I get the same results with $30 work lights that I do with the expensive set of lights. Then again, I try to work on a low budget but the same lights I use have lasted me for about 2 years.
Husky (available at Home Depot) has a 2.5m lumen portable halogen lamp that weighs about 4/5lb and runs on an internal 12v lead acid battery that charges from the cigarette lighter for about $25. Three of these and some diffusion is a cheap way to go.
I'm the odd man out. Keep in mind that in some states it's not legal to use construction lighting, or rather, you can't get permitted if you do. It's not safe. In a controlled, one/two man shop, it's one thing, but with people running around...not safe at all. Watch the Elite Lighting DVD, and you'll even see the host of the training DVD get burned.
You also don't need super expensive lighting. For about 700.00 you can build a very nice Photoflex or Lowell kit with softboxes. If you're working with DV or HDV, softboxes are wonderful. You can diffuse with all sorts of fabrics or bounce cards, but softboxes are cooler, safer, faster, more even/balanced, controllable.
Not that it matters much for personal production, but if you have clients and you show up with construction lights vs a pro lighting kit...regardless of how good you are, they'll look at you funny. I've purchased a few Photoflex and Lowell parts, and customized some rims to fit the Lowell Omnis to the Photoflex boxes. They are SWEET!
Vic Milt is a genious with this stuff too, hopefully he'll chime in here.
I'm with Spot on this one - go with smaller more-affordable pro lights over cheaper work lights if you can possibly afford it. Not only is there the safety issue, but generally speaking lights designed for film and video use allow you much more control over the way they spread their light, and it's much easier to buy (or even build) accessories for them - they are designed to have stuff attached to them.
Lately I've been playing with a kit of these little beauties. Small, bright, easy to use and control. The kit I used came with three lights, three stands, barn doors for each, some clip on small diffusers, and two umbrellas (one white one silver). And it all came in a small hard suitcase with room to spare for some gels, a power board, and an extension cable or two. Highly recommended.
Check out some of these other kits, some of which are below $1,000.
Having said that, I have actually used work lights to light short films. When shooting with friends they are okay, though they do slow things down as they are harder to control, especially soften or focus. But the sad (and unfair) fact is that if you're on a paid job and you show up with work lights, it's not going to make a good impression with your clients no matter how good it looks on screen.
On the other hand, if you are your only client, then go for it, there are many affordable lighting solutions out there, some of them battery powered too (which is bloody handy). Just be prepared for extra hassles.
We now use either fluro or 150W HMI lighting exclusively. Fluros with HF ballasts and Osram Studioline tubes are excellent, you can get the tubes in daylight or tungsten to suit your needs. Most TV studios down here have pretty well ditched all their high powered lighting and are saving a fortune, it's not just the energy to power the lights but the energy used by the a/c system to suck the heat out of the studio. Nothing in a fluro gets hot enough to burn so they're incredibly safe, can be dimmed and maintain CT.
We're now adding some 24V inverters to the line up so you can run the fluros and HMIs off battery. We've found you do need to spend the extra dollars and get sine wave inverters otherwise the fluro ballasts really sing and get a lot hotter, the HMIs don't seem to care.
You can build you own fluro fittings VERY cheaply, just as good as the Kinoflos for 10% of the price. If anyones interested email me for details or I'll write an article if someone wants to put it in a newsletter of put it up on a web site, this comes up so often!
Also for general lighting you can make your own Chinese Lanterns real cheap, excellent diffused light source.
I'm now looking into LEDs as a light source, some of the newer ones from Luxeon really push out a LOT of light.
A little out of your price range perhaps but I use the Arri Softbank D1 kit all the time- love everything about it. Top of the line components, fantastic look, worth every penny.
If you use the coupon code 'DVXUser' you'll also get 5% off.
Now, as Spot may know (as I've seen him post over at DVXuser), some people have had issues with those lights burning out almost immediately. I've had nothing but good luck with them, however, and would not hesitate to buy from them again.
I'm now looking into LEDs as a light source, some of the newer ones from Luxeon really push out a LOT of light.
Interesting - I too have been dreaming of a white-LED-based setup. I'm not sure if the technology is quite there yet, but the 5W white LEDs I've played with are promising and are coming down in price. As I'm sure you know, LEDs promise battery-operated lighting kits with long battery life as a possibility, especially with video cameras as sensitive as the FX1/Z1.
I recently built this power supply for bright white LEDs and it worked well, much more efficient than a simple resistor-based power supply, but it would take quite a few 5W LEDs in a bank before I had a light source that was useful. Then again, they seem to run forever from a single 12V sealed lead battery, so the potential is really there. Let me know if you have any practical success in building white LED-based lighting solutions - I'd be happy to swap ideas or build stuff.
I'm also keen to see your tips for building DIY-kinoflos. I'd be happy to take your notes and put them together into an illustrated article and even host it if you don't have the space - it's a common request from my students too.
Bob,
didn't find your emial ad - please sent info on building floro fitures to:
55heyjude@earthlink.net
and any other info on such - and info on led systems if you've used 'em...
Thanks,
Jude
Maybe as a retired stage lighting guy i am biased, but Home depot is definitely not a place to get decent lighting for video.... Professionnal light kits will be so much more usable, controllable and satisfaying in a long term! I would say: if you look for a long term investment, go for quality here. A good lighting kit will last about forever and will cost you nothing on a long run if you compare to zillion $$$ you will have invested on cameras, softs, computer, video monitors, etc. after some years.
Lowell kits are workable and very portables, but you will get much more controll and total flexibility with good old fresnells IMHO. As someone else told you, Arri hardware is oustanding in term of quality (and...look!), and is a professionnal standard in movie/video production.
It's very true what Spot said about the need to look professional (if you are a professional which I am not), but work lights can look pro too. I have mine mounted not on the yellow Home Depot stands but cheap (Target) tripods and with added barn doors made from sheet tin and big sheets of diffusion cloth, so there is an intermeadiate way to go
I seldom argue with the pros but I'm chiming in on this one. Go to Google and search for:
Low Budget film effects, budget films, etc....
you'll find hundreds of links to plans for soft boxes, lighting, cranes, booms, etc..Most of them are very professional looking at a fraction of the cost. Some powertooling is required but the initial savings will more than offset the cost of a tool. Over the long haul you'll never again be limited by budget. Personally, I enjoy these building projects almost as much as my video projects. Of course, I'm a hobbyist. This isn't my bread-n-butter so I've got the extra time. Additionally, if a softbox goes up in flames during a shoot, I can use the footage for a special effect in another project down the road.
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I have purchased two 5 hundred watt Hollywood Softlight kits from Cool Lux.
They come with a variety of gels and gel frames.
But the thing I like most about them are the reflective hoods that do the job of a softbox, giving an even diffused light.
In a second they can be popped off when you need some real intense light or light from a larger set for a larger set.
The kits come with dimmers.
I also have a Mini Frezzie, with dimmer, with a Cool Lux battery belt for on camera applications and as a key light and for on camera applications.
Which brings me to a question.
Any suggestions on an affortable AC converter for the Frezzie?
I gotta throw my hat in with Arri light kits as well. But these are typically about 3 times the cost the original poster was looking for.
I'm also looking forward to Kinoflo setups! Hurrah! The Guyouri (not spelled right, I'm guessing) light kits look truely awesome, but expensive. And they're mainly for tight lighting.
musman - thanks for reminding me just what an excellent site DV.com just is!
I hadn't visited this site for months! . . Just read the article AND read the article on the 3 Es by Frank Capria . . .just what I was needing today . .