Decent hair light

[Michael Thames]

I bought a cheap boom hair light off of ebay and it turned out to be pure crap. It actually came loose and fell down on top of the guys head and exploded because it had a florescent bulb...... I thought the guy was dead.

I was looking at this one at B&H. If anyone has a better suggestion I would greatly appreciate it.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/250350-REG/Smith_Victor_401554_MB_500_Single_Light_Mini_Boom.html

[Oren Arieli]

Yikes! That could have been a litigation nightmare. If you are at all concerned about hanging gear over a person's head, you should trust that gear with your life. A high quality boom stand is still not enough though. I would strongly urge you to sandbag and counterweight any boomed instrument. Keeping it far away from talent also helps, for that you'll probably want a light with better control than what you've listed. For most setups, I like using a Prolight with a snoot, use ones are cheap and easy to find. If you're looking for something softer, you might want to consider an LED, which has the added benefit of battery power. The biggest concern is control of the spill. If you have low ceilings and/or tall talent, that hairlight might be just above the lens, and you could have issues with flare. Barn doors are helpful in some cases, but not always with LED's (as they create a striped effect with narrow barn door aperatures. If you look at the best lit interviews, they often use a gridded softbox, which is great when your talent has less than a full head of hair. Of course, this means heavy-duty stands and more weight. It's always a tradeoff.

[Michael Thames]

Is there a SPECIFIC PRODUCT YOU CAN RECOMMEND?

[Nate Haustein]

He recommended this item: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/285941-REG/Lowel_P2_101_Pro_Light_Focus_Flood_Light.html
If you must boom it, use a proper c-stand that can take the weight as opposed to a plastic and aluminum arm setup like seen in your link. And sandbags as Oren said.

[Oren Arieli]

Thanks Nate, you beat me to the punch. I assumed that everyone knew what a Pro Light was.

[Michael Thames]

Yes, guys thanks, but, I need a decent boom arm. I'm less concerned with the light itself, and more concerned with the thing staying air borne. I shall investigate the light though, thanks!

[Oren Arieli]

Avenger and Matthews grip gear is a good place to start.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/200109-REG/Avenger_A4041B_A475B_Baby_Combi_Boom.html

[David W. Jones]

These make nice hair lights…. Dedolight 150W Focusing Light Head with Dimmable DLHM4-300U B&H

[Michael Thames]

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

These make nice hair lights…. Dedolight 150W Focusing Light Head with Dimmable DLHM4-300U B&H

Damn that's expensive for a light! What I need is a good boom pole that stays airborne and is of decent quality and not too expensive.

[Michael Thames]

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

These make nice hair lights…. Dedolight 150W Focusing Light Head with Dimmable DLHM4-300U B&H

Damn that's expensive for a light! What I need is a good boom pole that stays airborne and is of decent quality and not too expensive.... I can deal with the light later.

[Bill Ward]

An ARRI 150 "pepper" style light with with a little frost gel in the diffusion ring is also a good choice.

x2 on the Matthews C-stand with boom arm and a 20 lb sandbag.

[Michael Thames]

Originally Posted by Bill Ward

An ARRI 150 "pepper" style light with with a little frost gel in the diffusion ring is also a good choice.

x2 on the Matthews C-stand with boom arm and a 20 lb sandbag.

Thank you Bill, that's just what I was looking for. I just bought it. The price is right, and I have a number of different lights I can put on there.

I was so disappointed with the crap I bought before within the first day the cheap tightening grip on the boom arm stripped...... that was after it fell on the guys head and blew up..... LOL!

[John DuMontelle]

When your goal is "not too expensive"...you need to consider all of the costs...including the "if" it falls down on someones head again!

How much will you pay then when they sue you?

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.

Keep yourself out of trouble and buy a proper stand which won't crash down just because you went "cheap".

I use the same Avenger stands Oren linked to above and they are great.

I have four and use them in the boom configuration or "straight up". Strong and reliable. Best of all the pack better than any other traditional C-Stand.

For a hair light I use my 250 w Lowel pro light and a simple dimmer bought from Home Depot for less than ten bucks. Flying that light on my Avenger stand and then dimming it down to "perfection" is simple and quick.

Not to mention I'm getting the best bang for my buck and staying out of court with accidents of my own making! ;)

[Arthur Gannis]

When you use that dimmer from Home Depot does the color temperature go progressively more yellow and to the reddish spectrum ? Like dimming it half way for instance.?

[Mike Watson]

Yes, however, I find that at almost full power (70-100%) the color shift is hardly noticeable, and below that you are getting into dark, romantic, breathy moods, and the overly warm tone either isn't bothersome, or actually helps with the effect.