Dedolight alternatives?

[Oren Arieli]

I'm considering purchasing a Dedolight for projecting backgrounds, as a pin spot, and accent light. Anyone who has experience with this light and can talk me into/out of the decision based on their experience?
I do mostly corporate shoots, talking heads, chalk-talks, promotional videos and product reviews. I've got fresnels, and Lowel Prolights...but none of them have the focus range of the Dedo. Even with a snoot, the Prolight still casts a relatively wide beam at distances.
Thanks in advance, especially if you can share videos that incorporated a Dedo.

[David W. Jones]

Dedolight is great.

You might also look into a Source 4 Ellipsoidal light.

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by David W. Jones

Dedolight is great.

Agreed - and their range is bigger since I got mine.

I've got a mixture of 12 and 24 volt heads. The 24 volt allow for somewhat higher wattages but it's useful to have at least one or two 12 volt as you can either use them as dimmable lights via mains or power them off any 12 volt battery - camera battery, car or whatever. That can be very useful for such as doing interviews etc outdoors at night.

Must look and see if they do any LED heads nowadays......

[Oren Arieli]

Doing some more research and I came across the Fiilex P360. Finally, a LED with continuous spectrum. Not sure if it's got enough power though. I know it won't focus like the Dedo, but might suit my needs at a lower price point, and less power draw. Anyone try these?
Fiilex LED Lights

[David W. Jones]

No experience with those lights.

But in my opinion, a Dedo does not draw all that much in the first place.

[Brian Drysdale]

Dedolights are great, I used to fiddle for ages trying to achieve what one of these can do in a moment. I can't remember which top DP said it, but he claimed you could light anything with a 10K and a Dedolight. Expensive, but lights have longer working lives than any camera.

[Charles Papert]

Agreed on the Source 4 suggestion--a lot of flexibility there and quite a bit cheaper. Dedos are great for working in close, they are capable of great subtlety. I've been waiting to see if they will introduce a high CRI LED version, Dedo is doing other types of LED units but not converting the previous optics so far.

[Ian Dart]

the dedo makes the most accesories for creating a background or pin spot but are
limited with the throw if you need to be a long way away.
i would go with a source 4 if you need a long throw.

i have the 24 volt 150 w units and when i need to run them on battery i relamp them
with 12 volt 50w or 100w globes.
the 24v heads come with 3 pin xlr connectors so i have made up some 3 pin xlr to 4 pin xlr
connectors to make them compatible with battery systems.

cheers

[Oren Arieli]

Unfortunately, I'm a one-man band much of the time, and a source four would be too big for my kit, let alone for travel purposes. Too bad, as it would save me some serious money.

[Ian Dart]

hi oren

if size is an issue (and when hasnt it been) i would go with a dedo 24v 150w dedo with the
gobo attachment it is quite a versatile accessory

cheers

[David W. Jones]

Originally Posted by Oren Arieli

Unfortunately, I'm a one-man band much of the time, and a source four would be too big for my kit, let alone for travel purposes. Too bad, as it would save me some serious money.

I keep a spot in my van dedicated to a Source 4, along with a milk crate containing extra lens, gel frames, and patterns. Even when working alone I wouldn't want to be without it in my kit. It is really a more versatile light than many realize.

[Mark Kenfield]

Just get the Dedo! You'll spend ages trying to make other sources do what the Dedo's voodoo lenses do, save yourself the trouble and go for the real thing.

They're hugely flexible, and they're wonderfully FAST to work with.

Over the years I've found I can light about 90% of everything I do with just a 1.2k HMI PAR, two 4-bank Kinos and three 150w Dedolights - so having a couple in your lighting kit should be pretty much compulsory as far as I'm concerned.

On a recent sci-fi shoot I did I had a fleet of 16 Dedos to play with; everything in the frame (and quite a few things out of it) had edge lights - I was in heaven! :)

[Oren Arieli]

Thanks all. Looks like the Dedo's are going to be hard to beat, even at a wince-inducing price. I should practice what I've preached. Buy once, cry once.

[Bob Willis]

There is nothing on the market like the Dedo light for smaller or close in work. We used both source fours and dedo lights for some recreation work for a Discover show last week. The source four with a Joker 400w HMI mounted in the Source four ("Jolecko") can be strong enough to immitate sunlight coming through a window. A dedo light placed inside can be used as a very controlled souce for interior work.

They are great lights. Wish I could afford more.