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Softbox light kit

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Post  tishon24 Fri Oct 10, 2008 11:13 pm

Ok mark i finally got my mom make a paypale account lol

but i have to pick one thing for my birthday which is on January 24 so i picked the soft box but there a lot of them but i am going to pick one of these

http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/tubetape/the-59/Continuous-Lighting-Kit--dsh-/Detail


http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/tubetape/the-25/Studio-Light-Kit--dsh-/Detail

but which one do i pick i am really good at chroma key and stuff i need something professional and works good the first one is the Studio Light Kit - Strobe Lighting / Wireless is that good well i know that it come with a lot of stuff but is it worth from the 2000 Watt Continuous Light Kit

because the studio light kit is only $378

and the 2000 Watt Continuous Light Kit is only $345.98

they both are kind of the same price but the first one which is the studio light has a lot of stuff which comes with it but how is that one so less money
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Post  SonicOrbStudios Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:20 pm

the kit in the second link is a strobe kit meaning it will flash once when you take a still image
For video work you need a continuous light source such as one of these.

All of their kits are great and very low in price. Get the best kit you can for your budget. More lights are always useful.

The strobe kit is a little lower in price and does come with more but only is lower in price due to the different style lamp and lamp assembly which are made to work for a split second at a time.

For around $350 the following kit is best for video work IMO:
http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/tubetape/the-59/Continuous-Lighting-Kit--dsh-/Detail


Last edited by SonicOrbStudios on Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post  Mark Apsolon Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:27 pm

go with the continuous lights
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Post  tishon24 Sun Oct 12, 2008 9:07 pm

ok thanks guys just one more question is the QL 1000 better than the Continuous Lighting Kit - 2 Soft Boxes
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Post  SonicOrbStudios Mon Oct 13, 2008 1:55 am

The two piece softbox kit is made with the same light.

Basically tube tape has two types of continuous soft box type lights.
One set formed around the QL-1000 lamp
and another set formed around the PBL MXLIGHT lamp

The QL1000 is a fan cooled dimable light where as the PBL MXLIGHT is an air cooled, (no fan) multi level out light. The PBL MXLIGHT has a switch to switch between two light levels IIRC.
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Post  tishon24 Mon Oct 13, 2008 1:44 pm

sonic i think you gave me a good answer but i still don't get can you break it up for me and tell me which one is better please Very Happy
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Post  SonicOrbStudios Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:21 pm

They are actually both quite equal. If you feel you need the variable brightness and fan cooled setup go with the QL based kit.
If you dont mind only having two different brightness levels and no fans then go with the PBL MXLIGHT based kit

IF you are going to be doing a lot of really quiet video type setups then I would go with the PBL MXLIGHT based kit as the fan noise isnt there.
If you have a good shotgun mic the fans may not be a problem at all and adding a little backing music to the video will also cover anything up that does get to the mic.

So really the choice is yours, they both have their pros and cons.

oh yea the QL set comes with two bowl type reflectors and the PBL set comes with two barn doors.
I would personally go with the PBL set for the barn doors. I just find them useful for key lighting.


For the record, some links to the two products I am talking about:
QL Based Set
PBL MXLIGHT Based Set
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Post  tishon24 Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:24 pm

THANKS SonicOrbStudios i am getting one this Christmas Laughing cant wait to get a softbox
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Post  David Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:40 am

I am just wondering which set won out in the end?

Lighting is so very important to any video production.

I have toyed with the idea of getting either an Arri or Joker HMI kit. But man thats a lot of cash.

Depending on what you are shooting, mostly where your shooting it, you might want to look at 2 light 1200 watt Cool Flo kit as well.

They are very close to HMI which is 5600k or daylight temp. 5100k or 5200k, but thats very close.

I have used them for a fill light or key light while using direct sunlight from a window. Hard to do with 3200k lights.

Also, I have found that inside with a greenscreen, and say the backdrop you will be adding has the subject outside. The warmer 5200k light makes the footage that much better. Of course all the filters and color correction these days, you can still pull it off with 3200k lights.

Another little trick I have used when having limited lights to work with is getting a MAGLITE SP2203H 2-AA and attach it to the camera for a cheap Eye light. most of the times you can get the eyes with your key light, but actors and cameras can make even the slightest of movements and lose the eye light. That little maglite cost about 20 bucks, and is far cheaper than attachment lights they sell at the Camera Store.

They can also make a great hair light in some cases.

Have a great time putting them puppies to work!

David

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Softbox light kit Empty DO NOT PURCHASE THE QL-1000

Post  jwc1926 Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:42 pm

I created an account specifically to reply to this thread. I just bought a few QL-1000s for video work. The fan is not even close to "deadly quiet" as some have described it. Even with a professional shotgun mic and the EQ and DeNoiser audio effects in Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, I was not able to remove the noise from the fans.

There is a more serious problem with the QL-1000s. They tend to break down...very easily! Here you can read a devastating critique of the QL-1000:

http://www.pclightingsystems.com/tungsten/3600/

They give some great, affordable alternatives in the article too!

Also, the big selling point of the QL-1000 is the variable output. If that's a big concern for you, you can buy a simple "router speed control" box from Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43060.

These router speed control boxes are rated up to 15 amps, and they work great as long as you're using lights that can be dimmed (e.g., halogens).

The absolute bottom line is: STAY AS FAR AWAY AS YOU CAN FROM THE QL-1000. They're worthless junk.

Good luck!

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Post  SonicOrbStudios Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:15 am

jwc1926

Welcome to the forums and do feel free to stick around. We could use more activity around here...
I'm sorry you feel this way about the QL-1000 lights. They may not be the best out there but you have to remember they are not the best lights on the market.

It could be you just got a bad kit...
that does happen every now and then although it is rare.


I am also interested in what set tishon24 got.
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Post  jwc1926 Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:32 pm

SonicOrbStudios, thanks for the welcome!

One thing: On my previous post I put the wrong link to the harsh critique of the QL-1000. The correct link is: http://www.pclightingsystems.com/tungsten/ql/four-head.html

I have two concerns. First, while the QL-1000s that I bought didn't break down (I only used them for about an hour), the reliability report from pclightingsystems (visit link above) is not good at all. According to that report, 8 of the 10 QL-1000s failed within the first 24 hours of use. Visit the link for more details.

Second, the problem I personally had with the QL-1000 has to do with that darn fan. It's way, way too loud for scenes (including interviews) where you need strict control over background noise, even when you know what you're doing when it comes to recording (e.g., levels, type of mic, mic placement, etc.). The only reason for the fan is to cool the mechanism that allows you to adjust the intensity of the light. That mechanism gets super hot, and you need the fan to cool it. But you can do the same thing with a $15 part from Harbor Freight (see my previous post). The part is rated up to 15 amps, so it will work with many lights.

So, I sent back the QL-1000s and bought three PBL MXLIGHT Twin Lamp Halogen light heads. You can run these at either half power (500K) or full power (1000K). And as I found out yesterday, these lights received a very favorable review from Mark Apsolon!! One cool thing about this lighting system that Mark didn't mention is that the barndoors have clips on the top and bottom flags that you can attach filters to without the need for tape, clothes pins, etc. Pound for pound, as far as I can tell, there is no reason to buy the QL-1000 over the PBL MXLIGHT Twin Lamp Halogens.

I totally agree with you that the QL-1000 is not the best light in the world, but for the same price you can get a high-quality, reliable light that doesn't require all of your video projects to be shot in the cabin of an flying airplane. ; )

-jwc

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Post  jwc1926 Fri Jan 23, 2009 2:56 am

Got my PBL MXLIGHT Twin Lamp Halogen light heads today. Having had the opportunity to use both in the past week, I feel very confident saying that the PBL MXLIGHT Twin Lamp Halogen is absolutely, positively, 100% superior to the QL-1000. As I've said, the QL-1000 is very noisy and is reported to be terribly unreliable (see my last post). It will also get you in the nasty habit of using a dimmer. As I was once admonished: Use filters! Move the light back from the subject! Even so, you still have some control over light intensity by being able to opt for half- or full power with the PBL MXLIGHT. All things considered, I have to completely agree with Mark Apsolon's favorable review of the PBL MXLIGHT. My own personal review of the QL-1000 remains: Two thumbs straight down.

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