So, When I first got my Canon, I was excited to get a set of lights, so I rushed out and picked up a set of Constant Photography lights for cheap, compliments of Ritz going out of business.

Well, They work great, it a simple Photo Basics 2 light set with umbrellas. But... I am really not liking the diffused light that I get with it. Even with the umbrellas off, and just the lamp pointing at my subject, it is not hard enough for what I am doing.

So, I wanted to pick up a set of Fresnels to go with this set.

My budget is low being that I have alot of projects floating right now, and no one is paying me yet.

Anyone know a good or ok set of fresnels for cheap? I also need it to have barndoors and a slot to put in a gel...

Get yourself something like a few used LTM Peppers.

I'm not contradicting earlier posts but I thought I would mention that the cheapest hard and focusable lights out there are the Lowel pro-lights. They are only 200W but they seem rather strong due to the concentrated reflector. With barn doors they are only about $150 each and there are a number of accessories available. Their beam is not filled with irregular hot spots unlike some other cheap lights I've used.

My MAIN kit for interviews and the like is filled with ProLights and a Rifa but the OP mentioned he needs HARD light and I can't say that the ProLights are all that hard (although I agree with Marcus that they are probably the best bargain out there for pro lighting in small wattages, mainly due to the evenness of the light and the wonderful integration one gets with a Lowel kit).

Scott, so that we can make better suggestions, what is your PRIMARY use for a light kit or more specifically where are your current lights "letting you down"?

Well, the main let down is that they are just diffused. I do mostly use them for interviews, but even then I have issues, cause I only have two, so I have no back light...

Second, I can't use gels if I wanted a cool effect...

Third, I would like something that I can use for a Noir style film without having to place a light 2 feet from someones face.

I am liking that $150 per light cost, That is within my budget...

The Lowel Pro Light is not a fresnel. Lowel made some fresnels for awhile, 650 watt ones, but gave it up. Cheapest ones I know of are on coollights.biz.

Bill is right that ProLights are not fresnels but I don't think any of us were suggesting that they were, only that they are hard lights unlike softboxes and LED fixtures and the like...

The prismatic glass on the ProLights helps to even out the light to avoid hotspots but does not FOCUS the light like the concentric rings on the glass lens on the front of a fresnel.

I just got some of the Cool Lights CDM's and I have to say they do a great job. They're daylight balanced Fresnels that basically operate like HMI's with the main difference that you have to wait 5 minutes to restrike. I haven't found that a problem yet. I've got a 70w light that's equivalent to a 300w and a couple of 150w lights that are equiv to 650w lights.

They make a soft box attachment that works out ok for interviews and with the lower power my subjects are much happier. I was using Lowel lights that worked great but the heat and fact that they were 3200K made them a little less flexible and comfortable to work with.

-Garrett