Lots of Cheap Light (Minimal DIY)

[andrgl]

Parts List:

• 4ft Fluorescent Shop Light, Ballast Included: On Sale $20
• 4 x T8 Bulb, 5000K, 98 CRI: On Sale $20
• C-Stand: Used $100
• Grip Head: Used $20
• Baby Wall Plate: Used $5
• Sandbag: Used $5

Total Cost: $170

By comparison, a 1 light Kino kit would cost around $1,100 sans Lamps or C-Stand.

 

Cons:

• Ugly as ****
• Non-Dimmable (However: You can pop out lamps to have 4 levels of light.)
• No Barn Doors
• Heavy (10lb total = Fixture 8lb + Bulbs 2lb)

[M Carter]

You'd be amazed at how many 4-bank and 6-bank biax Kino knockoffs are out there for $200 or less...

 

[andrgl]

50 minutes ago, M Carter said:

You'd be amazed at how many 4-bank and 6-bank biax Kino knockoffs are out there for $200 or less...

LOL not really. There's a lot of trash gear online. But I prefer not having to swap out garbage, <90 CRI, osram bulbs. I also like to being able to use 4' lamps instead of those little itty bitty ones: they're ubiqitous, infinitely cheaper and more useful for interior ambient and keying.

But each to his own I suppose. I didn't think anyone actually used the lights you talk about. Fuck, I can imagine how nasty that shit looks with 8-bit cams. Would be a nightmare to correct in post. Maybe just YouTubers? Can't fathom a client paying for that sort of light.

[M Carter]

I have a couple quads and a bunch of duals. The duals are mainly used for green screens or filling in something when I need a small light. I do several interviews with the quads every month. They're cheap and easy to pack and a lot easier to deal with than my HMIs for normal room-light scenarios and tight spaces. I get great skin with the things. It's 400 or 575 HMI when the setting is brighter, but I'm always glad when a quad will do the job.

Clients have been paying for shoots with Biax kinos for how many years now? I've rented Kinos but not worth the $$ to own for me, when I can get 4 quads with real, steel yokes for the same price. I shoot for mid-sized media agencies and shoot directly for a couple national brands (food/beverage and retail) and they always pay me.

I really have trouble seeing a client not laughing their asses off when they see a home depot rig with a baby nail plate stuck to it myself. Probably looks great with a PVC-pipe shoulder mount though - to each their own.

[andrgl]

1 hour ago, M Carter said:

I have a couple quads and a bunch of duals. The duals are mainly used for green screens or filling in something when I need a small light. I do several interviews with the quads every month. They're cheap and easy to pack and a lot easier to deal with than my HMIs for normal room-light scenarios and tight spaces. I get great skin with the things. It's 400 or 575 HMI when the setting is brighter, but I'm always glad when a quad will do the job.

Clients have been paying for shoots with Biax kinos for how many years now? I've rented Kinos but not worth the $$ to own for me, when I can get 4 quads with real, steel yokes for the same price. I shoot for mid-sized media agencies and shoot directly for a couple national brands (food/beverage and retail) and they always pay me.

I really have trouble seeing a client not laughing their asses off when they see a home depot rig with a baby nail plate stuck to it myself. Probably looks great with a PVC-pipe shoulder mount though - to each their own.

You sure you worked with Kinos? Maybe it's been a while and you've forgotten. The mounting plate for their fixtures is literally a baby plate. I mean shit, I even own hinged and 90' plates that look identical to the kino mounts.

Your kit sounds heavy as fuck. I wouldn't use tubes for anything but ambiet and MAYBE back. LED panels ~92 CRI can be had for under a grand now. 1000-3000W equivalent dimmable, less than 2 lbs. But I guess whatever works best for you. Good luck.

[homestar_kevin]

Nice DIY, looks simple enough.

Kino knock offs and Kino Flo true match tubes work great for me and are so cheap at this point they're essentially disposable.

I like them and they've worked great for me over the years.

[M Carter]

On May 10, 2016 at 2:56 PM, andrgl said:

You sure you worked with Kinos? Maybe it's been a while and you've forgotten. The mounting plate for their fixtures is literally a baby plate. I mean shit, I even own hinged and 90' plates that look identical to the kino mounts.

Ahh, remedial reading comprehension, I got ya - but this text was actually in that post: "I've rented Kinos but not worth the $$ to own for me, when I can get 4 quads with real, steel yokes for the same price" was, umm, referring to the crap Kino yokes vs. the for-real Chinese yokes, which work just fine. That said, Kino's aren't a home-depot office fixture or whatever - nobody will give you the stinkeye showing up with them.

I don't have weight problems with the quads - a ton of my work is the "CEO interview" and I bring one quad, in the same case as a 400 HMI softbox. Half the time that guy's in a corner office that's all windows and I grab an HMI par from the truck. Yes, 4 duals and 2 quads to light a 20' greenscreen is heavy, but that's a planned studio gig with plenty of help, and a shit-ton more gear than just the biax. You want heavy? Come borrow my space-light rig and ballasts...

I'm glad you're blazing fresh new lighting trails via home depot and meant no offense pointing out that for the same cash, you can get something a little less spit-and-duct tape (and a lot more lumens, too). And I'm sure a good DP can get booked for a gig, show up with a bunch of hardware-store DIY - hell, the client's not likely to just cancel outright - and potentially have the client say "wow, that actually looks really pretty". Hell, tell 'em you've designed a revolutionary new light that isn't available yet. Whatever works, but it's a tough market out there. I had to tell a boom op to stop showing up to corporate gigs in a biker jacket… he was like "but it's my favorite jacket"… just looked kinda weird.