OT: Lighting

gdstaples wrote on 11/21/2005, 5:22 PM

This is off topic but I am hoping to get a bit of incite from the vast knowledge base found on the forum.

I come from a high-end still photographic background and am very familiar with photographic strobe equipment and what makes one better than the other. The typical lists are build quality, reliability, recycle times, availability of rental components, local repair etc.

What is the difference between say a $4,000 ARRI 1K and say a Lowel Omni 1K at $300 or the Lowel Tota Lites etc.? I want to purchase quality lighting for my HDV productions but don't want to spend the money unless it is justified.

In the still photographic world there really isn't that much difference from say a $1500 set of Speedotron Black Line strobes and a $15,000 set of Broncolor other than convenient items like remote control, color temperature consistency etc. They are both work horses and will last 25+ years trouble free.

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions for quality affordable lighting for HDV work. I primarily do interviews and some accent lighting for interior work.

Thank you,
Duncan Staples

Back to post

Comments

TimTyler wrote on 12/1/2005, 4:37 PM

> and they do rust in a way I have never seen with ARRIs

That's cause Moles are steel and Arri's are aluminum.

> it's around the edges where they are very different

Actually - No. If a fresnel fixture has been banged up and the lamp, lens, or reflector is not aligned properly the light output will suffer and the beam edge might be bad, but a new fresnel fixture of any brand will deliver a quality of light equal to any other brand. Aim an old $100 theater fresnel (with a clean lens and reflector) and a $500 ARRI fresnel at a wall and the light will look about the same. The ARRI will weigh less, have better working controls, will last longer in the field, and will pack better for travelling, but the quality of light will be about the same.

Look, the circular fresnel lens was designed many many years ago and one of the first applications was in lighthouses. The design has changed very little since then. Computers were eventually used to refine lens and reflector design, but that resulted in more efficient light output more than quality of light improvement.

I'm not a fresnel expert, but I've been using them for 20 years. There's nothing wrong with ARRI fresnels, but it would be difficult to prove that they output prettier light than other brands.

gdstaples wrote on 12/1/2005, 5:07 PM

Thanks for all of the feedback. I rented some Arri Lights and Arri Fresnels last week and they both worked nicely. They are not as expensive as I first thought so I may consider a couple for light travel work.

Thanks again,
Duncan

Coursedesign wrote on 12/1/2005, 5:56 PM

There's nothing wrong with ARRI fresnels, but it would be difficult to prove that they output prettier light than other brands.

Lighting is very subjective. I can only report what I found, and what many other professionals agreed with me on.

I have no personal stake in this. I really couldn't care less about one manufacturer vs. another, but when I'm responsible for the look, I pick the lights. Naturally I pick them based on what works for me. YMMV.