Your choices for practical light bulbs

Marc-Andr · March 24, 2015

Hey guys, I was wondering what are your preferences for practical lights bulbs. Do you use standard 2500k incandescent bulbs or do you try to match 3200k? Or both depending of the look wanted.

I know that Kino Flo makes 3200k CFL bulbs for practicals but they're pretty expensive. Personnally I found some Globe brand 3200k halogen screw bulbs and they look really nice. I also bought a few 150w and 250w 3200k halogen bulbs like that http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/854069-REG/Sunlite_03055_250T10_Frosted_Halogen_Double.htmlto use in clamp lights since I only have smaller than a 1k fresnel Arri, which is pretty heavy and overkill to scrim down too much.

Do some of you use photoflood incandescent bulbs for practicals? The fact that they burn out very quickly would make them very annoying, no?

Albion Hockney · March 24, 2015

I generally use normal bulbs, it would depend on the project, but in most situations I like the warmer bulbs and generally light interiors warmer if lit by lamps/house hold lights.

Marc-Andr · March 24, 2015

Do you also use regular incandescent bulbs on practicals that light the talent or only on the practicals that are more "decorative"?

Michael LaVoie · March 24, 2015

I use normal household bulbs in practicals. Soft white 40 and 60s. Sometimes a 25. It's often good to keep an assortment on hand as well as some dimmers. Keeping in mind they warm up when you dim them and also can make a little bit of a hum, which is why you want various wattages to avoid the need for dimming.

Adrian Sierkowski · March 25, 2015

Depends on what I'm doing. Currently I have these in my kit all the time

100W Teflon Coated Contractor Bulbs

75W Frosted

60W Frosted

40W Clear

60W Halogen Clear (equiv watt)

40W Halogen Clear

100W Equiv Cree LED 5600K

23W Kino 5600K PigTail Bulb

PAR 38 RED

PAR 38 Clear 100W

PAR 38 Frosted 100W

And a whole bunch of other things. Normally I carry a few Photofloods as well but I don't like the ones you typically find in LA and all my other ones are dead.

25W bulbs are also a god-send, but I"m out of them currently.

I also keep meaning to play with the GE Reveal Bulbs, which to eye look odd, but could be interesting in camera.

Albion Hockney · March 25, 2015

I use normal bulbs for everything, yea lighting talent for sure ...they are just warmer (no green/magenta concerns ...its like tossing 1/4 or half cto on something). Yes dimmers are also very important. I generally don't go much smaller then 60W bulbs if I can get them on dimmers. I find that for practicals in frame you really want to dial the brightness just right to look good on camera. Haven't had much problem with hum ....maybe in a really quiet scene? I generally wind up using1000w dimmers though ...maybe the litte ones are worse?

Adrian, didn't know about teflon coated bulbs saw that and looked it up. Awesome, I have cases of bulbs that are kinda protected but I shatter a couple on every shoot.

I donno about those reveal bulbs, isn't that the one with the slight blue coating?

Does anyone know if you can get 15 or 25W bulbs in the normal full size bulb housing? Always a problem for me when you have to put a bare bulb in frame at real low brightness and can't get a dimmer on it.

I have a full on bulb collection. Lot's of weird low wattage bulbs for putting in frame or specialty use some with painted or tinted glass, those long filament bulbs...did a bar scene once and filed the talent with an array of those painted flood bulbs (barley put out any light, but come in any color you want)... I also really like the low wattage Par bulbs (smaller then par 38, the really little ones).

Edited March 25, 2015 by Albion Hockney

Adrian Sierkowski · March 25, 2015

You can certainly get 25s in roughly a "normal" size. i think they may be slightly smaller, but basically the same as a typical bulb.

Yes, the Reveals have a purple/magenta/blueish coating--- I also don't know about them-- so might as well buy some and see. If not, Hell I have outside lights which will eventually burn out at home lol.

Oh yes; I forgot about the tube bulbs (or as I call it the Pe*** bulbs) Very useful, and I keep a few of those around, I think I have 15/25 and 60? But haven't pulled them out in a long while.