DeSisti Kits.
 

Hello,

I'll be buying a lighting kit nest month. I've been renting an Arri kit with 2 650 fresnel, 1 350 fresnel and a 1k flood. Everything in a wheeled case with barndoors, etc. I want something similar. My three first options were: Mole, Arri and Altman. Mole got out of the picture really quick because of the money, and I'm now considering buying DeSisti lights, I've done some research but the recomendations are almost always "Mole, Arri, Altman" One thing I have noticed is that they are cheaper than Arri's or Altman's. Is there any catch for this price reduction??

Reply
 

Hi Rodrigo:

The ligh kit you used sounds like the Arri Softbank I ki. I own it, it's a great kit although I had to buy a couple of 150s to supplement it. Made me wish that I had bought the Softbank IV instead.

I own a couple of DeSistis 1K fresnels, they are quite good lights, but not as good as the Arris or Moles. You get what you pay for.

I have never seen DeSisti kits, do they make them?

Good luck,

Dan

Desisti lights are fine. The Magis has better performance, according to B&H's Professional Lighting Sourcebook. The Desisti lens is a little bigger, 4.75" as opposed to the Arri's 4.3". I have one desisti Magis (650W) and I may unload my B&M and Mole Tweenies in favor of the smaller, brighter Magis. I'm doing a lot of traveling and the smaller size is great. I'll have to do a little test and see their comparative output. The Desisti 1K puts out a good amount of light, it was brighter than my Mole 407 Baby Solarspot. All of the manufacturers mentioned are great. Altman are made in the Good Ole USA.

I've seen Desisti's in some rental houses. When handled roughly, everything falls apart. I've seen Arri Fresnels slowly degrade over the course of a shoot ( I wasn't gaffing, I was doing stills). I tell all my guys to take it easy on the equipment, partly because I'm renting out my personal gear in addition to gear from a rental house. It may be a rental, but you don't have to treat it like sh*t. While you are renting it, it's yours. Take care of your gear and it will take care of you.

Desisti make kits.

Usual disclaimers: I don't work for Desisti, etc, etc.

The mole, Desisti and B&M all have the same lens size

Thanks a lot for your replies. Dan, Mark already posted a link in his reply that contains information about the DeSisti kits. B&H has more options, they have some kits that include fresnels, fluorescent based lamps and even soft boxes, and the prices seem fair to me.

Reply
 

Hi guys:

Thanks for the link. I really like my DeSistis, they are nice lights. I do think that Arris and Moles are built better for long term use and the DeSisti barndoors are a bit flimsy but I do agree, if you take care of your lights, they will last much longer, regardless of manufacturer.

Enjoy!

Dan