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Anyone have any experience with Joker-Bug HMIs?


Guest Terry Lasater

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Guest Terry Lasater

I've noticed these units on sets lately but haven't got to work with them directly.

 

I'm thinking about purchasing one of the kits that has two of the Joker-Bug 400W HMIs.

 

Does anyone have any opinions (positive or negative) about these lights? They seem more versatile than, say, the DigiMoles because of their accessories, etc.

 

Thanks in advance for your input,

Terry Lasater

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Guest Terry Lasater

Thanks for the reply Mitch. What are the quirks in the Joker-Bugs you mentioned?

 

What are your thoughts about getting a 2 light Joker-Bug kit versus getting a pair of Kinos - in terms of versatility, ease of use, transporting, etc.?

 

You may ask what type of work I'll be using these lights for. Well, several things... corporate vids, commercials, 24P video features and the rare film gig.

 

BTW, Have you used the K5600 Blackjack?

 

Thanks for any and all input,

Terry

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Thanks for the reply Mitch. What are the quirks in the Joker-Bugs you mentioned?

 

What are your thoughts about getting a 2 light Joker-Bug kit versus getting a pair of Kinos - in terms of versatility, ease of use, transporting, etc.?

 

You may ask what type of work I'll be using these lights for. Well, several things... corporate vids, commercials, 24P video features and the rare film gig.

 

BTW, Have you used the K5600 Blackjack?

 

Thanks for any and all input,

Terry

Quirks are mainly the erector-set construction style that has you popping sections on and off to switch the lights from one function to another. They simply wok differently than other style lights. Hand them to crew people used to dealing with standard fixtures and they'll be a little slow. Same problem as Lowel lights but an entirely different construction style.

 

The Jokers are certainly more versatile than Kinos, although Kinos are so simple to use that they have to win in that regard. Transporting is probably easier with the Jokers as well since Kinos in their coffin cases are so huge. But the Jokers will cost you a lot more.

 

But you should also understand that there are a lot of other choices out there for lighting fixtures. I don't know why you'd be comparing Jokers with Kinos--they are sucharadically different units. For the same range of money you could get a large Arri tungsten kit with a number of fixtures and accessories that would probably be a lot more useful for general purpose photography.

 

I don't think I've used the Blackjack.

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Guest Terry Lasater

Thanks again Mitch for your reply.

 

The reason I'm researching HMIs and fluorescents is to expand my capabilities. I already own some Arri tungsten fixtures... (2) 300W fresnels, (2) 650W fresnels, (1) 2K Soft light, Lowell Tota kit, Lowell DP w/Chimera, C-Stands, flags, nets, mafers, sandbags, etc., etc.

 

But to add some sweet li'l HMIs or Kinos to my collection would be the shizzle!

 

I realize the Kinos are capable of delivering a nice soft light but they seem awkward and hard to fit in tight spots.

 

I don't meant to COMPARE HMIs to fluorescents. Eventually, I plan to have both. It's more of a personal dilemna trying to determine which I should go after first.

 

As you can see I'm leaning toward the HMIs first.

 

Thanks again for the input,

Terry

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Well the Kinos can be big and hard to work with. But don?t forget that you can take the entire unit apart. Use a single tube on its own, or 4 in the fixtures body.

 

Another thing is that the Kinos don?t have much punch to them.

 

If you already have a soft box, I would lean towards the Jokers (assuming money is no object).

 

Kevin Zanit

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I think these are excellent lighting units. When placed in Source 4 housings they can be very powerful lights for the wattage. They are especially great for location work because of their compact size. You can use chimeras with them, you can put them in china balls, and they're great for process trailer work... A favorite use for them of mine is to put them in a 26 degree source 4 and bounce it in to some show card in a tough to reach spot-- often easier and faster than rigging a light. I've considered buying these... but I'm broke.

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Guest Terry Lasater

Thanks for the input Kevin and PMarschall. I really like the tip about using the Joker-Bug on a Source 4 and bouncing off show card for a tough to reach spot, PM.

 

You don't mind if I call you 'PM' do you, PM? B)

 

Has anyone used the Blackjack 400 from K5600? It looks like a sweet fixture.

http://www.k5600.com/Products/bj400/index.html

 

 

PM, I hear you about the financial situation. I'll have to finance about 80% of the kit but I don't believe I would regret it. What the heck! I'll just drive my paid-for Jeep Cherokee another 3 years. ;)

 

Actually, once you've made financial arrangements the toughest part is determining what kit to purchase... there's so many options and accessory possibilities. The Softube looks like it will allow you to create some interesting fluorescent-like soft fill.

 

The more I think about it the more I know I want a nice portable HMI package.

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Guest Terry Lasater

I've not had any experience with the Arri pocket Par.

 

However, one of the unique advantages to the Joker-Bug Pars is their versatility. They have removable 'Beamers' (reflectors) that allow the fixture to be put in 'Bug' mode for use in Chimera lanterns, etc.

 

The 400W 2-light kit comes with two small Chimera softbanks each with three different densities of diffusion cloth included.

 

They also have an accessory item called a 'Softube' that attaches to the front of the fixture and looks like a light sabre sticking out of the fixture... well, more like a fat fluorescent tube.

 

If you're curious, just check out http://www.k5600.com. They also have a sweet li'l 400W HMI fresnel called a BlackJack that you will see on their homepage.

 

Be sure to click on the "Testimonials" link at the top of the page to see examples of Joker-Bugs in use.

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The Pocket Par is terrific for what it does--great, solid design. And it easily runs off battery power. The Joker bug is also a nice design and is more versatile. But it's versatility means that it's a little more fragile and a little less effective as a PAR light. Not a huge difference and it's plenty rugged as an owner-operator light, but a Pocket Par is probably a better item for a rental situation.

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Guest Terry Lasater

Hi Mitch,

 

I key-gripped a Super 16 film shoot for a hospital the other day and finally got to use a set of the Joker-Bug 400W Pars... along with a 1200W ArriSun fresnel, and two 4-tube, 4 foot Kino Flo banks.

 

I was very happy with what they could do, how lightweight they were and how quickly you could set them up.

 

Granted, we never took the reflectors off so I didn't get a feel for how much more time that change-out would require.

 

I think it's a nice, versatile, portable kit. I plan to buy one. I'd also like to get a few Kinos to complement the Jokers.

 

Do you recommend any particular model of Kino to go with the Joker-Bugs? I was thinking maybe a couple of Divas?... 200W or 400W?

 

thanks,

Terry

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Dear Mitch

 

Perhaps you have in mind the Pocket Par 125? There is now also the 200 and 400W PAR and Lite versions which are rather more versatile.

 

I am not sure about the etiquette of listing the features here - I did not want to use the forum to advertise - but you can see the range on the arri.com website, including a brochure in the downloads section.

 

Regards

 

Andy Barnett

 

ARRI GB

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Do you recommend any particular model of Kino to go with the Joker-Bugs? I was thinking maybe a couple of Divas?... 200W or 400W?

Just depends on how portable you want the Kinos. I tend to use the bigger units like the 4x4 or even the Wall-o-lights. The Diva 400w is a nice all-in-one unit, although you should check out other manufacturers such as Pampalite and even the Lowel Caselights to compare to Divas. They all use the same bulbs and are of fairly similar designs.

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Perhaps you have in mind the Pocket Par 125? There is now also the 200 and 400W PAR and Lite versions which are rather more versatile.

You're right. I'll check out the web link. And listing some basic product info is within ettiquette, even straight from Arri.

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A PAR light uses a Parabolic reflector behind the filament to concentrate the light outwards in one general direction. It is akin to a car headlight. A fresnel lensed light is a lamp that has a fresnel lens in front of the filament to control the direction of the light's output. These types of lamps are available both in both tungsten and HMI units.

 

Describing a fresnel lens can be difficult in text. You may want to do a websearch for illustrations but here goes: Picture a lens where one side is flat (the side facing the filament) and the other side bulges out in the center. Along the edges it is very thin but it gets very thick in the middle. This is called a convex lens and by changing the distance between the bulb and the lens you can project various sized circles of light very efficiently. The problem with a convex lens is that it needs to be very thick, so it is heavy and fragile, and can easily crack due to the heating and cooling from turning on and off the light. So think of the lens in profile, lying with the flat side on a table. Slice the light into a number of layers like a cake sitting on this table. Now imagine that you can squish this lens onto the table so that all the overlapping sections of the cake disappear. The parts that don't overlap are left behind (concentric rings), but the thick middle gets compressed the most. You are left with a lens of uniform thickness, but with a series of concentric rings that are like scalloped edges until you arrive at the center with a small convex bump. This is what a fresnel lens looks like. While it is not quite as optically pure as a true convex lens, it retains most of the optical properties while being thin enough and sturdy enough to work in a light fixture.

 

Hope this makes sense.

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A PAR is a highly efficient narrow angle unit. With most types you have can increase the beam angle from its natural 5 degrees or so by using additional spreader lenses. Normallly an MSR type PAR is supplied with a set of lenses.

 

A Fresnel is basically a wide angle spotlight. It is less efficient than a PAR though you can adjust the beam angle from spot to flood over a wide range typically 10-60 degrees, although it is not very efficient on spot.

 

The quality of light is very different. A Fresnel is a soft point source and can be controlled easily with barndoors. With a PAR, the light is coming from the whole reflector so to control it you need to use flags some distance away.

 

Regards

 

Andy Barnett

 

ARRI GB.

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