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Arri Locaster LED Panel AC/DC
I am looking at the Arri Locaster LED Panel AC/DC Double Kit. Does anyone have any real world experience with these lights? I have a two person, on-location, supermarket shoot that I need to light. Any experience with these lights would be greatly appreciated.
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12 Replies
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Well, I’ve never used the LoCasters, but I’ve shot in tons of supermarkets, as we used to do most of the TV commercials for five different grocery store chains around the country.
I don’t know what your project is so I’m just guessing… I’d have to say if you are planning on fairly tight shooting where you can place instruments fairly close to your subjects/talent then the LoCasters or other LED instruments might be ok. BUT… for wide or general shooting I would think (based on the LoCaster specs) they would be fairly underpowered. After doing quite a few supermarket shoots we finally moved from tungsten and flo lighting to doing store shoots mostly with HMIs. We were never able to completely shut down the locations we were in or turn off existing lighting (we could block off areas, but the stores were mostly open and working when we were there). Ergo, we always found them to have a lot of existing available light that we had to deal with (big windows, lots of ceiling flos, or sometimes sodium vapor lighting in the bigger ones) and we really needed HMIs to overpower the ambient light so we could do some reasonably interesting-looking lighting designs. They didn’t take huge HMIs (maybe a few 1200w’s and an 800 Joker-Bug or two), but did need at least that much. Otherwise the (mostly unflattering) ambient light was really dominating the lighting plots.
Just my two cents…
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Having also done quite a lot of retail work, I’ll note that over the past decade or so, most commercial spaces have swapped out their old-style overhead lighting for more energy efficient products.
I was quite surprised to see that in a lot of the retail spaces I’ve shot in over the past few years, that overhead lighting is now pretty close to the traditional TUNGSTEN color temp.
So when I ordered both my color balanced fluorescent instruments AND my LED lights, I broke with tradition and ordered 3200k lamps and with that, I’ve been able to use them as convenient “face fill” and “shelf brighteners” working WITH the existing store lighting.
So make sure you check the space you’ll be working in as to color balance of the existing lights.
FWIW.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Conner
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Arri’s Locaster is a great new LED fixture, well thought out, and probably the most accurate of all the LED’s units available. It impressed me when I first used it a year ago. It’s the wrong fixture to serve as the primary light source on your supermarket shoot however. The beam is not wide enough…. and if you diffuse it you won’t have enough intensity.
Stick with Diva’s or simple 4 x 4 Kino’s and use the Locaster as an eyelight/fill.Good luck
DS -
Thanks for all the helpful info. I forgot to mention that I will not have access to power during the shoot. We will be moving all around the store to different locations while the store is open to the public. We will not be allowed to string power cables. Thus we need to be battery powered for all our lighting. Will the Arri locasters give me enough to light the faces of the talent? Just want to fill in the shadows and even them out since all my lighting from the store will be overhead. Thanks again for everyone’s input. This is a great place to get the answers from those that have been down this road before.
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I hardly think one extension cord to power 2 or 3 Diva 400’s would be a big deal, but so be it.
You need a broader based light source than the Locaster. Use two stands with 2-4 interconnected 1′ x 1′ lite panels ….all battery powered.DS
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By the way, you should also equip yourself with several reflectors to bounce that ceiling light where you need it most.
DS
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I purchased the Arri Locaster Led kit and have never been happier. I used the lights in Wegmans grocery store to light two people for each video. The battery operation, dimming feature and color temp control made every scene a breeze to light. By far, one of the best lighting purchases I have ever made.
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Congratulations Michael… on the success of your shoot — and your purchase.
As I said, the Locaster is a fabulous fixture, worthy of the ARRI name. I’m glad it was able to work for your shoot. You must have shot relatively tight.
Share a still, or a link if you are able.DS
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One of the videos we shot using the Arri Locasters is now live on Youtube. The following is the link to one of the videos. https://youtu.be/P8pzOxSSxQs?hd=1 We zip tied light stands to the inside of grocery carts. This kept the light off the floor and the extra batteries in the cart and off the floor. We shoot while the store is open, so we have to be as careful as possible with any potential hazards. Great product that is now a major player in my equipment arsenal. Thanks to everyone for their input.
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