Do you use Tota Lights?

Kevin Lewis · January 17th, 2012, 01:37 PM

Is it possible / safe to put a dimmer on the tota's?

Don Bachmeier · January 18th, 2012, 07:39 AM

It is possible to use a suitably sized dimmer with a Tota-light.
Like all incandescent bulbs they will shift towards the warm side in color temperature as they are dimmed. Sometimes this shift is used for effect (art) and sometimes it is corrected for with various densities of CTB gel.
Using lower wattage bulbs, Neutral Density or diffusion gels and adjusting the distance to subject will change the output without changing the color temperature. Often combinations of these techniques are used.

Don Bachmeier
Lighting Applications Spec.
Lowel Light

Kevin Lewis · January 19th, 2012, 07:26 PM

Don, as far as the color shift is concerned, can this be resolved by simply doing a manual white balance when changing to a dimmer. Also, when you say a "suitable sized" dimmer, is there a certain specs that I should be looking for?

Charles Papert · January 21st, 2012, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Lewis

Don, as far as the color shift is concerned, can this be resolved by simply doing a manual white balance when changing to a dimmer.

Only relevant if the sole light source in the frame is that one unit, which is rarely the case. White balancing to the warmer temperature will cause another light sources to shift cooler.

Quote:

Also, when you say a "suitable sized" dimmer, is there a certain specs that I should be looking for?

Always greater amperage than the unit you intend to power. The quickie rule of thumb with 110v AC is to divide the wattage by 100 to get amps (that rounding down gives a safety factor); so a 1000 watt globe will pull 10 amps. One inexpensive solution is the Harbor Freight router speed control, which costs a mere $20 and can handle 15 amps. I've had a few go bad on me but generally they get the job done and you can't beat the price.

Les Wilson · January 21st, 2012, 09:06 AM

I have 4 of the Harbor Freight speed controls. They were great for a while but then one went bad and I'm finding some lamps start buzzing when dimmed much below 90%. One of them is a Tota with a 500w halogen. It may be related to the age of the lamp and I don't know if a proper dimmer will operate better. I also had noise in my audio from those dimmer when I joined two XLR cables together. The metal XLR connectors were picking up the interference.
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...ighlight=audio

I didn't get a chance to try the remedy so I don't know for sure if was the Harbor Freight speed control as a dimmer.

Charles Papert · January 21st, 2012, 12:21 PM

I've heard all of those complaints (they do go bad, but as usual, you get what you pay for). Buzzing is often a function of the dimmer quality.

A better way is to use a quality household rotary dimmer mounted in a housing or even better yet, a big ol' variac. But I know peeps around here like the cheaper stuff, and these will run much more money than the Harbor Freight.

January 17th, 2012, 01:37 PM	#16
Kevin Lewis Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Philadelphia, pa Posts: 705	Re: Do you use Tota Lights? Is it possible / safe to put a dimmer on the tota's?

January 18th, 2012, 07:39 AM	#17
Don Bachmeier Tourist Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Fargo, ND Posts: 3	Re: Do you use Tota Lights? It is possible to use a suitably sized dimmer with a Tota-light. Like all incandescent bulbs they will shift towards the warm side in color temperature as they are dimmed. Sometimes this shift is used for effect (art) and sometimes it is corrected for with various densities of CTB gel. Using lower wattage bulbs, Neutral Density or diffusion gels and adjusting the distance to subject will change the output without changing the color temperature. Often combinations of these techniques are used. Don Bachmeier Lighting Applications Spec. Lowel Light

January 19th, 2012, 07:26 PM	#18
Kevin Lewis Major Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Philadelphia, pa Posts: 705	Re: Do you use Tota Lights? Don, as far as the color shift is concerned, can this be resolved by simply doing a manual white balance when changing to a dimmer. Also, when you say a "suitable sized" dimmer, is there a certain specs that I should be looking for?

January 21st, 2012, 09:06 AM	#20
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	Re: Do you use Tota Lights? I have 4 of the Harbor Freight speed controls. They were great for a while but then one went bad and I'm finding some lamps start buzzing when dimmed much below 90%. One of them is a Tota with a 500w halogen. It may be related to the age of the lamp and I don't know if a proper dimmer will operate better. I also had noise in my audio from those dimmer when I joined two XLR cables together. The metal XLR connectors were picking up the interference. http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...ighlight=audio I didn't get a chance to try the remedy so I don't know for sure if was the Harbor Freight speed control as a dimmer.

January 21st, 2012, 12:21 PM	#21
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Re: Do you use Tota Lights? I've heard all of those complaints (they do go bad, but as usual, you get what you pay for). Buzzing is often a function of the dimmer quality. A better way is to use a quality household rotary dimmer mounted in a housing or even better yet, a big ol' variac. But I know peeps around here like the cheaper stuff, and these will run much more money than the Harbor Freight. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com