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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Group Buy: Budget CRI 95 LED Strip Lights

Agreed! Very fast communication. Amazing job Brandon

I also agree. Brandon has done a great job. Thank you!

Actually, I have to admit that this whole thing has made me very curious about his film Hybrid Vigor. By having paid for the lights through his Hybrid Vigor LLC I feel somehow part of it :smiley: I hope I get to see it.

http://www.hybridvigorfilm.com
 
Thanks for the kind words guys. I've been a part of several group buys and I want to make sure this one goes as smoothly as possible.

The money has been transferred for the lights and as soon as it arrives production begins. The balance will need to be paid before they will ship them, so if you have an unpaid invoice please try to take care of it this week. If you need a little bit longer just email me, so I know when to expect it.

The first batch of controllers should arrive in the next couple days.

I'm really excited to get these lights out to everyone. I'll be using these all throughout the rest of the film I'm working on as well.
 
Wow, missed such a gret deal.

Brandon, if anyone doesn't claim theirs, let me know!

I'm in for 2 Ds and 2 Ts.
 
Wow, missed such a gret deal.

Brandon, if anyone doesn't claim theirs, let me know!

PM me your email, Zhen.

If any of you reading this missed out on this deal PM me your email. If anything becomes available due to non-payment it's yours...
 
Can we please lock our final shipping date
 
Can we please lock our final shipping date

Not yet. There are too many variables that are out of my control. As I said in the confirmation email everyone got:

Once everyone pays, it will take approximately 14 days for our lights and controllers to be made.

We are still waiting on some people to pay, but things are already moving. The first batch of controllers are in QC and our run of strip lights should start on Monday or Tuesday.

And as I said yesterday...

Orders should start shipping in 2 weeks. Maybe less.

I'll keep everyone updated here as things progress.
 
I'll be on location shooting for a bit, but I'm going to order a few supplies to put this kit together. Looking forward to using these. Been wanting to make a china ball with a bit more control for a while. Just need to figure out the V-Mount/D-Tap stuff.
 
Disregard my earlier (now deleted) message. It will be 10 amps.

We have over 700lbs (320kg) of power supplies being shipped next week. Crazy...
 
How about a group buy Phil? LOL

I'll be on location shooting for a bit, but I'm going to order a few supplies to put this kit together. Looking forward to using these. Been wanting to make a china ball with a bit more control for a while. Just need to figure out the V-Mount/D-Tap stuff.
 
How about a group buy Phil? LOL

Heh. Likely not. i'm going to do some weird stuff with these and I imagine everybody else will too.

I've had a couple ideas about rigging some location "helpers" up though. Near camera china balls are nothing new and I've been using high powered CFLs in those lately, but they are glass and I have to use wire to make sure the wait of the bulb doesn't rip itself out of the socket during moderate use. That won't be a problem here obviously. Really curious about he controllers and dimmers as well as powering via bricks.

A bit of tinkering, but the possibilities are neat.
 
Disregard my earlier (now deleted) message. It will be 10 amps.

My question would be, what are the dimmers/controllers rated for? I'm assuming I won't be able run a whole strip off of one dimmer, and I'm sure most people will cut them up into their own little project. But I'm just wondering about those guys who ordered bi-colour strips who may end up sparking them up right away when they get them and possibly burning out their controllers right away. That is, of course if they are not rated for 10 amps, which they might be. Just thought I'd check in.
 
My question would be, what are the dimmers/controllers rated for? I'm assuming I won't be able run a whole strip off of one dimmer, and I'm sure most people will cut them up into their own little project. But I'm just wondering about those guys who ordered bi-colour strips who may end up sparking them up right away when they get them and possibly burning out their controllers right away.

They are rated for 9 amps and can power an entire strip. I know with cheap dimmers/controllers this can be a problem.
 
I mentioned before there is a "one more thing" coming. It looks like it may not be only 1 surprise. Stay tuned...

Excellent...Brandon really thought this thing all out thoroughly....from A to ZZZ...

Trying my best to. I've put a lot of work into this.
 
Trying my best to. I've put a lot of work into this.

You're doing a great job. Even got my butt to get you payment after an 18 hour day. Thanks for doing the leg work here. GBs can spiral into much more work than they appear.
 
I'm gaffer and not really a reduser. But I really started liking this new LED technology, and a lot of the DP's I work for like them as well. Here's somethings I learned from using Litegear's LEDs.

Ebay has tons of cheap useful accessories.(especially the stores that ship from china, with free shipping!)

Don't buy in to buying those cheap 2$ dimmers. They flicker.(I tried a handful of different kinds)

I just bought some 2 pin solderless connectors.(Haven't tried them yet) So you can basically cut up the strips and if needed re-connect them. I also bought some 2Pin to 2.1mm connectors. So once again, after you cut your strip you can quickly wire it up without soldering. (I think they were also offered in the group buy)

I recommend buying a handful of 2.1mm connectors for those who ordered single colour LEDs. I recommend getting the ones that you don't need to solder.(The black and green style connectors) you can get like 20 packs for 12$ on ebay. And basically you just use a screw driver to keep the wire in place.

Buy a spool of 18/2 wire and some wire strippers and you can make all sort of extension cords. I made a kit, so I have 2', 4',6',10',15'. I would recommend soldering the stripped tips of your wire if you plan to make your extension cords more permanent. Over time the wire gets flexible and will slip out of the connectors.

If you end up cutting them up, and you need power supplies, make sure you use the proper power supply. I have some smaller power supplies(2 amps) and some larger ones(10Amps). Some large ones have fans. It's about 0.5 Amps per foot.

If you buy splitters, I recommend spending a few extra dollars rather than getting the cheapest kind. They short out once in awhile and cause the lights to turn off and on. (Can cause problems when used in a car and it hits a bump)

LED Aluminum profiles are really cool. I bought pre-made ones from Litegear. but they are super easy to make. Very nice quality of light. Great to replace those micro flo/mino flo kinos! Even 15" Kinos.

Lots of power options. You can get 8AA battery holder with a 2.1MM connector. You can buy rechargeable 12V battery. P-Tap to 2.1MM jack(small HD ones were slightly too lose in my mind). Cigarette lighter to 2.1MM. AC/DC Adapters. A A23 battery and holder for those extra compact lights(Great something being handheld, such as a glowing prop!) I built my own battery in a small pelican, with 4 Pin, 2.1MM jack, and cigarette lighter socket. So I can run my 1'X1' Panel off of it(4Pin) and my LED strips, and if needed a small inverter. I also bought a cheap V-Mount and Anton Bauer plate with 2 bare wires and put a connector on it, incase the camera dept's batteries don't have P-Tap.

The possibilities with this stuff is pretty limitless.

In my LED strip kit, I bought a DMX 4 Ch dimmer(Litegear), and a pocket sized DMX controller(Baxter) and currently waiting for a wireless DMX transceiver to come in. And now I can control all the lighting of an interior of a car without having to reach over actors/actresses to reach the ballasts of kino. Or I don't have to hide a DC supply, 4 ballasts, and 10' of head cable slack under seats. Depending on how reliable the transceiver is, you could possibly do interactive lighting while in the follow vehicle.

Another super useful application that I used these strips in, is when you have a practical that doesn't turn on. Or if you want control over it for dimming. I've quickly stuck them into those garden solar LED lanterns. They're great in elevators(especially when they have to move up floors, just tape the battery to the ceiling!) I can also see these being handy to glow a curtain when you can't get a light outside the window when you are 20 floors up.
 
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