Tyler Bourns
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I recently picked up one of Cool Light's 1200 HMI's and thought I would share my thoughts here as I hadn't seen much about them. Disclosure that this is the first HMI I have owned, although I have worked on sets with them sparingly before as well.
I had long been looking for a way to get a strong focused light source that wouldn’t require a generator to power. HMI’s were of course the first and most obvious choice since LEDs and Fluorescents are great and have their place but just didn’t pack enough punch. Unfortunately price was a hindrance with HMI’s. As a small video production company in Reno, NV, there just weren’t any rental houses locally to rent on a per job basis so as with much of my business, I would need to own one if I wanted to have it as a regularly available tool for my productions. Arri’s 1200 HMI Par being well over $6000 for a kit just couldn’t be justified for the value it would bring to my business, so I needed an affordable solution. After heavily researching other brands and generic ebay knockoffs, reviews everywhere had just been horrible with units arriving broken, poor customer service overseas, etc. So when I found out Cool Lights had an affordable HMI unit available, my interest was high and at just over $3,500 for the kit (Lamp, Headcable, barndoors and Ballast) was financially doable too. However, in the interest in saving some money I found a used unit for sale here on Reduser that I quickly swooped up. It also included a lens kit which I believe Cool Lights offers if you contact them.
The light has been nothing short of fantastic and an incredibly versatile tool for my needs. Although not a small unit, it is quick and easy to setup. The ballast has three options for flicker free, 60hz, and 50hz. There is a small buzz at flicker free that winds down to still audible but very quiet at the other settings. Noise from the unit has not been an issue at all on any of our shoots so far. The ballast also includes a dimmer that takes the light down to almost 50% it seems like. The included headcable is well built, solid and does the job, however at about 10’ long, it is limited, I do wish they offered a longer option (which they might, it’s just not listed on their site). The lamphead is well built with a bulb lock and spot flood dial. I have only owned the unit for a few months but it seems strong and durable for a heavy use environment. The barndoors would slip closed when I first used them but a simple screw tightening has fixed the problem and they now stay in place wherever you set them. In full transparency, when I received my used light, there were some the of the yoke to lamphead washer pieces missing and the lamp head slips just a tad depending on how far you tilt it, but I would imagine this would be a simple remedy with a few washer type pieces… I just haven't had a chance to mess with it yet.
Versatility wise, I have used the light in a huge number of different ways. As a background color splash and moonlight simulation through a window, as a daylight source for an in studio greenscreen shot, as a bounce to bring room ambience up, for outdoor interviews and as just a nice soft talent source when shooting through diffusion. And that’s just in the first few months, so I’d imagine I’ll continue to find many many more uses for my new toy.
So I am very happy with the light itself but where the real value is is in the customer service department. Owner Richard and his team, especially Patrick have some of the best customer service I have come across when working with any company. Anytime I have had a question, concern or problem with either this light or any of their products, they have always been very quick to the call, ensuring I get what I need in time for productions. If something does happen to go wrong or get broken out in the field, I feel great knowing, that I have a reliable place stateside to go to to get things up and running again quickly. This compared to the ebay overseas companies where you are lucky to even get a response…
So in the end, if on a budget, I really can’t recommend this 1200 HMI unit from Cool Lights enough to anyone looking for an affordable but incredibly reliable entry into the market.
I had long been looking for a way to get a strong focused light source that wouldn’t require a generator to power. HMI’s were of course the first and most obvious choice since LEDs and Fluorescents are great and have their place but just didn’t pack enough punch. Unfortunately price was a hindrance with HMI’s. As a small video production company in Reno, NV, there just weren’t any rental houses locally to rent on a per job basis so as with much of my business, I would need to own one if I wanted to have it as a regularly available tool for my productions. Arri’s 1200 HMI Par being well over $6000 for a kit just couldn’t be justified for the value it would bring to my business, so I needed an affordable solution. After heavily researching other brands and generic ebay knockoffs, reviews everywhere had just been horrible with units arriving broken, poor customer service overseas, etc. So when I found out Cool Lights had an affordable HMI unit available, my interest was high and at just over $3,500 for the kit (Lamp, Headcable, barndoors and Ballast) was financially doable too. However, in the interest in saving some money I found a used unit for sale here on Reduser that I quickly swooped up. It also included a lens kit which I believe Cool Lights offers if you contact them.
The light has been nothing short of fantastic and an incredibly versatile tool for my needs. Although not a small unit, it is quick and easy to setup. The ballast has three options for flicker free, 60hz, and 50hz. There is a small buzz at flicker free that winds down to still audible but very quiet at the other settings. Noise from the unit has not been an issue at all on any of our shoots so far. The ballast also includes a dimmer that takes the light down to almost 50% it seems like. The included headcable is well built, solid and does the job, however at about 10’ long, it is limited, I do wish they offered a longer option (which they might, it’s just not listed on their site). The lamphead is well built with a bulb lock and spot flood dial. I have only owned the unit for a few months but it seems strong and durable for a heavy use environment. The barndoors would slip closed when I first used them but a simple screw tightening has fixed the problem and they now stay in place wherever you set them. In full transparency, when I received my used light, there were some the of the yoke to lamphead washer pieces missing and the lamp head slips just a tad depending on how far you tilt it, but I would imagine this would be a simple remedy with a few washer type pieces… I just haven't had a chance to mess with it yet.
Versatility wise, I have used the light in a huge number of different ways. As a background color splash and moonlight simulation through a window, as a daylight source for an in studio greenscreen shot, as a bounce to bring room ambience up, for outdoor interviews and as just a nice soft talent source when shooting through diffusion. And that’s just in the first few months, so I’d imagine I’ll continue to find many many more uses for my new toy.
So I am very happy with the light itself but where the real value is is in the customer service department. Owner Richard and his team, especially Patrick have some of the best customer service I have come across when working with any company. Anytime I have had a question, concern or problem with either this light or any of their products, they have always been very quick to the call, ensuring I get what I need in time for productions. If something does happen to go wrong or get broken out in the field, I feel great knowing, that I have a reliable place stateside to go to to get things up and running again quickly. This compared to the ebay overseas companies where you are lucky to even get a response…
So in the end, if on a budget, I really can’t recommend this 1200 HMI unit from Cool Lights enough to anyone looking for an affordable but incredibly reliable entry into the market.
