Tungsten to dupilcate Kino?

[Daniel Tan]

Hey there,

 

Can tungsten lights like Fresenls closely duplicate a Kino flo look on film? Using filters, bounce..etc? How about regular flourescent tubes from Home Depot, they have the correct temperatures(5500K) but I am worried about the flickering effect they have. Can they actually be used?

 

I am curious to find out.

 

Thanks

 

Regards,

Daniel :D

[Mitch Gross]

The flos running on simple magnetic ballasts won't flicker if you run the camera at normal 24fps speed. For off-speed shooting you should use a fixture with a high-frequency electronic ballast. These are also available at your local Home Depot but are more expensive.

 

The soft quality and quick drop off of Kino Flo units can be replicated with other fixtures. Bounce light is even softer, and a diffused fresnel light is directional like a Kino. By moving the diffusion further from the unit and enlarging the diffusion, you can get a similar fall off of exposure with distance. But you quickly can see the advantages of Kinos here, as the rigging can become quite large to replicate the same quality of light.

 

Kino Flo fixtures have only been around for about 20 years now. Before that we seemed to be able to light sets okay without them.