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http://vimeo.com/44308566 I'm just gonna mention the Bolt one more time since it sounds like you need portability and ease of use. You could buy that plus a reverse light stand, an umbrella mountable head and an umbrella for under $500.

Is there a way that I can turn my laptop into an external monitor? I can go from my pc to the tv but I'm wondering if I go can from my gh2 to INTO my PC- So I can view from my pc? Any other suggestions on something like this? I know the nexus 7 won't work for gh2. (I have an asus windows vista laptop and a macbook pro)

How does the Blackmagic Cinema Camera compare to an established film industry standard, the Red Epic? Along with ReWo at MBF Film Technik in Berlin we decided to find out.

Well, the two studio banks you linked above, the ones with the stands, they went right into my Amazon wishlist so that I had, quick handy reference to investigate them more.  I liked the looks of them and the price seemed very reasonable for the amount of light they put out...though it didn't seem clear to me if their specs were combined for the two of them, which would be disappointing, or if they represented the individual lights.     Honestly I don't get the comment on spending thousands.  LEDs themselves, individually, cost what little they do because they have to cost something.  The money you'd be paying would inevitably be related to the construction of the case and associated hardware for dimming, etc.  I mean, maybe if every one of those little guys was hand wired in someone could justify a tall sum but, even then, that hand wiring would likely have been done by someone in a far off land who might have been paid a dollar that day.   The high cost is all mark-up and branding.   Take one of those 160 LED lights...that's less than $2 worth of actual light-giving-device and the rest of the cost is due to wiring, dimming and the materials + manufacturing of the case, and then mark-up.   I've been looking at replacing all of my signals and blinkers on my car with LED bulbs and if you go to a major automotive retailer they're asking upwards of $20 or even way more for a pair of bulbs I've been able to find for about $6 at a lighting-oriented site that's not specialized in automotive products but is more closely related to the actual manufacturer who produces all manner of LED lights.  

Also, don't be afraid to build your own fixtures, especially for interior location lighting, if you like a natural look.  Even with Kinos on set a lot of great DPs augment practical lights with their own homebrew creations, bat strips, China balls and the like, because these tend to look less contrived than studio lighting.  They're also less stressful on your actors and don't chew up as much space.     edit: I looked but they don't have it in their online archives, but if you ever see for sale or get the chance to pick up the October 2000 issue of American Cinematographer Magazine there's a great little article on the lighting philosophy of Jean Yves Escoffier and how he applied it to the Labute film Nurse Betty.  It's been a touchstone and reference of mine all these years whenever I think about interior lighting and the legitimacy of homebrew lighting fixtures, even on the set of a major motion picture.  People talk all the time about what they think they could or couldn't pull out of a bag in front of a client and that's just ridiculous.  The end image is all that matters.

Andrew, why did you locked that thread? It was one of the most entertaining read for a long time and what drives the traffic. You could make a film about it :)   In this case I don't take sides and I think both of you are opinionated and have some axe to grind with one another. I think Andrew is more diplomatic and Bloom more too face and blunt. Not everyone agrees with Andrew's reviews or his views, me included and as for Bloom there are growing dislike of that guy of his primadonna attitude. I'm not 100% sure why Bloom behave the way he is. It could be that he suddenly got famous very quickly and any percieved knock on his ability he get defensive. His recent outburst on another forum because several members dare ask questions about trying a diferent way of shooting with the BMCC while being supportive and polite really showed what he is like. As an early adopter of dSLR, through his blogs he surrounded himself with army of fans taken in by his charm, knowledge (yes), a common touch and his English accent. Some of his adoring fans consider him as a role model. I say beware of who you foot worship. The best way to describe Bloom is that he throws a diva like hissy. Some of what Andrew says is correct and I've met people like that before. An 8 bit 422 even if uncompressed cannot match 12 bit RAW let alone 13 stops of DR, not ever. Anyone who think otherwise is mental and Bloom is trying to change that view simply because of what? Bloom would think that even a footage he shot with a mobile phone is worth many times more than others with an Alexa and that the quality of his filmmaking will automatically transends any deficiency of the mobile phone he used and people should simply accept that he his so damn good than the camera.   Having said that regardless of his understanding or bias Bloom does produce fantastic films that Andrew and many others couldn't live with. He didnt get were he is producing crap.