I've been trying to call Chris at Mean St. Productions for almost two weeks now... doesn't matter what time I call, I get a busy signal...plus, he hasn't responded to my e-mail message I sent. Soooo, I'm turning to the knowledge base here at DVInfo.net.

I sent this message to Chris to try to get an idea of what exactly is needed for a "complete" Gyoury lantern kit:
Could you look over my list below and tell me if I've omitted anything, or perhaps am including something not necessary?

Complete lantern kit:

1. Boom pole (any lightweight brand)
2. One GLWD or GLWT wand
3. GLC9 extension cord
4. GLWM universal mount
5. GLLK Lantern kit
6. Lantern "spud"
7. Ballast?! (I don't see these sold separately on your site. Is it included in the GLLK?)
8. 30v to 12v inverter
9. Battery belt

Is that complete?

And if you don't mind, I have a few questions related to this list:

1. Would one wand produce generally enough fill light (when used with the lantern) for daytime fill shots?

2. Could you let me know about the ballast that attaches to the boom pole? How much is it? What is the order number for that?

3. Concerning numbers 8 and 9, I'm sure you've been asked this a few times...can you recommend affordable brands for these items?

Does anyone have any experience with this setup and can help straighten me out on what to order. The biggest confusion regards the ballast; the info on the site says you can "clip the ballast onto the boom pole"...but I don't see anywhere where you can buy the ballast separately, and it doesn't list it as being included in the Lantern Kit. The next priority is finding an affordable but quality inverter and belt.

Thanks for any help.

What's the website (just curious)?

Rob,

You'll find it here (http://www.meansst.com/gyoury/default.htm). Click the products link to find the goodies.

John:

I wrote a response to this but it appears to have been lost in a crash recently.

Chris travels a lot working but his wife Sarah is usually responsive via email/phone. So this is surprising.

If I have time later I'll try to sort this out for you based on what I know.

Sarah Burmeister isn't Chris' wife, she's his biz partner. And I do believe they're embroiled in a new undertaking right now, so they may be swamped personally.

The basic unit comes with the ballast, you don't need a boom pole. His unit is designed to use a cheap painter pole. The ballast has clips that attach to a painter pole, and can alos take mounts for C-stand gobo arms, etc.

Your kit looks pretty complete.

Thanks John J., don't know why I made that assumption about Sarah. Must be the English accents they both sport.

John L., the ballasts are designed to work with two wands simultaneously, they won't run just one. And you would definitely want at least two for daylight fill.

I think I have mentioned before that the system runs OK on a 12v inverter, a 250 watt version is ideal. This puts you into a much more flexible 12v (14.4v) battery situation than a 30v system.

Thanks to both of you. I figured they were busy with a shoot somewhere...so I knew the next best place to come for answers would be here.

Just to make sure I'm understanding correctly...by "basic unit" do you mean simply the "Lantern Kit"? Here's the thing that was/is confusing me...

-a wand costs $42, which seems too cheap to me to include a remote ballast.
-the lantern kit costs $250 which seems too expensive to include just a chinese lantern...but there's no mention of a light or ballast included, so I'm assuming it is just the chinese lantern

When you look at the price difference between those two items and then see that one non-dimmable Gyoury light unit costs $625...then it gets pretty confusing.

I really think they should put together a complete lantern kit with everything except the inverter and belt. Sure would make it easier for nimnods like me to figure out.

UPDATE: Aha...found the answer. There is something missing from the list. I found it at B&H...funny, no mention of it on the Gyoury site that I can see. It's the GYGLB Gyoury Ballast - Non-dimming for $369.95.

So now, it looks like this is the full list and full price:

1. USD20.00 (Approx.)Painter's pole (any lightweight brand)
2. USD 84.00 TWO GLWD or GLWT wands
3. USD73.50 GLC9 extension cord
4. USD99.50 GLWM universal mount
5. USD237.50 GLLK Lantern kit
6. USD25.00 Lantern "spud"
7. USD369.95 GYGLB Gyoury Ballast - Non-dimming
----------------------------------------
TOTAL: USD909.45

Now add to that:

8. USD229.95 30v to 12v inverter
9. USD500 (Approx.) Battery belt

...and you come up with one sizeable portable light investment.