Various lighting questions & answers from 2004

Derrick Begin · April 15th, 2003, 08:18 AM

Its a nice look...

I used it in my short also...

Cheers!

Annie Cheatham · April 30th, 2003, 02:07 AM

Does anyone prefer the mite lite by NRG over the Canon vl-10li? I have the vl-10li and it works alright. I would like to diffuse the light a little more though. And it seems like the center of the light is too high in the shot.

Anyway, I need to get one more light and I was wondering what people though. And if there were any suggestions for diffusing the vl-10li. I have some diffusion gel and I'm taping it on to the light, but there has to be a better alternative.

I use the lights for wedding videography if it matters.

Thanks in advance,

Annie C

John Jay · April 30th, 2003, 03:25 PM

Hello Annie

You might like to try a prismatic diffuser (or pyramid diffuser) for the top light - its used in suspended ceiling lighting in 12 x 12 inch squares which you can get cut to size from a DIY store

it will spread the beam to a wide angle setting and kill the hotspot

Bruce Findleton · June 22nd, 2003, 03:24 PM

I'm shopping for a camera mounted light for an XL1s. Any pros or cons for the various manufacturers would be great. I'm partial to Lowel but am by no means religous about it. Any recommendations out there?

Marco Leavitt · June 23rd, 2003, 10:49 AM

I have a Frezzi dimmer mini-fill and a Chimera softbox and I just love it. Really solid, well-made gear. With this setup you can dial in just enough light so that you can brighten things up a bit and still keep the scene very natural looking. The Chimera diffuses the light and throws it a lot wider. Too much light will make people's faces look very flat, so you should try and get something with a dimmer. If you have the money you might want to look at Frezzi's HMIs, which use a lot less juice, which is very important. A tungsten bulb will drain a battery really quickly. I'm planning to buy their 10-watt micro-sungun (equivalent to about 50 watts tungsten) for all purpose shooting and documentary work. Their HMIs aren't dimmable, but you can use the softbox to effectively control intensity by pointing the light down to reflect off of the inside of the softbox.

Gints Klimanis · June 30th, 2003, 02:14 PM

Hi,

I'm using eight 2' x 4' banks of flourescent lights, each with four with 3400K bulbs, to light a 15' x 20' are for martial arts sparring footage. The light is quite directional, and I'd like to diffuse it.
The banks came with a clear plastic covering with thousands of tiny pyramids (prismatic diffusors?). I find that these coverings diffuse the light somewhat,
but I have enough light to afford better diffusion. I
put a sheet of photography diffusion paper (some sort
of opal) on one of the banks, but it doesn't do much
in the way of making the four bulbs look like one, wider
light source. I notice that other flourescent lights come with
a textured white plastic diffusor that blends the bulbs into
one light source. It looks like I'll need quite a few
sheets of the diffusion paper to match the plastic.

Is there some special value in using the paper other than
portability and control over the diffusion amount?
Should I look for plastic with particular diffusive properties?

Matt Gettemeier · June 30th, 2003, 09:36 PM

What you described sounds like drop-ceiling fluorescent lighting. With 8 banks you'd have plenty of light for a diffuse, immersive field with almost no extra diffusion... UNLESS you meant to say that they are in the ceiling. In that case you are going to have a hard time getting direct, overhead light to "wrap around" your subjects as a Kino or some other stand-mounted fluorescent would.

About the only thing I can think of if the ceiling scenario is the case is to suggest getting higher output / higher quality bulbs. The reason the tubes aren't visually "combining" into one is due to reduced output or typical distance between tubes in a commercial fixture. The other thing to note about commercial fluorescents is the bulbs aren't usually color balanced and the ballasts aren't high output.

If that's the case I'd suggest augmenting the existing light with a couple fluorescents on the floor off cam.

Of course I could be rambling on too far about this because maybe you've been referring to Kino's or something else... in that case I appologize.

Erik Selakoff · July 10th, 2003, 12:08 AM

It's a 2 in 1 Halogen or Arc camera light I just saw at DVExpo East & it caught my eye. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with them?
Thanks

Charles Papert · July 10th, 2003, 06:37 AM

I have used it a bit. It's a clever, flexible design. It has been made to deliver a broad, even beam rather than a hot, spotty one like many small onboard lights which makes it more useful in my opinion. Easy switch from HMI to incandescent. Nice piece of gear.

Aaron Koolen · July 29th, 2003, 06:56 AM

Hi guys. I've been toying with the idea of getting me some lights and was thinking about the Lowel DV Creator 1 kit. Now all the stuff is good but the NZ Lowel dealers told me today that the Pro light in that kit wont work here in New Zealand with our 230 volt system. The others Tota and Omni are fine, just not the pro light.

Anyway, I was wondering what would be a good replacement light around the same cost that would work over here on our system?

Cheers
Aaron

Richard Veil · August 6th, 2003, 01:09 AM

I would look at the Pepper 100 or the Arri 150. Mole makes a similar light but their names give me a head ache. Get the 220 bulb and enjoy. The prolight is good but these lights are better.
You might want to look at an Arri kit or A Chimera softbox kit and a focusing light.
Just an idea.
Strength and honor
r

Dany Nativel · August 6th, 2003, 11:56 PM

The JTL Everlight looks like a pretty good deal for an entry level lighting kit.

I live in the US for the moment but may come back to Europe later so I was wondering if it's possible to find the 500W bulbs for the Everlight kit with a 220V voltage.

Thank you
Dany

Dany Nativel · August 7th, 2003, 04:50 PM

I got a response from JTL and they do carry 240V bulbs. They can be ordered directly from them... Cool !!

Wayne Orr · August 18th, 2003, 08:18 AM

I have been recommending the JTL Everlight Kit as a good low-cost lighting solution for beginners. The kit consists of three softboxes, 500 watt bulbs, stands and a nylon carrying case. While not as ruggedly made as some of the name brands, the $500.00 price tag will allow you to get a lot of light kit for a reasonable cost, and with care, should serve you well. Add a small fresnel, like a LTM Pepper in the 350 watt range, with a stand, and you will have a good set up for a variety of purposes, from interviews, to "small film" settings, and you are still under $1K.

I have included some frame grabs from a little project I did with the Everlight Kit that can be found at http://www.digitalprods.com/LSmontage to give an indication of the results you can obtain with the kit.
http://www.jtlcorp.com/kits/10.html
http://www.ltmlighting.com/merchant.ihtml?id=40&step=2

Frank Granovski · August 18th, 2003, 01:34 PM

Thanks Wayne! I keep reading posts about someone wanting to know about a cheap lighting solution. Now here it is. :)

April 30th, 2003, 02:07 AM	#17
Annie Cheatham Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Athens, GA Posts: 45	VL-10li vs Mite Lite Does anyone prefer the mite lite by NRG over the Canon vl-10li? I have the vl-10li and it works alright. I would like to diffuse the light a little more though. And it seems like the center of the light is too high in the shot. Anyway, I need to get one more light and I was wondering what people though. And if there were any suggestions for diffusing the vl-10li. I have some diffusion gel and I'm taping it on to the light, but there has to be a better alternative. I use the lights for wedding videography if it matters. Thanks in advance, Annie C

April 30th, 2003, 03:25 PM	#18
John Jay Major Player Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: US & THEM Posts: 827	Hello Annie You might like to try a prismatic diffuser (or pyramid diffuser) for the top light - its used in suspended ceiling lighting in 12 x 12 inch squares which you can get cut to size from a DIY store it will spread the beam to a wide angle setting and kill the hotspot __________________ John Jay Beware *PLUGGER-BYTES*

June 22nd, 2003, 03:24 PM	#19
Bruce Findleton Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Lafayette, CA Posts: 42	Camera light recommendations I'm shopping for a camera mounted light for an XL1s. Any pros or cons for the various manufacturers would be great. I'm partial to Lowel but am by no means religous about it. Any recommendations out there?

June 30th, 2003, 02:14 PM	#21
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	Diffusion material Hi, I'm using eight 2' x 4' banks of flourescent lights, each with four with 3400K bulbs, to light a 15' x 20' are for martial arts sparring footage. The light is quite directional, and I'd like to diffuse it. The banks came with a clear plastic covering with thousands of tiny pyramids (prismatic diffusors?). I find that these coverings diffuse the light somewhat, but I have enough light to afford better diffusion. I put a sheet of photography diffusion paper (some sort of opal) on one of the banks, but it doesn't do much in the way of making the four bulbs look like one, wider light source. I notice that other flourescent lights come with a textured white plastic diffusor that blends the bulbs into one light source. It looks like I'll need quite a few sheets of the diffusion paper to match the plastic. Is there some special value in using the paper other than portability and control over the diffusion amount? Should I look for plastic with particular diffusive properties?

July 10th, 2003, 12:08 AM	#23
Erik Selakoff Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: New York, NY Posts: 51	Anyone used the PAGLight? It's a 2 in 1 Halogen or Arc camera light I just saw at DVExpo East & it caught my eye. Just wondering if anyone had any experience with them? Thanks

April 15th, 2003, 08:18 AM	#16
Derrick Begin Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 329	Its a nice look... I used it in my short also... Cheers!

June 23rd, 2003, 10:49 AM	#20
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	I have a Frezzi dimmer mini-fill and a Chimera softbox and I just love it. Really solid, well-made gear. With this setup you can dial in just enough light so that you can brighten things up a bit and still keep the scene very natural looking. The Chimera diffuses the light and throws it a lot wider. Too much light will make people's faces look very flat, so you should try and get something with a dimmer. If you have the money you might want to look at Frezzi's HMIs, which use a lot less juice, which is very important. A tungsten bulb will drain a battery really quickly. I'm planning to buy their 10-watt micro-sungun (equivalent to about 50 watts tungsten) for all purpose shooting and documentary work. Their HMIs aren't dimmable, but you can use the softbox to effectively control intensity by pointing the light down to reflect off of the inside of the softbox.

June 30th, 2003, 09:36 PM	#22
Matt Gettemeier Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: St. Louis, Missouri Posts: 936	What you described sounds like drop-ceiling fluorescent lighting. With 8 banks you'd have plenty of light for a diffuse, immersive field with almost no extra diffusion... UNLESS you meant to say that they are in the ceiling. In that case you are going to have a hard time getting direct, overhead light to "wrap around" your subjects as a Kino or some other stand-mounted fluorescent would. About the only thing I can think of if the ceiling scenario is the case is to suggest getting higher output / higher quality bulbs. The reason the tubes aren't visually "combining" into one is due to reduced output or typical distance between tubes in a commercial fixture. The other thing to note about commercial fluorescents is the bulbs aren't usually color balanced and the ballasts aren't high output. If that's the case I'd suggest augmenting the existing light with a couple fluorescents on the floor off cam. Of course I could be rambling on too far about this because maybe you've been referring to Kino's or something else... in that case I appologize.

July 10th, 2003, 06:37 AM	#24
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	I have used it a bit. It's a clever, flexible design. It has been made to deliver a broad, even beam rather than a hot, spotty one like many small onboard lights which makes it more useful in my opinion. Easy switch from HMI to incandescent. Nice piece of gear. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

July 29th, 2003, 06:56 AM	#25
Aaron Koolen Trustee Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Auckland, New Zealand Posts: 1,727	What would be a good replacement for the Lowel Pro lights in the DV creator kit? Hi guys. I've been toying with the idea of getting me some lights and was thinking about the Lowel DV Creator 1 kit. Now all the stuff is good but the NZ Lowel dealers told me today that the Pro light in that kit wont work here in New Zealand with our 230 volt system. The others Tota and Omni are fine, just not the pro light. Anyway, I was wondering what would be a good replacement light around the same cost that would work over here on our system? Cheers Aaron __________________ My Website Meat Free Media

August 6th, 2003, 01:09 AM	#26
Richard Veil Chimera Lighting Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Santa Cruz CA Posts: 293	220V lights for you.. I would look at the Pepper 100 or the Arri 150. Mole makes a similar light but their names give me a head ache. Get the 220 bulb and enjoy. The prolight is good but these lights are better. You might want to look at an Arri kit or A Chimera softbox kit and a focusing light. Just an idea. Strength and honor r __________________ Strength and Honor RLV

August 6th, 2003, 11:56 PM	#27
Dany Nativel Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Odenton, MD Posts: 106	220V bulbs for JTL Everlight kit ? The JTL Everlight looks like a pretty good deal for an entry level lighting kit. I live in the US for the moment but may come back to Europe later so I was wondering if it's possible to find the 500W bulbs for the Everlight kit with a 220V voltage. Thank you Dany

August 7th, 2003, 04:50 PM	#28
Dany Nativel Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Odenton, MD Posts: 106	I got a response from JTL and they do carry 240V bulbs. They can be ordered directly from them... Cool !!

August 18th, 2003, 08:18 AM	#29
Wayne Orr Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Northridge Ca Posts: 734	Low cost lighting solution I have been recommending the JTL Everlight Kit as a good low-cost lighting solution for beginners. The kit consists of three softboxes, 500 watt bulbs, stands and a nylon carrying case. While not as ruggedly made as some of the name brands, the $500.00 price tag will allow you to get a lot of light kit for a reasonable cost, and with care, should serve you well. Add a small fresnel, like a LTM Pepper in the 350 watt range, with a stand, and you will have a good set up for a variety of purposes, from interviews, to "small film" settings, and you are still under $1K. I have included some frame grabs from a little project I did with the Everlight Kit that can be found at http://www.digitalprods.com/LSmontage to give an indication of the results you can obtain with the kit. http://www.jtlcorp.com/kits/10.html http://www.ltmlighting.com/merchant.ihtml?id=40&step=2 __________________ Wayne If it was easy, they'd get a relative to do it.

August 18th, 2003, 01:34 PM	#30
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Thanks Wayne! I keep reading posts about someone wanting to know about a cheap lighting solution. Now here it is. :)