I'm not an electrician so pardon this thread. Living in Japan our electric goods run at 100 volts (50/60hrtz?) where as in the US they're running at 120 volts. If I use a (video) light running at 100 volts in Japan and want to use it in the US what are the issues? Thanks in advance!

Victor,

I went to Bic camera and bought several "Step Up/Step Down Transformers" by Koden (they have a switch that allows you to convert each way). They're very compact and not so very expensive. The light blue ones are intended for U.S./Japan conversions and vice-versa.

John-

one E-lesson later and my problems have been solved tahnks for the quick reply--but transformers in inaka (rural) Miyazaki?

How do you say step-up/down transformer in Japnz?
Price-wise what can I expect?

Victor,

If you can get a Japanese friend to help you, I'm sure you could order one over the net from Bic camera. But you might want to try a local hardware store first to see if they can order you one.

Transformer in Japanese is...are you ready for this?... "Transu..formah"

Actually, even though these are Japanese products, the writing on it is in English mostly. Just write down the following and see if you can get someone to help you order one:

Manufacturer: Koden (Tokyo Koden Company, Ltd.)
Model: Step Up-Down Transformer
Model Number: TB-250SW

The "250" above means it can handle 250 Watts (which is fine for something like a Lowel Caselight, but isn't enough for a hot light). If you're using 500 or 1K Watt lights, you'll need to make sure to get the appropriate model). Just look on the back of whatever fixture you plan to plug into it and write down the Watts/Amps and show that to whomever is doing the ordering.

I can't remember the price exactly...it's somewhere between 2,000 Yen and 5,000 Yen. Around 3, I think. The higher the wattage rating, the more expensive they are.

Good luck...feel free to e-mail me if you need.

P.S. I'm sure you can find brands other than Koden that do the same thing. The good thing about Koden is that they're so compact. Some transformers can get pretty big.

Excellent information John

I'll run out and do some searching in the morning but none the less, but back to the electrical question:

If I did run a 650 watt 100 volt light w/ 120 volt power what would happen? Bulb burst, excess heat (all of the above)?

Running a 100 volt lamp with 120 volts will shorten the filament life. It may not last very long at all. The 650 watt bulb will be running at 780 watts at the higher voltage. The color temp will increase as well but only by about 10%

Operating a 120 volt bulb at 100 volts is no problem at all. The color temp will be slightly warmer and the filament life will be considerably longer. Properly white balanced , warmer light should present no problems. A 650 watt 120 volt bulb will output 540 watts.

Watts = Volts times Amps