Randy Walsh Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Does anyone have experience with the China M18 clone? I'm shooting food At 240fps at 22 deg shutter and I'm looking for more light... does this unit work like advertised ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Young Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I haven't used it personally, but I have used the knock off ARRI tungsten heads and they are terrible. If anything, the knock off M18 will not work as advertised. The ARRI M18 will do the job, but make sure to get the electronic ballast if you're doing high speed work like 240fps. It's pricey, but necessary for the quality. Have you thought of using a tungsten unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Walsh Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Yes, I have a 5k baby senior, but the heat... And color conversion...Just wondering if anyone had positive experience with these clones. BTW- I do a fair amount of high speed- the LED' s - battery fed, work fine. They are all different - gotta test them independently. The clone m18 has my interest because of its low cost, light out put, low amperage, and low set temperature. But if it doesn't perform- then it's wasted time and money. Sent from my iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Mark Kenfield Posted February 1, 2017 Premium Member Share Posted February 1, 2017 I had to use a bunch of Chinese Arri HMI clones when I was getting started, and they did (for the most part) work okay, so long as you were running them off mains power. NONE of them would strike off portable generators though (an issue of power factor correction I later learnt).I have used a couple of the cloned M18s, but they've been paired with ballasts hand-built by a local lighting tech, and he'd overhauled the internals of the heads to so that everything was up to his standards. Those lights worked a treat, but a clone straight from ebay I wouldn't have the same level of trust in.You have to be wary with them. Personally, these days I just don't like taking chances on these things if there isn't going to be a backup option readily available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Walsh Posted February 1, 2017 Author Share Posted February 1, 2017 Interestingly I had a couple of Chinese 1200 HMIs that failed - and I sent them to Galaxy HMI repair in LA and he did a great job rebuilding them to tech standards. I can't say enough praises for Galaxy HMI lighting. Not very expensive and their service was wonderful. But, in the end, you still have a knock-off HMi. You get what you pay for in the end. Sent from my iPhone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack OGara Posted February 1, 2017 Share Posted February 1, 2017 I have one of the 1.2k China knockoffs and it works fine. Well over 100 hours. Though still, touch wood it carries on working. So far I found that it works fine well up to 240fps. Though I don't have any cameras that go higher than this to test :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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