Re: how good are lowel lights?
 

Les, just so you know, neither the Omni or DP lights are Fresnels because they do not have a lens.

Lowel used to make a very nice 650w Fresnel called the Fren-L. I still have two of them and they are superior to their Arri counterpart in several ways that are important to me. I don't know why they stopped making them because it was the best light Lowel ever made.

To answer the original question of this thread, I own many Lowel lights (DP, Tota, Pro, Fren-L, etc.) and they are all a good deal for what they cost.

Re: how good are lowel lights?
 

Yes... my post was ambiguous ... I realize the DP and Omni are not fresnels. I was mentally going through my studio lights and I have a couple Kliegl Brothers fresnels with the lamp on the bottom and I'm not always careful about their orientation. Then the Mole, Colortran and Altman designs I am familiar with sprang to mind all of which don't stop you from flipping the fixture through the harp when wrestling with it at the top of a ladder and in a hurry.