Is Metal Halide the same as HMI?

Dylan Couper · May 18th, 2003, 07:16 PM

Matt, could you please post the links to the metal halide electronic ballasts? I'm curious about them. I didn't think they were available to regular joes yet.

I keep forgetting that you are looking for less lighting, rather than more. My fault. I believe you can get MH bulbs down to 75 or 90 watts actually. Look for halides for the aquarium industry.

Matt Gettemeier · May 18th, 2003, 10:51 PM

Dylan, I'm sorry but I'm checking this thread before I go to bed... It's midnight for me right now.

I found everything I found by going to google.com and just typing in ideas in the search box.

If you type in electronic ballast you will be linked to several outlets to pick up a metal halide ballast... otherwise go to sylvania.com and go to electronic ballast and you'll have a selection of metal halide ballasts...

The other ballast manufacturers have similar products, but it's clear Sylvania is on the charge to dominate where they can. Motorola use to be big with ballasts, now "they" are sylvania.

Kevin Nardelle · June 13th, 2003, 01:05 AM

Check out Osram, they sell everything but it is expensive. you can find the bulbs you are talking about in LCD projectors and such. When mine starts to get a little weak, I pull it and store ot in a safe place to use later as a backup or for something else. I have a power supply that will run them as it was made for a medical HMI light source. :)

Rob Belics · June 13th, 2003, 08:27 AM

Matt,

Call CineServices downtown. They can probably answer your questions. If you need to see it, and it's not too much trouble to set it up, you can go down there and they'll show it to you and turn it on and show you how it works.

Bad Dog Productions, in Kirkwood, will do the same. But for both of them make sure you ask for a good time to come down in case they're busy.

Matt Gettemeier · June 13th, 2003, 08:19 PM

Thanks Rob and Kevin... I've been "marathoning" my lighting knowledge on the internet and I've got all my questions answered... now I just need to decide on what I will buy, what I will build, and how I will build it...

For my purposes it looks like two mole fresnels and two tungsten balanced fluorescents... and I expect to build the fluorescents, but maybe not... the Kino Diva 200 and 400 are actually pretty reasonable for what you get. To build something similar to that would only save you $200-$300 and wouldn't look as professional... Also with ANY of the cf fluorescents you can choose between daylight and tungsten by using different cf tubes... so you can mix a color matched soft-light with a fresnel... and then later on use one or two soft-light daylights for daytime/moonlight effects (with gels)...

I look forward to talking with you Rob, and thanks for the tips on local producers.

Craig Jones · July 5th, 2003, 03:24 PM

<<<-- Originally posted by Andre De Clercq : HMI is one of Osram's versions of metal halide lamps. Osram claims higher efficiency because of higher working temps (because of better sealings) and "hot restrike" properties. CRI is basically like all MH lamps. -->>>

Sorry for being late, but the above statement is not true. CRI for HMI is different than typical MH and that's the whole point. Osram lists CRI's above 90 for all their HMI lamps and there's a big difference between 70-75 and 90-95.

May 18th, 2003, 07:16 PM	#16
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Matt, could you please post the links to the metal halide electronic ballasts? I'm curious about them. I didn't think they were available to regular joes yet. I keep forgetting that you are looking for less lighting, rather than more. My fault. I believe you can get MH bulbs down to 75 or 90 watts actually. Look for halides for the aquarium industry. __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

June 13th, 2003, 01:05 AM	#18
Kevin Nardelle Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New Orleans - Metairie Posts: 87	HMI Check out Osram, they sell everything but it is expensive. you can find the bulbs you are talking about in LCD projectors and such. When mine starts to get a little weak, I pull it and store ot in a safe place to use later as a backup or for something else. I have a power supply that will run them as it was made for a medical HMI light source. :) __________________ Regards, Kevin --

May 18th, 2003, 10:51 PM	#17
Matt Gettemeier Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: St. Louis, Missouri Posts: 936	Dylan, I'm sorry but I'm checking this thread before I go to bed... It's midnight for me right now. I found everything I found by going to google.com and just typing in ideas in the search box. If you type in electronic ballast you will be linked to several outlets to pick up a metal halide ballast... otherwise go to sylvania.com and go to electronic ballast and you'll have a selection of metal halide ballasts... The other ballast manufacturers have similar products, but it's clear Sylvania is on the charge to dominate where they can. Motorola use to be big with ballasts, now "they" are sylvania.

June 13th, 2003, 08:27 AM	#19
Rob Belics Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 581	Matt, Call CineServices downtown. They can probably answer your questions. If you need to see it, and it's not too much trouble to set it up, you can go down there and they'll show it to you and turn it on and show you how it works. Bad Dog Productions, in Kirkwood, will do the same. But for both of them make sure you ask for a good time to come down in case they're busy.

June 13th, 2003, 08:19 PM	#20
Matt Gettemeier Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: St. Louis, Missouri Posts: 936	Thanks Rob and Kevin... I've been "marathoning" my lighting knowledge on the internet and I've got all my questions answered... now I just need to decide on what I will buy, what I will build, and how I will build it... For my purposes it looks like two mole fresnels and two tungsten balanced fluorescents... and I expect to build the fluorescents, but maybe not... the Kino Diva 200 and 400 are actually pretty reasonable for what you get. To build something similar to that would only save you $200-$300 and wouldn't look as professional... Also with ANY of the cf fluorescents you can choose between daylight and tungsten by using different cf tubes... so you can mix a color matched soft-light with a fresnel... and then later on use one or two soft-light daylights for daytime/moonlight effects (with gels)... I look forward to talking with you Rob, and thanks for the tips on local producers.

July 5th, 2003, 03:24 PM	#21
Craig Jones Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 105	<<<-- Originally posted by Andre De Clercq : HMI is one of Osram's versions of metal halide lamps. Osram claims higher efficiency because of higher working temps (because of better sealings) and "hot restrike" properties. CRI is basically like all MH lamps. -->>> Sorry for being late, but the above statement is not true. CRI for HMI is different than typical MH and that's the whole point. Osram lists CRI's above 90 for all their HMI lamps and there's a big difference between 70-75 and 90-95.