Has anyone used Lupo lights, good looking cheap HMIs???

[James Collinson]

They do a great looking 150W HMI for just €480 including bulb, really tempting, but just wondering if anyone has used them before, particularly for location work?

Its is bloody hard trying to fine cost effective HMI lighting in the UK, and this seems like a good option!

Jim

[Bob Grant]

We've got 4 that we rent out. For the money quite reasonable, nothing broken so far. They are cheap but if those renting them can't break them they should be fine for personal use. They're certainly not K5600 or Arrie quality, the barn doors have basic hinges, the body is sheet metal, the lens is OK, lamp focus works well, they're reasonably cool. I'd recommend getting some road cases for them, the bags that Lupo supply give around zero protection and are a very tight fit, the edges on the barn doors tend to cut the bags etc. They're also very light weight compared to the more expensive units. In all really depends how much you abuse your kit, as a light source they seem to work as well as anything else.

Being only 150W they use standard Osram ballasts and lamps, both are relatively cheap and the lamps last a very long time.
If you're in Europe you could also check out Photon Baird from the UK, we have a bit of their kit down here, don't know if they do HMIs or not. Build quality of their stuff is a bit better than Lupo but a bit more expensive too.

[James Collinson]

Bob, thats great! Thanks for the advice.

Photo Beard dont do HMI fresnels and they are quite expensive tool, well in comparision anyway.

What appeals is the low power draw for the output of these things, so I can use them on domestic supply without worrying. We were planning on getting two to complement a deolight kit, and the other options would have been tugsten lighting like a couple of Arri 800 or 1ks and then gelling for daylight. How do you think they compare in terms of output (and heat) to tugsten?

Jim

[Bob Grant]

HMI is pretty much as efficient as fluro lighting, that'll give you a good baseline comparison. So a 150W HMI gives about as much light as a 800W tungsten. Of course the CT is different, normally, HMI is daylight.

However you can now get 'tungsten' CT HMI lamps from Osram.
The rendition index of HMI isn't quite as good as tungsten however the film guys seem to cope, for video which is far less critical never been an issue. Just remember HMI needs at least 1 minute to get going and may have a restrike delay, again around 1 minute. Conversly you can move them while they're running and nothing goes bang.

I've built a 150W HMI china ball, mostly just to prove it could be done and now someone wants to buy 10 of the things to light a large studio space.

[Paul Cascio]

One thing that is not the same about Flo and HMI is that HMI's do produce a lot of heat. Not as much per lumen as Halogens, but they are not cool lights.

[Richard Andrewski]

Originally Posted by James Collinson

How do you think they compare in terms of output (and heat) to tugsten?

Jim

Metal halide = 80 to 140 lumens per watt
Tungsten = 10 to 20 lumens per watt
Fluorescent = 40 to 80 lumens per watt
LED = 30 to 60 lumens per watt

A typical 150w MH bulb puts out about 13000 lumens. That's 86 lumens per watt. The tungsten at 20 lpw (best case) would be a 650w for comparison sake. I've found the 150's in 3 different color temperatures so far: 3000K, 4200K and 5200K and CRI's are typically 85. The higher wattages come in 4000K, 5600K to 6500K and variations in between. You can see some in the 7000K range and above that are used a lot in spotlights.

Personally, the 150 is all I need for most of the things I do. I've got a 575w and 1200w setup for prototyping and as Paul says they get very hot but they put out a lot of light. I put my 575 into a new fresnel sample that I got today and it worked pretty well except for a few adjustments that need to be made to get a smoother light output. The fresnel was meant for tungsten use and needs a better HID pulse voltage rated socket too.

The 575w bulb is a hot restrike 6000K model and puts out about 43000 lumens. The ballast I'm trying out is also a hot restrike and we were able to relight with no problems, on/off/on/off/on/off, etc. Once the bulb was warm, there were no color temperature problems on a restrike. The color seemed to be usable right away. The ballast I used for evaluation purposes is an electronic one and gives off a bit of sound. Not sure whether it would be suitable for studio use or not. I think an electronic for the 150 is no problem but the 575 and 1200 may be more comfortable with magnetic ballasts.

The 1200w bulb puts out about 110,000 lumens and is also 6000K. CRI's of both the high wattage bulbs are about 90 which should be great since 95 is about as good as you get in anything.