There are a lot of theories as to what level of gear to buy.
There are only two absolute facts:
1) Not everyone has the same needs.
2) You get what you pay for.

Pretty well everything Ken said was right on.

If everyone had the same requirements and the same expectations kits would be a no brainer.

I still think that the newbie is better off building a kit based on his perception of need as it happens.

In my opinion the kit stand is too light for a tota and softbox so I bought the heavier manfrotto. The master 04 stands won't win prizes for being small and compact but they'll hold a softbox and light like the Rock of Gibaralter . I'm happy, that's all that matters.

For some one that has to lug his kit through airports and accross country, lighter is better. A little more care has to be taken in the set up and balancing. A few sandbags and everything is fine.

The lowel won't win any prizes for beauty but it's functinality is well theought out. It can be serviced easily and parts are abundant. you also don't need a second mortgage to buy it.

I do have arri fresnels and while they are certainly prettier they cost a fair bit more.

Keith (and All),

I really did not mean to sound like a spokesperson for Lowel. I like their lights' flexibility and lightness.

But, as my profile notes, my experiences with their gear are those of a hobbyist, not a professional. I can certainly see how Omnis, et.al. might not withstand daily heavy crew use for long. My intention was to simply share my personal experiences with, and knowledge of, this equipment.

So for those reading this thread and considering lighting alternatives, please take my remarks for whatever they may be worth, if anything, to your search. As I said earlier, the most important thing is that you are thoughtful about the aspect of lighting in your shooting. Experiment with anything financially or logistically available to you.

Will's Excellent Adventure
 

Today I continued my education in lighting equipment by visiting all stores in my neck of the woods that sell any continuous lighting. This gave me the ability to do a little touching and feeling. I thought I would share my impressions. Maybe I should call this my mediocre adventure; Baltimore is not exactly on the cutting edge of video and my options were few.

Store #1: My first look at a piece of contemporary SV gear, the only continuous lighting sold by the store. They only stock the Smith-Victor 710 focusing head. Not beautiful, not terribly rugged, but not as cheap as I had been led to believe. The store sells these for still work and could not speak to video. Store #1 is the best known and most loved camera store in Baltimore.

Store #2: Except for used equipment, this store only stocks Lowel and only the Tota light (no stands, lighting control, etc.). They rent the Totas and sometimes sell a few. The store personnel knew very little about continuous lighting and admitted it. The fact that the Tota is rented says something about reliability, but I was not particularly impressed. The main lamp housing seemed sturdy, but the rest of the unit seemed flimsy.

Store #3: Lots of lighting here, mostly strobes, but more continuous equipment than the other two put together. On display, nothing but SP Studio Systems including strobes, floods, and quarts. The quartz offering was a 2x600W kit (B&H item SPFLKQ2), $300 for the pair with stands and lamps. El cheapo applies; these lamp heads are really flimsy, open face with 2 thin barn doors. The salesman offered to order Arri or Photoflex, but couldn't make any specific recommendation when asked. Strangely enough, I thought this the best photo store of the three.

The only opinion I can draw from today's 70-mile drive is that Smith-Victor equipment may deserve more respect.

Respectfully submitted,
Will

Will,
Thank you for your follow-up. You would think that a city the size of Baltimore would have more to offer, eh? You would certainly think that a city the Chicago has alot to offer. But it doesn't.

If you're so inclined (which I certainly would not be after a 70 mile multi-hour quest) you might consider looking at a local equipment rental shop. They often have the most professional equipment and the best knowledge of its capabilities and use. Since they're in the rental business they will often show you the equipment (if it's on-hand) and you can sometimes see how well it withstands hard use.

Just a thought. Good luck on yor ongoing quest.

Store #2 does rentals. There are no other rental places close; I'd have to expand my visits to DC.

I have decided to buy the JTL Everlight kit. It's in short supply, I had to pay list, and it will take a week to get it. I will report on my experience with the kit in the "JTL Everlight Kit" thread.

Have any of you guys heard of rigging a regular flourescent light to be used handheld? Someone told me about this. I'm too looking for cheap lighting solutions. I've heard about the plastic white globes to be used as Chinese lanterns, but what goes inside?

Josh, if you go back a page in Photon Management you will find a thread entitled Chinese Lantern that will offer you some suggestions. Basically, you can put anything in the Chinese Lantern that won't cause a fire. Certainly you can use 150 watt with care.

Josh... see also Constructing a Simple, Reusable Chinese Lantern on the dvinfo.net main site.

Thanks Chris. How bout the flourescents? I'm talking run of the mill office building lights, somehow rigged to be plug-in-able.

I read the 'make your own china ball' piece on the site (thanks, George for writing it) and yes, there is that flamable issue with the paper Chinese Lanterns but for the the dollar, couple bucks for a lantern, a couple of bucks for a light fixture with a rubber coated clamp on the other end, a 250+ bulb and you are in business.

Yeah, you've got to be carefull with the bulb touching the paper (make sure you can cut the power in a second and have a fire extingusher is possible. I always have on a set) but for bang for the buck you can't beat it.

My DP found these poles that are spring loaded and you can put them up near the ceiling in a room if the walls aren't far apart or in a hallway and just hang your lights off it like an overhead grid in a studio.

This saved us a ton of time and made lighting so easy and since we were able to make fast changes it made my set-ups so much faster.

What we do is light the room with China Balls and then use traditional film lights (like his Lowel kit) for the actors and special lighting. This set up has saved us loads of time and loads of money on lighting kits. For me, it's great to change set-ups fast because that's the way I like to work.

That said, I printed out George's idea on making a 'non-flamable' china ball and I think the next run to Home Depot I might check out the parts needed.

(God, who would have throught that we'd all end up at Home Depot so much? :) )

China Balls can give you a great dynamic, 'non-directional' lighting. It defuses the shadows BUT what we've done several times is use a little black-wrap on the opposite side of the ball to increase the output. I've also put up a flag on the other side (silver side facing the ball) to increase the light production.

As I said above, in most situations we light the entire set up with some China balls to get the light levels up in the room and use Lowels or such to light the actors as needed.

Oh, the other good thing about cheap China Ball Lanterns (we buy them by the stack in Chinatown) is that if it gets scortched-- toss it.

RE: Florescent lighting: I remember seeing a site where some guy talked about throwing up a couple of Florescent lights with minus green gels on them and raved about the results. Can't remember where I saw the link but I'd bet it was here somewhere.

How much and where did you get those spring loaded poles?

I used to use those a lot when they are on grip trucks. I have forgotten the name of them now. Cat poles? aww nuts.

But those DO come in handy for a quick overhead backlight in a tight spot. It's better sometimes than even trying to hand a light off a c-stand arm off the side, especially if the camera is going to be moving in this tight space.

I think the flourescent article you're talking about is at www.film-and-video.com. Click the articles link in the navigation bar. It has been mentioned several times in various threads here

I'll ask my partner what they are called but I know he saw them in the B&H lighting catalog after he had bought them .

We are doing this set up in a long hallway that is really narrow and these things saved our cookies for sure. There was no way to light it other then have a light behind the camera and bounce it off the ceiling but with these we can put them out of shot.

Are you guys talking about the autopoles? That's the only thing I found that matched the description of poles with springs or whatever.

I had some questions about them. They seem like a cool idea, but they look to be around 60-70 dollars each? And in addition, you need a clamp of some kind to attach a light to one, and the clamps were selling for around $176?

Most of the ideas above are great and I have tried using worklights and have been successfull. I would like to purchase a pro set one day but until then I am rolling with my worklights. Just to add I found on this site one day a guy who sells umbrellas and softbox attachments for cheap on ebay http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=2995770

I got a few umbrellas, softbox and mounting arms from this guy and was surprised at the quality of the product at that price. I have also made my own softboxes with material, PVC pipe and velcro. It looks very pro. and most people can't tell that I did not spend $500 plus for them and I get great results.

Marcus

Marcus:

Details, man, details!

How did you attach the DIY softbox to the worklight? What material did you use?

What parts did you buy from 2DreamMaker?

Thanks.