I got a contract with a real estate company to shoot their rental houses so they can post videos on the web for people to take virtual tours. after doing a test shoot of one house, i realized i desperately need lighting for this to do a quality job. i have none so i need some opinions. i have seen Pacific Coast mentioned here, so i checked them out. im thinking this kit will do what i need but wanted second opinions, since im fairly new to videography.


EDIT: how about these http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Detail?no=446 The guy looks very legit (16,400+ ebay feedback with only 4 negatives!) and one of my buddies has bought stuff from him before for still photo. again, im looking for input as to if this will be a good setup for me to shoot views of rooms inside of houses with some sunlight and windows. Thanks!

edited first post with info

for such work , where you are suppose to walk from room to room, and shoot fast, i would choose something on battery (even if on a caddy).
there are very good professional lights working on battery.
you can choose the lightest one with led panels (stay cool ,big asset)
or a 400w joker bug (hmi) on a power bank, but it is not the same price
http://www.k5600.com/products/jb400/index.html

some other nice products
http://www.gekkotechnology.com/

anyway you will have to diffuse a lot so an already diffused light technology (tubes, Leds) would be better.

for such work , where you are suppose to walk from room to room, and shoot fast, i would choose something on battery (even if on a caddy).
there are very good professional lights working on battery.
you can choose the lightest one with led panels (stay cool ,big asset)
or a 400w joker bug (hmi) on a power bank, but it is not the same price
http://www.k5600.com/products/jb400/index.html

some other nice products
http://www.gekkotechnology.com/

anyway you will have to diffuse a lot so an already diffused light technology (tubes, Leds) would be better.

i wont be walking from room to room so battery powered isnt necessary. they want a shot of the room, then a fade to the next room, and so on. there will be a map of the house so someone can either look at each room, or watch a short clip with shots from each room and outside amenities. i prefer fluorescent or LED so i dont get hot working around them, and they use less electricity, so if i do want to buy a 110v battery pack later, it will last longer. also, my budget is about $1200 and im hoping to have enough light to shoot 2 smaller rooms at a time.

He is a legitimate dealer.

You might also check Flolights http://www.flolight.com
They have the 500LED lights for $450 each. I bought three of them and they're pretty nice. However, I'm not sure they or flourescents either will give you enough throw to do what needs to be done in shooting house interiors, unless you can block all the daylight coming in. If these are furnished houses where you can close the blinds or shades, then it would be OK. But if they're new houses with open windows, that's a problem. The 500LEDs have a bit more of a throw than fluorescents, but fluorescents have a broader spread. I would recommend if you do fluorescents, go with the kind like the have at Flolights, rather than the softbox ones. You'll get more light output per watt that way than with softboxes.

Also, Coollights http://www.coollights.biz has some nice fluorescents that are cheap, if you get the "studio" versions (they're a bit heavy, but not all that bad). You could get two of the 4-bulb units and a couple of heavy duty stands, and then maybe one or two 2-bulb units and be within your budget. I think the basic 4-lamp studio light is only about $320. If you use fluorescents, it's a good idea to get both the 3200 and 5600K bulbs so you can switch out if necessary.

Do you want it to look naturally lit, for instance by sunlight? If so, on your budget you might want to consider two of the Coollights CL655P fixtures - though they're not in stock right now. I mean if you want everything to seem motivated by the windows, you'll need a nice-sized daylight soft source. Best bet would probably be bouncing a Joker - or an equivalent HMI Par - off of walls or the ceiling. That option, however, would be above the budget you mentioned.

If you don't mind (or the company doesn't mind) mixed color temp or the heat, just pick up a couple of open-faced tungsten fixtures, like 1Ks (Lowel DP, Redhead, etc). Save some money.

I'd probably prefer the first option in your situation. PM Richard Andrewski to see if the CL655P will be in stock any time soon, or maybe discuss one of his HMI models.

Good luck.

~~Dave

the ones ive been looking at are daylight balanced fluorescents. there will be some sunlight, but we can close the blinds to help (all houses are fully furnished, and ready to rent). ill check out the site you guys mentioned. thanks.

I have been waiting on a couple of the coollights 655p. Currently out of stock.

http://www.coollights.biz/cl655p-cool-lights-portable-watt-softlight-p-68.html

I looked around and found these:

http://www.amvona.com/?page=shop/flypage&product_id=3323

They are slightly bigger and heavier than the coollights but about $250 less expensive. Does anyone have any experience with these? The Amvona site does not say too much. It could be a good alternative.

and anyway, for such work, i would not use video, when panoramic pictures (the full bubble with floor and ceiling) can be done with 3 pictures and a simple flash.
building a virtual visit is then an easy job.

Plus one for K5600 bugs with Chimera banks and light shaping accessories. They are superb quality and such a pleasure to work with. Maybe look into renting them if the budget allows.


-John

I'm with Giroud. I have done video tours of houses, but stitching together a high res panoramic still from each room then panning it 'ala Ken Burns makes for a really nice presentation. Mix in a little video footage if you like and voila... a great high resolution tour. I mean there is nothing wrong with all video, just that having done both, I think the latter makes a better presentation. Most folks don't even realize the pans and movements on the stills are NOT video (perfectly executed at that!).

Justin - Are you using an HV10 for this? What shutter speed are you shooting at? At what resolution and aspect ratio are you delivering the video to the customer?