Kino Flo or hmi?

Jason Banker · August 21, 2005

Hi,

I currently own a arri 650w tungsten spotlight, 3 250w lowel pro lights and 2 750w lowel totta lights with soft boxes. That has been my basic pack package for a few years now and feel I need to upgrade a bit. Recently I bought a Super 16 camera and want to purchase a new light or 2 to give my work a more professional edge. Which direction would you lean for shooting film, Kino Flo or HMI?

Soft lighting for beauty work is what I am after, but want the most versatile light because I can only afford 1 or 2.

Would it be safe to say everyone should own at least 1 HMI light for daylight shooting? Which one?

Are Kino Flo's easier to work with than HMI? Do they output enough light for film work, or are they better suited for digital work? Do the bulbs cost more or burn out quicker?

Would it be better to get one of each (kino and hmi) or just choose one and get 2 of them?

Any advise would be great,

thanks

Phil Rhodes · August 21, 2005

Hi,

It's rather an odd qustion, really, as kinos and HMIs do such completely different things. Kinos are generally a soft source that falls off quite quickly; HMIs are fresnel-hard. What sort of work do you do?

Phil

Timothy Brown · August 21, 2005

Greetings Jason,

I've been tossing around that same question as I'm constantly upgrading and adjusting my kit on a very tight budget. My thoughts, and take them with a grain of salt, are that an HMI is a more versitile solution if you can only afford one unit. Of course there's always the option of a rental, but depending on your needs it "could" be cheaper to own. You can always create a soft source with the HMI by banging it into a silk or board and of course when needed, you can use it as a hard source with a longer throw. A Kino unit will provide a great soft source, I'm assuming you speaking of something like a Foto-flo 400 or a Diva unit, but it won't ever give you a hard option and you'll always have to have it close to the talent. With that being said, I opted for a Kino for now because of budget but am looking forward to buying a 1200 watt HMI in the near future.

Lars.Erik · August 21, 2005

If you want one HMI for daylight shooting, a 1200kw lamp won't give you a lot of punch.

I'd go for a 2500-4000kw HMI lamp if I were you. But then again, I don't know what type of work you do and how you want to use the lamps. A 2500kw through a diffusion (1/2 or 1/1), frame placed close to a window will give you sufficient light.

But this lamp costs about $ 3500.

You can also consider using reflectors. They'll bounce the lights back at the subject soft and nice. If it's a sunny day. On a cloudy day the reflectors won't do much.

A Kino is great because it's so versatile. A lot of times when I've come into problems when lighting, a Kino will in many cases solve the problem. Mainly because of it's rays of light and the many ways you can attach them to ceilings, walls, stands etc. They are also good for fill light outside. They must be quite close to the subject though.

Regarding soft light, Kino is great for that. It won't give you very hard light. A HMI bounced into reflectors will also give soft lights, this light will have a longer reach than the Kino. But it will spill a hell of a lot more. Which you'll need flags to control, which is an extra cost. And then you'll need c-stands. But then again, flags in my opinion are a must when working with HMI. And flags and c-stands don't cost very much to rent, so these can easily be rented from a rental house.

If you could afford it, I'd get a 2500kw HMI and a Kino.

Tim J Durham · August 21, 2005

If you want one HMI for daylight shooting, a 1200kw lamp won't give you a lot of punch.

I'd go for a 2500-4000kw HMI lamp if I were you. But then again, I don't know what type of work you do and how you want to use the lamps. A 2500kw through a diffusion (1/2 or 1/1), frame placed close to a window will give you sufficient light.

But this lamp costs about $ 3500.

If you could afford it, I'd get a 2500kw HMI and a Kino.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whoa, where do you shop?

http://tinyurl.com/beslw

I use 575w and 1200w HMI's all the time and they provide ALOT of "punch" (4x the equivalent tungsten wattage). And a 575w kit is still over $3K. An HMI is more versatile than a Kino, but at 2-3x the cost. Still, you need what you need.

If I were buying, I guess I'd buy a set of Lowel daylight flos:

http://tinyurl.com/akwxc

A little more bang for the buck.

Lars.Erik · August 21, 2005

Whoa, where do you shop?

http://tinyurl.com/beslw

I use 575w and 1200w HMI's all the time and they provide ALOT of "punch" (4x the equivalent tungsten wattage). And a 575w kit is still over $3K. An HMI is more versatile than a Kino, but at 2-3x the cost. Still, you need what you need.

If I were buying, I guess I'd buy a set of Lowel daylight flos:

http://tinyurl.com/akwxc

A little more bang for the buck.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ooops! Sorry, The price I qouted was without ballast etc. Sorry. Early morning I guess. The correct price is in the range of 10K.

Lars.Erik · August 21, 2005

But if you want SOFT light from the HMI, you'll lose a lot of light in the process. And it's ALWAYS a lot easier to have a too strong lamp, and bring it down, than to have a too weak lamp and trying to bring that up.

Jason Banker · August 21, 2005

Well lets say I have $2000 or $3000 to spend on lighting, and my main purpose is to shoot music videos. What should I get?

I understand that HMI's cost alot but sometimes on ebay I see some good deals. Would you trust buying an HMI on ebay?

Also I have read that Kinos can produce both daylight balanced and tungsten balanced, what are they normally balanced for? and are they usually just used for fill lights and room detail work?

Stephen Williams · August 21, 2005

Well lets say I have $2000 or $3000 to spend on lighting, and my main purpose is to shoot music videos. What should I get?

I understand that HMI's cost alot but sometimes on ebay I see some good deals. Would you trust buying an HMI on ebay?

Also I have read that Kinos can produce both daylight balanced and tungsten balanced, what are they normally balanced for? and are they usually just used for fill lights and room detail work?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi,

I would rent HMI's at least for now, then you will know what you need. Kinos can be used for a key, fill and even back lighting!

By changing the tubes they can be Daylight or tungsten. Its up to you, I normally carry both sets of tubes.

Stephen