for those trying to stretch their lighting budget. And apparently there are others that agree with me, based on posts on this and other forums. Here is one of the most recent posts:

"I just got my Everlight softbox kit last week just in time for a shoot I had out of state. They really made a difference in lighting quality and my project was a great success because of them. Thanks to all of you for posting info about these lights!!!"

I think these comments speak to the value of the Everlight kits. Are they the the ultimate solution? No, and I have posted my caveats on this and other forums. But remember, that the quality of light from one softbox versus another is negligable. So once you spend the time to assemble the Everlight, its output is virtually the same as a Photoflex or Chimera of similar size.

The Rifa light from Lowel is a very handy softbox light, in that it sets up so quickly, making it ideal for someone doing a lot of set up and tear down in a day. But it has a front diffuser that is flush with the sides, which means you cannot add an "egg crate" to it to keep the light from spilling on the background.

The Chimera is the class of the category, and they have a new light I saw yesterday at the Show Biz Expo. Its a five hundred watt lamp in its own housing (no speed ring!), with an excellent "video small" softbox, with an egg crate, and a great Avenger style stand. But, it costs $550.00 for the single fixture. If you can afford it, go for it.

Finally, someone asked about the Pepper. The Pepper line is made by LTM, which is one of the big companies manufacturing lighting instruments for the motion picture/television industry. LTM was the first (I believe) company to manufacture the HMI lights that are an industry standard. The Peppers are smaller versions of lights similar to Moles. In other words, the Pepper 400w lamp is smaller than the Mole 400w lamp. So the Pepper will be slightly less effecient than the Mole because it has a smaller fresnel lens. But the trade off is a smaller profile and less weight for people putting together packages for travel. Put together the JTL Everlight Kit with one Pepper 300 or 400, and you can do a lot of great work for well under one thousand dollars.

Of course, its only my opinion. An opinion based on over twenty years experience working in the industry.

Wayne Orr, SOC Lifetime Achievement Award winner