CAME-TV Chinese 1200 Watt HMI - Video Review

[Tommy Kraft]

Hello, everyone!

Anyone who's really wanted to get into using some bright lights but hasn't wanted to pay upwards of $7,000 for an Arri HMI has probably looked at all those tantalizing knockoff HMIs on Ebay. I picked up this light about a month ago now. There were virtually no reviews online so it was a scary process, but turned out to be well worth it. I've documented my full experience and reviewed the quality of this light for anyone who's interested in getting some cheap HMI lighting or just is new to HMI lighting in general.

I also have to give Dennis Hingsberg a shoutout. He originally recommended me to photolight and has also been very happy with their 575 watt HMI, so that's two people happy with them!

If you're interested, check it out and let me know what you think or if you have any questions! Also, it's been pointed out to me that I kind of goofed on the power calculations. I'm still learning that bit

- Tommy

 

[Josh Tyron]

Hi Tommy. Thanks for taking the plunge. I was wondering when someone would get around to doing a full review. What I am really interested in is how it holds up over time. Please check in and keep us updated from time to time.

 

[Tommy Kraft]

Thanks, Josh! Will do. By the way, I see you're in Michigan. I'm in the Jackson area myself, cool to see a fellow Michigander on here! Must be nice living so close to Lowing Light and Grip! If I lived there I'd just rent the Arri HMIs.

 

[Les Hillis]

Nice review Tommy, thanks.

 

[Tommy Kraft]

Nice review Tommy, thanks.

Thanks, Les! Glad you enjoyed it

 

[Paul Dean]

Hello, everyone!
.... it's been pointed out to me that I kind of goofed on the power calculations. I'm still learning that bit

What’s the problem with your math – it seems correct to me. What’s suspect is the reading of the Kill-a-Watt meter it is based upon. It takes a true RMS Clamp meter that costs hundreds of dollars to read HMIs accurately, so I doubt a $25 Kill-a-Watt meter will give accurate Amp readings. I suspect that the power factor is much worse than indicated – probably closer to .65.

Unfortunately, in this world you generally get what you pay for. I have read on other forums that users of these lights have had difficulty operating them on portable generators where they had no problem on wall power. That’s because the harmonic currents drawn by non-pfc ballasts interact with the high impedance of portable generators to create voltage waveform distortion that can cause the HMIs to cut out. I have also heard that these ballasts will trip GFCIs - but that is true of most HMIs and Kinos. Film style GFCIs, like Shock Stops, that filter the noise generated by electronic ballasts are required for reliable ground fault protection with these lights.

Paul Dean

 

[Tommy Kraft]

What’s the problem with your math – it seems correct to me. What’s suspect is the reading of the Kill-a-Watt meter it is based upon. It takes a true RMS Clamp meter that costs hundreds of dollars to read HMIs accurately, so I doubt a $25 Kill-a-Watt meter will give accurate Amp readings. I suspect that the power factor is much worse than indicated – probably closer to .65.

Unfortunately, in this world you generally get what you pay for. I have read on other forums that users of these lights have had difficulty operating them on portable generators where they had no problem on wall power. That’s because the harmonic currents drawn by non-pfc ballasts interact with the high impedance of portable generators to create voltage waveform distortion that can cause the HMIs to cut out. I have also heard that these ballasts will trip GFCIs - but that is true of most HMIs and Kinos. Film style GFCIs, like Shock Stops, that filter the noise generated by electronic ballasts are required for reliable ground fault protection with these lights.

Paul Dean

Well, apparently taking voltage*amperage gives you the voltamps and not the actual wattage. To be fair, my Kill-A-Watt reads 1040 watts on the HMI at 12.5ish amps. So something isn't adding up. I don't know, I've heard conflicting things from various people, including on whether or not the kill-a-watt is a decent device. It's worked for me previously and seems that it'd be decent enough to give you fairly accurate numbers on other more predictable appliances.

I have plugged the light into a few GFCI outlets with no issue so far. Mainly the outlets on the outside of my house. I do expect though, like you said, to have issues running this off a genny (but haven't tried it). If I really needed generator-powered HMI, I'd either bite the bullet and do the 6 hour drive (3 hours 2 ways, 2 trips) to rent an Arri or pickup the more expensive Chinese model that is power factor corrected.

There are certainly situations where this cheaper HMI won't work, of course that's true. But there's a ton of situations where I'm sure glad I'll have it when I need it.

 

[Gene Sung]

Sorta similar topic, but a little off.

I believe I've read that (correct me if I'm wrong) quality HMIs like the Arri M18 can run without a Ballast and just plug into the wall, but have the option of using a Ballast as well.

What exactly does a ballast (or in general) do for the M18, if that model can plug directly into the wall? Does the ballast provided a way to have flicker free lighting at higher frame rates?

 

[Jake Wilganowski]

That is incorrect. You have to have the ballast. It's the power supply. When people say "you can just plug it into the wall" they mean the ballast.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

Tommy - This was a helpful review and easy to stay with. Specifically, I have seen so many "shoot from the hip" reviews like this where the reviewer just rambles. Despite the fact that you clearly weren't working from a script, your running commentary was always relevant and interesting. Good job.

Note: The ballast on this light is most definitely not optional. lol I can't cite the specific technical aspects (I am not that articulate about electrical matters!) but the ballast is what pushes the electrical power up to the level that can drive the lamp at that illumination.

 

[Les Hillis]

Here are a couple of short but informative articles about HMI's and ballasts -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrargyrum_medium-arc_iodide_lamp

http://www.lightlineelectronics.com/faq_hmi.html


As Terry and Jake said, the ballasts are required to boost the voltage to a level that can start up the lamp and then maintain a consistent supply of power to it.

When people refer to a powerful light having the advantage of being able to be plugged into the wall, they can also be referring to the light being just under the limit of what you can plug into a domestic power-socket before blowing or tripping a fuse/circuit-breaker in the house/building.

 

[Tommy Kraft]

Tommy - This was a helpful review and easy to stay with. Specifically, I have seen so many "shoot from the hip" reviews like this where the reviewer just rambles. Despite the fact that you clearly weren't working from a script, your running commentary was always relevant and interesting. Good job.

Note: The ballast on this light is most definitely not optional. lol I can't cite the specific technical aspects (I am not that articulate about electrical matters!) but the ballast is what pushes the electrical power up to the level that can drive the lamp at that illumination.

Thanks, Terry! That's very nice of you to say. I'm glad you found it so easy to follow and informative! I think I have also seen too many of those reviews and tried my darndest to avoid that

 

[Noel R.]

Sorta similar topic, but a little off.

I believe I've read that (correct me if I'm wrong) quality HMIs like the Arri M18 can run without a Ballast and just plug into the wall, but have the option of using a Ballast as well.

What exactly does a ballast (or in general) do for the M18, if that model can plug directly into the wall? Does the ballast provided a way to have flicker free lighting at higher frame rates?

All HMIs require a ballast, the Arri M18 is considered the highest powered light with the most amount of light output you can plug into a wall, but that is with a ballast, this is because any other light that would require more power will pop a breaker. This isn't always the case, some outlets are rated to provide less current, so the M18 could still pop a breaker, but in general it doesn't . HMI's require a very high voltage to fire, then a lower but still high voltage to continue staying lit. It's basically pulsing high voltage rapidly to the bulb giving the illusion of a light that stays on continuously. Some lights don't pulse fast enough for high frame rates, so you get a strobing effect. For regular frame rates they look just fine.

You also have lights that are Hot Restrike and Cold Restrike. When a bulb is hot it requires a much higher level of voltage for the initial firing. A Cold Restrike ballast can't do this so it doesn't fire hot, but the ballast will keep trying till the bulb goes POOF like you saw in this video. This is why it's important to wait about 15 minutes for the bulb to cool.

 

[todd k]

Great review and fantastic sweatshirt. Have you taken light measurements and compared with arri's photometrics?

 

[Tommy Kraft]

Great review and fantastic sweatshirt. Have you taken light measurements and compared with arri's photometrics?

Thank you! I'm pretty proud of that sweatshirt, so I'm glad you like it. Glad you like the review too I've been meaning to take out my lux meter and do some measurements but haven't had a chance yet. Either way, I don't have access to an Arri unit so I won't be able to directly compare the two, sadly. The problem is I live a 3 hour round trip from a rental house that rents HMI, which is ultimately why I decided to buy the Chinese unit.

It may indeed not measure up to the Arri standards, but at this price point that doesn't bother me at all if that's the case.

 

[todd k]

You've already been very generous with your time and money, can't ask you to spend more of either. I was talking about the arri calculator.

http://calc.arri.de/calculator

 

[Paul Dean]

... the Arri M18 is considered the highest powered light with the most amount of light output you can plug into a wall, but that is with a ballast, this is because any other light that would require more power will pop a breaker. This isn't always the case, some outlets are rated to provide less current, so the M18 could still pop a breaker, but in general it doesn't . HMI's require a very high voltage to fire, then a lower but still high voltage to continue staying lit. It's basically pulsing high voltage rapidly to the bulb giving the illusion of a light that stays on continuously.

This statement is a little misleading: while the M18 does strike the globe at a high voltage, the actual current draw at strike is very low and then gradually builds to its’ steady state load.

When the Arrimax 1800 first came out there was a lot of discussion on these boards (http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?55400-Daylight-Source-Question) regarding whether the Arri M18 can operate off a standard wall outlet. With an Apparent Power of 2250VA, it will draw 19.5 amps at 115V and will always trip the common 15amp house circuit and will trip a 20 Amp circuit if there is something else, like a computer or light, on the same circuit. Where you can't always know what else is on the same circuit, or even if it is a 20 or 15 Amp circuit, it is risky to plug the Baby Max into the wall.

The same is true of operating them on the 20A circuits of portable putt-putt generators. It has been my experience that more often than not on long cable runs from generators the stinger plug-end on the ballast overheats because most are only rated for 15 Amps. To the problem overheating plug ends, you have the added problem that as you add load on portable generators their voltage output drops. It is not uncommon for a generator to drop 10-15 volts under full load. The 1800W ballast that drew 19.5 Amps at 115 Volts will draw 21.4 Amps at 105 Volts. Where the M18s operate right on the threshold of a 20A circuit to begin with, this extra current draw may cause it to pop breakers.

I have found the best approach is to use one of those 7500W Honda EU6500s with a transformer/distro. The transformer steps down the 240V output of the generator to a single 60A/120V circuit that is more than capable of powering an M18. For more details, google “powering Arri M18s on generators.” There is a mess of information available on line.

Paul Dean

 

[Osman F Arslan]

Hi Tommy,
I came here from your youtube video. I am in need of a light like this. I just moved to Canada, close to Vermont border from New York City. I was wondering how was your experience with this light. I would really appreciate it because I don't want to throw a few thousand dollars without hearing from you. I have lots of soft lights, tubes, litemats etc but not a powerful hard light. Please let me know if you can. Thank you.