-
Just Got Ianiro Lilliput 650/300w Light Set, couple of questions.
I just picked up a set of three of the above with bag and stands for £250 and have just used them for the first shoot. They are really portable (1/3 the size of redheads) and were great to use.
They are open fronted with a grill. They do push out a lot of heat (as to be expected) and I managed to damage a Lee filter diffuser by burning a small hole in it (it was because the barn doors were wide open, setting them to keep filter further from front would sort this but not ideal). I noticed Ianiro do glass fronts. Someone said maybe I should talk to a local glazier and get them to cut me a circle of the relevant size (of heat treated) and slip it into the frame behind the grate, is this a good idea? I am a little worried about the amount of UV they push out and what happens when bulbs blow.
The other question is can I put a softbox over these, is there no point, i.e. maybe I should just use defuser filters. It seems to me the advantage of using filters is a can get a set with various degrees of diffuse.
Any other advice on using this set would be greatly appreciated. I am reading John Jackman’s book on digital video and TV lighting and am going to have a look at Blain Brown’s next.
Regards,
Ben -
4 Replies
-
An open-face 650 will take a softbox nicely. I do it all the time. And yes, they do throw a lot of heat. The nice part is that even an XS Chimera will have its diffusion far enough away to avoid the “burning a hole” problem.
I’m also betting you did not have the thing flooded out, and it’s possible that the focal point of the spot beam was right at the diffusion plane. Things like that do happen. I remember melting a hole in a piece of full daylight with a 650 (Lowel Omni) using their “superspot” reflector in the head for some much-needed punch in a particular situation.
-
Alan,
Thanks for your reply, which soft-box do you recommend for a film-maker on a budget.
Ben
-
Those from Chimera are sort of considered the “industry standard”… however we have a number of boxes from Photoflex which are a lot more price-friendly and just about as well made.
Although, if you are on a super tight budget, just hit eBay. You’ll find boatloads of really really inexpensive boxes there. Can’t really vouch for the quality, but if I were only an occasional user, I’d sure rather spend $25 just to try it out, rather than adding a zero to that for an expensive box that might be a better investment later down the road.
Another inexpensive option is to use white photographic umbrellas, which do pretty much the same thing except don’t control spill into the rest of your room or shoot space… which is often not a factor.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
-
Todd is right. Photoflex boxes are less costly. I have Chimera myself, a client uses a mix in their studio.
You might also want to look into modifiers for the boxes – grids are nice, especially. I don’t spend on their barndoors, I just clip foamcore or blackwrap to them to trim the beam if a grid doesn’t get it done – say, if you’re close to the back wall in a fairly small space.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up