Comments

rmack350 wrote on 10/24/2004, 11:52 PM
different lights for different purposes. Floros are usually soft and don't reach very far. They can't do what a par or a fresnel can do (but you can make these do what a floro does-you just pay for it in heat)

Here in the US, the floro brands are Kinoflo and a few other smaller players. It's generally expensive stuff but if you hunt around this forum you'll find lots of other ideas.

If the floro is using standard 4' tubes then they'll be 40w a piece. I'm not sure where you'd find a 5k floro but it sounds like, what, 102 tubes?

Kinoflo sells a "wall o light" which has 10 tubes and is quite bright. It takes two to lift it onto a stand so you should consider something with wheels.

Kinos are expensive. If you just want to light a home stage then look around here for altenatives. Much can be done just by getting tubes witha high color rendering index.

Rob Mack
farss wrote on 10/25/2004, 3:48 AM
It's coming. Luxeon have some LEDs that output huge amounts of light. Light ouput isn't so much the problem, it's the photometrics (read spectral characteristics). Normal LEDs output light in a very narrow spectrum, by combining them you can get close to a white light. It's probably good enough for video but not film.
Other issue is cost, the LEDs I've been trying out are $70 each and a typical array to light something would need at leat 100 of them (ouch!).
The LEDs that are suitable for video that output white light aren't true LEDs, they;re more like minature fluro lights. A UV LED is used to excite a small phosphor target and that emits the white light. Only problem is something that small emitting that much light doesn't last that long.

Bob.
farss wrote on 10/25/2004, 3:59 AM
In my humble opinion I've seen nothiing less safe than most of the Kino light fixtures, too much exposed wiring with only sungle insulation. You can make your own much safer fixtures for a fraction of the cost.
Track down Osram Lumilux tubes, the Studioline ones come in 55W and you can get an electronic ballast to drive two of them, tubes are available in daylight and tungsten. Just buy an ordinary 4' fluro batten holder and throw away everything but the metalwork. You'll need the correct sockets to match the 4 pin tubes, wire the thing up and you're away. If you don't feel comfortable get an electrician to do it for you. I've built quite a collection of these for both mains and battery operation, the same tubes and ballasts are used in many studio lighting rigs, the only difference is the expensive metalwork.
You can increase light output by putting reflectors behind the tubes, I use Lee 273 stuck to whatever using sprayon contact.

Bob
ushere wrote on 10/25/2004, 6:50 AM
anyone try sandblasting the protective glass to act as a diffuser? i normally use frost or half spun, and haven't, as yet, gotten around to sandblasting...

leslie