Choosing A Lighting Kit

Which lighting kit is right for me?

Which lighting kit is right for me: Fluorescent, Tungsten, Flash, or LED? This is without surprise the most asked question we encounter on a daily basis.

First identify which type of image acquisition you will be doing. Filmmaking, Videography, Interviews, Chroma Key, Indoor Product Shots, Portraits, Still Photography, and Stage Lighting all have very different requirements for optimal results.

There are two types of production lighting. Continuous and Flash/Strobe which as theirs names describe create either a constant always-on light source or a quick burst of bright light.

There are basically two Kelvin Temperatures (whiteness of light) used in Production Lighting. Tungsten/Halogen at 3200 degrees Kelvin referred to as “Indoor”, and Daylight or “Outdoor” at 5600 degrees Kelvin which are available in several different bulb methods.

The Halogen bulbs you get at a hardware store are NOT production accurate temperatures, usually around 2700 K for Halogen, and most of the new Edison based fluorescent bulbs are under 4800 K, so don’t count on using a big-box hardware store as a supplier for bulbs at this time. Always buy bulbs from a production lighting supplier.

Daylight Kelvin temperature bulbs offer the best lighting source you can get due to their broad color spectrum. Flash/Strobe lighting delivers a burst of daylight temperature light. Somewhere between 5000 and 6500 degree’s Kelvin. Achieving Continuous lighting at the same color spectrum as the sun has traditionally been a costly proposition and was historically achieved with very expensive special bulbs systems called HMI.

Tungsten/Halogen lighting at 3200 Degrees Kelvin has become the industry standard for decades now because of it’s affordability. However, while very usable at 3200 K a tungsten/halogen source does not produce as wide a contrast dynamic range or color spectrum as 5600 K daylight temperature sources.

Recently Daylight Temperature Fluorescent bulbs have been invented which have changed everything, because you can now get all of the advantages of the daylight color spectrum in a continuous soft lighting source for the same price as Tungsten/Halogen lighting. Daylight Temperature Fluorescent Systems serve the Still Photographer and the Videographer in a single kit so for the most part Flash/Strobe systems are obsolete.

Heat and Power consumption – A typical 20 amp circut breaker in your fuse box can handle a draw of about 2500 watts safely without blowing. A Tungsten bulbs brightness has traditionally been associated with the amount of electrical current it uses e.g. 1K or 2K (1000 or 2000 Watts). All Tungsten/Halogen bulbs get very hot. So hot in fact that extreme caution must be used when using them to avoid serious accidents. Tungsten lighting will heat up a studio as fast as any portable heater. Additionally, Tungsten/Halogen bulbs require a substantial amount of electrical current to work properly. But keep in mind that these types of bulbs have been in use for many decades now so with proper handling Tungsten bulbs do a great job for Movie Makers and Videographers.

Fluorescent Bulbs on the other hand are extremely efficient. They produce light using only 1/4th the electrical current of Tungsten/Halogen lighting. This has many benefits especially with regard to heat generation. Fluorescent lighting remains completely cool indefinitely. This means that Fluorescent Bulbs last a very long time while Tungsten bulbs will require replacing much more often because of the dramatic heating and cooling that takes place with every use. Fluorescent bulbs are now available in Daylight Kelvin temperatures which is great news for almost every type of image acquisition there is.

Finally we need to mention LED production lighting. It is widely speculated that LED will become the prominent technology for continuous lighting and frankly the only thing prohibiting that from happening today is their current high price. But as with anything electronic that will surly change in the years to come.

At this time there are a very limited number of suppliers that offer truly professional solutions for production LED fixtures. Brands like LEDz, LITE Panels, and LITE Pads from Rosco are the only true professional solutions on the market today.
As with all production lighting fixtures and technologies each of these brands offer unique characteristics making them ideal for certain situation. But hands down LED sources are the way to go. No bulbs what so ever, negligible heat generation, almost not power consumption allowing for ease of battery powering, and seldom mentioned is their resistance to moisture.

Never having to worry about breaking or replacing a bulb alone makes LED worth their price.

In closing, there is no “one-size-fits-all” with regards to production lighting technologies or fixtures. The best lighting kit is generally one that has a variety fixture types and technologies. And lets not forget about accessories. Filters, Stands, Stand-Weights, Boom Stands, Flags, Reflectors etc., are all must-have items to create a well designed lighting kit that will allow you the flexibility to take on any lighting project regardless of the type of acquisition you are into.