Well rounded Fresnel kit?
 

Would this be a nice well rounded kit for a lot of situations? (keep in mind I'm not trying to light a football field)



- 2 x 650 Watt Plus Fresnel Tungsten Light (w/ barn doors and Avenger stands)

- 1 x Arri 150 Watt Fresnel Tungsten Light (for back/hair light) (w/ barn doors and Avenger stand)

- 1 x Chimera Video Pro Plus 1 Softbox - Small - 24x32" (w/ chimera speed ring)

- and a few scrims (full single, full double), gels, 5 in 1 reflector, foam core, Chinese lanterns and a filter frame.



What else would you add?

* Again this would be used for lighting video, interviews, conference rooms, theatrical projects, weddings, etc.

I would buy that for now, and rent when you run short, then buy some more when you better know your needs.

You may consider adding a couple of cheap open-face lights too - especially if you're lighting conference rooms, etc... Cheap, powerful bounce light to bring the levels up or fill off abounce card of sorts. Fresnels are nice and easily controlled... but sometimes you just need some spread. No kit will ever saisfy all your needs all the time, but you seem to have a simple, realistic kit thought out. Oh, and if you can swing it - I would personally skip the 150 and get a Dedo. I had the Arri 150 and always felt it lacked enough punch to be useful most of the time. Replaced it with a Dedo 150..which is usually my first light out of the kit now. A lot more money, but it gets used a LOT more, and has a far greater range of focus and power.

thanks for the input.

About the Dedo 150, I kinda thought that was the point of a back or hair light was to be somewhat weak to put some separation between the person or object. Wouldn't two or three 650's give me enough punch for a lot of situations?

What else do you personally use the Dedo 150 for (looks like a very nice light from what I'm reading)?

I seem to be having a problem finding a price on it, their website sucks...lol. When I Google it all that comes are places to rent it.

Also, what open face lights do you recommend?


Thanks again Jaron.

Really, 200 to 300 watts is what you need for a hairlight. Remember, you can always scrim it down if there is too much light, but you can never boost it if it's not there.

Personally, I would go with something like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...W_Fresnel.html

Being able to put in different watt elements is really nice for some situations. I would also suggest getting a 1k instead of 2 650's. It's really nice to have when you need extra punch.

Matthew

That looks like a nice light but what about the Arri 300 just to keep them all the same?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...120_240V_.html

What is the big difference between the two?


I was thinking two 650's for a 3 point set up at times (with the back / hair light), instead of one super bright 1K. Thoughts?


Thanks Matthew

The difference is the Altman can use either a 300, 500, or 650 watt lamp (bulb). The Arri can only use a 300 watt lamp. In my setup I have a Baby mole (1k, 750, or 500 watts I believe) that I normally run at 750, and two mini Moles (can use 200 or 250 watt lamps) that I normally run at 200 watts. I found the minis, one defused for fill light and the other one hard light for the hairlight.

I can promise you that a 650 is waaaaay overkill for a hairlight--you'd have to use about 3 double scrims to get it to an acceptable level so the highlights aren't blowing out. Also, you can't use the same wattage for your key light as your fill light. If you do, your not going to have any depth on your interview subject (if your doing interviews.)

Matthew

Really liking the Arri lights it seems I should go with two Arri 650's, put a 300 watt bulb in one of them and a soft box on the other. Then an Arri or Dedo 150 for hair or back light and see what kind of results I get then add on later. Would that create some of the separation you talking about for depth?


p.s. I'm impressed with your sample videos on your website, nice job. The "CSPC Missions 2007 (6:00)" looks great. Are you using final cut and after effects to do a lot of that?

Well, the Dedo can be used for a lot more than just a hair light. I key with it, fill with it, eye-light with it (with a 100w/12v lamp on a dimmer to a V-mount battery), sometimes add a little eye-punch to a soft key, etc... Don't be fooled by the size or wattage rating of the Dedo's - they are REAL lights and can be compared (depending on focus) to many larger lights. Spotted, I find that I use the Dedo over my 650's 90% of the time - way less spill, better light quality, easier to manage. I have even used them uncorrected outdoors as hairlights with very nice effect - they have a LOT of punch. I'm considering actually selling all my fresnels, and adding a couple Dedo 650's to my dedo kit. I have 5 dedos which fit into the space of 1x650 and 1x300 fresnel - and with a couple totas, my road kit never makes me feel like I'm lacking anything.

What do you think about this light Jaron?
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ght_Head.html#
This is a Tungsten light correct and can be balanced with the Arri's I have?

Also, can you send me a link to the Dedo150's you use?

Thanks for the info on the Dedolights, their pretty pricey but from what I read about they are worth it.

One thing to remember about the dedo's is the lamp price - a dedo 24v lamp goes for about $2, where an Arri 150 lamp goes for about $18. Because of the tightly packed, low-voltage filament, the dedo lamp lasts a LOT longer in normal use, because it withstands shock a whole lot better. In a year, the dedo's have more than paid themselves off in lamp savings.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ight_with.html

As for the soft light - honestly, if you're gonna put it into a box anyways, I like the Lowel Totas. Small, cheap, practically indestructable, and look FANTASTIC in a softbox. And you can lamp them down to 250 or up to 1000 watts as needed. Also, if you get a nice enough softbox for it, they make speedrings which can take 3 totas at once, so you can make yourself a 2.3K light that runs off 3 legs of household power! That's cool!

The beauty of the dedo system is the lens assembly. Once you play with one, you'll see - its unlike anything else. But their softlights, while nice, are not (in my opinion) worth it.

Nice, your talking about this?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...ight_Kit_.html


** Again, all these lights combined that we have been talking about can all work together and can be balanced nicely?