bulbs in chinese lanterns

[jim king]

What kind of bulbs do you like to put in chinese lanterns?

Also, as far as regular incandescent tungsten bulbs go, do you have preferences (brand, type etc) as far as what bulbs have consistent color temp that will hold up over time?

[David Mullen ASC]

With the largest lanterns and a porcelain socket, you can use 500 watt Photofloods if you want.

 

I've used all sorts of bulbs in Chinese Lanterns. Since they are normally used for an interior scene lit with incandescent practicals, I'm not to picky about the color temperature not being 3200K from the lantern - in fact, I often dim it a little to warm it up.

[Michael Nash]

It's common to use various photofloods; 211's (75W), 212's (150W), and 213's (250W). Usually you'll put the whole rig on a "hand squeezer" (600W household dimmer) so it really doesn't matter what wattage bulb you put in. But if you start with the brightest bulb and have to dim it too much the color temp may start to change. As David points out this isn't always a bad thing, but if you're using it for fill light you may want the color to match the key a little better.

 

211's and 212's are rated for 100 hrs, and 213's only 3 hrs. BCA's (close to daylight balanced) don't last long either, and their color goes pretty quickly. A BCA won't last a full day in a practical without going warm.

 

For brands, I don't usually worry about it. The bulbs tend to blow or get broken before their color changes anyway!

[Patrick Neary]

For a brief, glorious moment our nearby Home Depot was selling 250-watt, 2000-hour halogens that looked like small-tube aquarium lamps (only about 3" long and not as wide around as the medium screw base). They are GREAT for lanterns, but I haven't seen them anywhere in over a year. Maybe it's possible to track down the original manufacturer and get a case or two...

 

oh yeah, the best part was the under $5.00 price tag-

[Michael Nash]

Those sound great!

 

Many people may not know this, but Home Depot struck a deal within the last year to carry ONLY Philips light bulbs. If you want anything else from them, you're S.O.L. Try their competitors.

[Patrick Neary]

OK, I went out to the garage, found one of the lamps I mentioned- it's a 250-watt JDD bulb manufactured (or maybe just distributed) by Feit Electric in Pico Rivera, CA. I sent them a note asking if it's possible to still get them- I'll report back!

[Guest Chainsaw]

As Dave and Michael said it is very common to use Photofloods (PH 211, PH 212, and/or PH 213's) in a China Ball with a porcelain socket (on a dimmer), not the plastic ones found at Pier 1 and Home Depot. As was said this is a commonplace practice but by no means a definitive requirement or answer. Theoretically any color or type of bulb (Flood's excluded) can be very effectively utilized in a China Ball if the lighting and photographic designs warrant its inclusion.

 

I keep boxes of standard and specialty bulbs on hand for exclusive use in China Balls. These range from standard soft incandescent to black lights to GE Reveal bulbs (they handle dimming slightly better) to Flame Tip/Amber to colored party bulbs to Grow lights. As I write this my room is solely illuminated by a 14" China Ball with a yellow Bug Light knocked down with black streaks 'n' tips. It yields a very muted yellow/no-color light.

 

There have been multiple occasions where I've dropped several colored party bulbs (red, teal, green, purple, blue, etc.) in a China Ball to add a colored fill for close-ups. For a more subtle effect I have used colored streaks 'n' tips (Hot Topic is much cheaper than Panavision :P ) on an otherwise white bulb for a color effect. The options are about as endless as the selection at your local home center. If dimmers are in short supply an alternative option is to paint a portion of your China Ball black and rotate the opaque potion until you have adequate intensity.

 

As to which consumer incandescent bulbs hold a steady color temp; the unfortunate answer is that none do. All consumer bulbs will devitrify with use and cause a subsequent warming of color temperature. The plus side to using a China Ball where the bulb is suspended in an inverted position means that the stem of the bulb will devitrify before the spheroid portion of the glass. This results in less noticeable warming than if the bulb was mounted in the upright position. Of course bulbs being as cheap as they are you can afford to change them out if there is any noticeable or problematic warming.

 

 

p.s. ~ If at all possible I'd love to exchange Member Numbers with Mr. King... :D

[Guest Terry Lasater]

Hey Chainsaw,

 

First, let me say I really appreciate your in-depth answers to questions. It's clear you know your poop!

 

Secondly, where can I get inexpensive porcelain sockets for use in Chinese Lanterns? Is there a particular brand or type you recommend?

 

The Lanternlock, which is a sponsor of this forum, looks nice. Have you tried one?

 

Their website mentions a Mogul socket rated for 500W is 'Coming Soon'. I'm curious what the price will be for that fixture?

 

Thanks in advance,

Terry

 

P.S. I appreciate everyone's input on this board. Most of the regular contributors give solid advice and relate interesting experiences.

[Guest Chainsaw]

Terry, thank you for the kind words, they are much appreciated. :)

 

Honestly before your post I had never even heard of Lanternlock, sorry. If they are somewhat commonplace on-set I suppose that I shall look quite the fool. Wait a sec, looking at their price list I have a fair idea of why I haven't heard of them. For that price you could buy 10 lanterns and simply use a little ingenuity and grip gear to get the job done. Their gear looks very nice, but I'm wondering if it really fills a void in the marketplace or if it is merely trying to create a market for itself.

 

What I (when I Gaff) typically cobble together are a mixture of the 660W/250V (max) Leviton porcelain sockets (approx. $2.00 U.S.), Zip cord (approx. $0.08 ft.), and the cheap-ass 10a Leviton snap-on two prong Edison's (3 for $1). All of these items can be found at any hardware store or professional home center. I usually don't bother with adding an in-line switch because these fixtures almost always go directly into a dimmer. Considering that a pre-made socket/cable assembly runs around ten bucks for a plastic one, I find the DIY approach to be the cheapest and easiest. It may look a little rough and ugly but it does the exact same job as the store bought item with the added bonus that porcelain doesn't melt. If circumstances warrant it is perfectly acceptable to use spare 12/3 or 16/3 cable and a 15a Edison (Hubble) in lieu of the cheaper approach. Of course if you needed you could always rip the female end off of a stinger and splice a socket onto it (ground excluded).

 

I would hazard a guess that Lanternlock's new 500W Mogul unit will be a complete socket/cable assembly, which will of course drive the price up. Personally the only time I'd consider purchasing such a unit would be for a permanent fixture such as on a long form television production. But hey, that's just me.

Edited March 21, 2004 by Chainsaw

[Patrick Neary]

OK, here's info from Feit Electric about those great 250-watt halogens i mentioned in an earlier post:

 

>>>You may order our # BPQ250/JDD through the following national distributor:

 

>INTERLIGHT

>800.743.0005

>www.interlight.biz

 

these are great for chinese lanterns, really, i mean it. you'll never use a photoflood again...

[Guest Terry Lasater]

Chainsaw,

 

Thanks for the info on fixture construction for lanterns.

 

Yeah, I thought the Lanternlock seemed a bit steep in price too. And I don't mean to bash a sponsor of this site but it would be nice if they actually had a way to order from their (Lanternlock's) website.

 

Currently, it works like this:

Lanternlock: (From website) "Purchase through 'contact' page." (i.e. e-mail me)

Me: (In form of an e-mail) Is this the order process?

Lanternlock: (reply via e-mail) It is for now. What are you interested in?

Me: Uhhh... a Lanternlock?

 

I mean c'mon, even if I did want to buy it at first, I had CONSIDERABLE time to cool off by the time we established communication. I mean they could at least give a phone number and take orders that way. How crazy?!

 

What do you think of this socket/fixture.

http://www.smithvictor.com/products/detail...Lights&nm=100UL

 

I realize it's not actually designed to hang inverted with a lantern on it. But, it is rated for up to 500W.

 

Terry

 

Oh, and thanks Patrick for the tip on halogen lamps for use in lanterns. I'll have to try those.

[Guest Chainsaw]

What do you think of this socket/fixture.

http://www.smithvictor.com/products/detail...Lights&nm=100UL

$27.00?!!!!!! <_<

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - ad infinitum

 

Wow, is it me or does that contraption look suspiciously like your standard plastic socket, aluminum reflector worklight, complete with spring clamp? Those usually cost around four bucks -with the reflector- while these "professional" units cost in excess of six times as much without said badass reflector. The only structural difference of note is that the Smith-Victor socket has a higher maximum wattage rating than is found on a worklight. Big Deal. It's cute how they offer their "Thrifty Reflector" as a separate unit at the low, low price of $28.95, what a bunch of savages. What they don't want you to know is that you can attach that spring clamp to almost any other socket base...

 

Smith-Victor culls its client base out of the professional still photography market so honestly this kind of pricing is not unexpected. As a personal philosophy I never use lighting or grip gear that has been specifically designed for professional or consumer still photography use. It's like playing with the big clumsy Duplo Blocks over a sweet Lego set.

 

Man, I'd stick with the DIY approach or get good at shoplifting.

 

 

Re: Your Lanternlock escapade

"I love it when a plan comes together!" ~ Lt. Col. John "Hannibal" Smith

[Mitch Gross]

Just so people understand, Lanternlock is not exactly a huge multinational conglomerate. It's a DP in New Jersey named Dan who owns some metal shop tools. He's built a couple of items that he finds useful for his shooting and designed the original Lanterlock for himself. He thought it and a few other little items useful enough that others might also be interested in purchasing them, so he made the website. He makes them himself and while it probably doesn't take him too long, it's not like he has regular orders for 50,000 units at a time, so he charges a bit to make it worth his while to bother making the things. I'm personally not interested in one as I built my own rigs, but the items he makes are perfectly nice little tools. If you're not handy at all I'd say that these are probably your best bet.

[Guest Terry Lasater]

Mitch, Thanks for the info on Lanternlock.

 

Although they seem expensive... I suppose I've spent more $ for less in this money-sucking industry. :D

[Guest zhuo chun bei]

I never buy from http://www.eiluxury.com louis vuitton sale, the price is expensive and I always bought online.

[David Woodworth]

RE: Lanternlock

 

I bought a Lanternlock a few months ago and now I couldn't live without it. I stick it on a 40" C-stand riser and have a grip hoist it above the camera for key/fill. Works like a charm!

Sure I could have rigged something together, but the convenience of being able to just pop it all together in about 20 seconds is well worth the price for me. Just my two cents :)

I am currently using a large 300W equivalent Compact Fluorescent bulb in it.

[Sherwin Akbarzadeh]

Resurrecting this old thread...

 

Anyone ever use CFLs in chinese lanterns? They run cool and If i run 2 85 watt bulbs in a y-socket adapter, it's a 600 watt equivalent light.

 

What do I need to know about the quality of light of CFLs vs Halogens? I'm looking at ALZO video lux bulbs - http://www.alzodigital.com/online_store/light_bulbs_compact_fluorescent_video-lux.htm- supposedly there is no green spike. Also it's nice to have the option of daylight balanced bulbs.

 

What do ya'll think? Am I missing something here?