2 x 800 Watts, or 1 x 1600 Watt Par?

[Andre Valune]

Hi guys - been reading for awhile and found this to be a phenomenal resource, thanks so much for all the time and effort everyone puts in!

 

Had a lighting question -- for generalized shooting and all other things being equal, would you rather have two 800 Watt Pars, or one 1600 Watt Par? Not only for lighting interviews, etc., but also being able to establish a decent window light (as key) in a room by pushing it through a window. And the lights in question here would be Jokers.

 

Many thanks!

[David Mullen ASC]

Well, I'd rather have two lights on principle rather than just one, in case the one doesn't work... But for a sunlight effect, it's generally better to have one strong source creating one shadow. Unless you use Joker 800 Source-4 Lekos, in which case, I've used two or even three in a cluster in a smoked room; as long as the beams are parallel, it looks like one light being broken up. The shadows on the ground are still multiplied of course.

[Andre Valune]

Thanks David!

 

And if the lights were being bounced off beadboard or some other type of bounce material, would the two 800W fixtures hitting one piece of beadboard give the same output as the one 1600W fixture bounced into the same material?

[David Mullen ASC]

More or less. You'd probably be able to fill a beadboard more evenly/broadly with two fixtures so the effect would be softer. You'd also have the advantage of being able to split up the power load over two circuits on location.

[Andre Valune]

Okay great. It does seem like the power load is a big consideration - especially in older houses. I'd be a bit concerned (mostly when shooting documentary work where unfortunately you aren't often given the the time to map out circuits) that it would be easy to start tripping breakers when you enter the 1600W range.

 

I know most pars come with the different lens sets to change the width of the beam, but also have been noticing ones coming out lately that have more of an adjustable beam, like K5600's Zoom Beamer and Arri's M18 head. Do people tend towards one over the other as a matter of personal preference, or are there major convenience or light quality factors that push people in either the direction of the lens set or the direction of the zooming head?