various Lowel topics
 

Hi all

Today I received my Lowel kit 55
1 Rifa-lite
1 Pro-light
1 Omni-light
1 Tota-light +Brella +Flag
Plus frames,Gels,Barndoors,Stands...

I'm new in lighting so if any one know good site for lessons on lighting and any idea for good lambs

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.
Fawaz

I haven't worked much with lighting yet, so can't give you any
personal advise other then: do it often and you'll learn. A lot
of books tell you to sit in front of a mirror and position lights around
you and such to see what happens (most books guide you in
this matter ofcourse). With that said, I'll point you to a couple
of threads which talk about books on this subject:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=4830
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=1871
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=2357
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=2342
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...&threadid=2318

You are probably not waiting on "buying more"... but this is the
best advise I can give you. I hope some other people will
chime in with more "hands on" advise. But perhaps it might be
also a bit more interesting if you tell what kind of scenes you want
to be lighting (exteriours are far harder then interiors for example!)

Good luck... and KEEP practicing!

I don't have any handy right at this moment, but, do a search for sites dealing with lighting. Either Video or still, most principles apply to both. Definitely check out the still photo sites for links and ideas.

Fawaz,
Congratulations on your first lighting kit! That's a good, versatile lightweight kit to start with. I think you'll find that the Rifa's portablility alone will be very handy when you just want to travel and shoot with little gear.

Online, I think Walter Graff's site, Hellgate Pictures, offers some very good lighting tutorials.

Offline, look at our "Read About It" forum for some good books on lighting. I recently reviewed John Jackman's new book there.

DVCreators also has a pretty good tutorial CD covering lighting some basic techniques.

Have fun!

Fawaz,

Speaking of John Jackman I'd recommend checking out the web site he maintains at http://www.greatdv.com though it appears pretty light on matters of lighting for someone who wrote such a fine book on lighting, "Lighting for Digital Video & Television" (no pun intended). He's also the moderator of the "The Craft of Lighting" forum on the dv.com site, http://www.dv.com/forums/showTopics.jhtml?sid=1&fid=4, which, like most forums, can offer up some real prize nuggets.

Another book I'd recommend is Ross Lowell's "Matters of Light and Depth". It's broader in it's subject matter, covering photography, film & video but provides excellent insights and information that are useful for the burgeoning DV auteur.

By the way, I've got the Lowel Kit 44 (smaller Rifa) and like it a lot. It's a great interview kit. And it's half the size of my older Smith-Victor 3 light kit. Go figure.

Have at them!

Thanks for all the advice & informations guys..

Fawaz

fancy bulbs for Lowel tota lights
 

I read about these fancy bulbs for the lowel totas in another thread, and no one ever answered the question I asked there.

They're called HIR bulbs, or something? Allegedly draw (?) 600 watts, but ouput like it's 1000. Anyone know what I mean? Where do you find them? How much are they compared to regular tota bulbs?

A Google search for Tota HIR Lamps brings up plenty of information about them. High output, lower life, not frosted which is the main reason they have a high output. OK for softlights and umbrellas.

B&H sells them.

OK here is the deal
 

The tota
can use

300 500 750 watt bulbs.

the 300 and the 500 come in two color temps

3000 and 3200
The 3000k bulb last much longer up to 3000 hours.

The 750 watt bulb is 3200 k and last like most 3200k around 400 hours

there is a 650 watt bulb that GE makes that puts out 1000 watts of light but with less heat and wattage draw.
This GE 650 watt bulb runs around $25
The other bulbs mentioned will run about $16

They are all listed in the Lowel catalog with the light.

PS. There is a 1000 watt bulb that fits the Tota and people sometimes think they can use them.. WeLL you can but you will burn out the sockets of the tota light and it will die.
That is why they list and invented the 650 watt bulb.

www.lowel.com

Alright thanks.

A Lowel Caselite 4 Inquiry
 

I'm studying the advantages of the Lowel Caselite 4, and would like to know your experiences with it. Do you use it "as is" when setup, or do you find various ways of manipulating the broad light it casts? I'm mainly interested in traveling interviews, and have read where it's useful as a key. I have my share of tungstens, and I can understand how useful a caselite can be when minimizing heat, power output etc. What has been the biggest improvement to your work that a Caselite 4 has given you, either as a supplement to tungsten or being used on its own?

Thanks!

To answer my own question, I'll be going to B & H Photo to check it out personally--it's only a 40 minute train trip away (and several blocks due east from Penn Station).

I went to B & H Photo and saw a sample Caselite 4 illuminating part of the Lowel section of the lighting department. I held a catalog in front of it and was duly impressed by the gorgeous, clean light it gave, so I bought it. Definitely a major investment but one I will have practical use for almost immediately.

Barry,

My Caselight 4 is my favorite light source. Shooting in Japan, I had to consider the small spaces and the electrical circuitry. With the Caselight, though, I didn't have to worry about either.

I only have one, but plan to get another. I saw an interview on TV recently...might have been an E! Entertainment interview...where the interviewer and the interviewee where positioned facing each other, and then each had a Caselight 4 over their shoulder. That allowed each light to act as both a rim light for the person sitting away from the light, and as a key light for the person facing the light. Nice, easy setup...and the lighting looked great.