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Hive PLasma lighting Vrs HMI (Video)

Thanks for posting this, I've been looking pretty hard at Hive Lights. I bet we could get them on board with a GB, though Id really like to hear someone's on set experience with them, and understand how they are going to be evolving.
 
Excellent! I've been looking at the PARs, did you buy the Maxi set? I've watched a few videos of the creator talking about them, but I'm keen to hear your unaffiliated (i assume) voice.

Feel free to answer all, any, or none of the following questions.
How is construction? The hardware surrounding the lights looks rather homegrown to me, which I like if it means easy repairs. Are they built to last? Could I rent them out?
How big/heavy is the case fully loaded? Will it fly?
They're 550w as a set, are they really putting out enough light to replace traditional fixtures? I'm gathering that each PAR is looking to replace a 575. Have you heard if there are any bigger fixtures coming?
Restrike time? Warmup time?

How hot do they run? Can you hang them at any angle? How does the adjustable Color Temp perform? Have you had any issues so far?

I've got more q's, but have to run. THANK YOU for any answers.
 
Hmmm that's a lot of questions!!

Well ill first let me say that I got 2 wasps, with independent AC/DC power supplies. I did this so I could run them separately on battery power.
I have the double header here.. The build on these things is so that they can get stacked together in sections of 2,4,and 6

the 275w par is VERY punchy, and can easily go toe to toe with a 400w joker.

The build is solid, the color dial works very well. Day light to moonlight which is pretty cool. A source 4 barrel works really good on these you can cut them and focus them really well
umm what else..the rental part, I find people love them once they work with them. I've had them out on a few commercials, and a few broadcast gigs and got a positive response.
 
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Just watched the BTS! Gives a great sense of how these can be used. I love the small footprint, stacking, and battery possibilities. Thanks for posting and answering the questions.
 
Re the hmi vs hive video, that's not particularly fair. A flicker free hmi should not be doing that. Sure there are half a dozen ways to get one to fuck up like that, but that is not working correctly. I did a shoot where the client owned 6 or so hive lights for phantom shoots. He was dismayed to find out that his hives didn't have the output to light what he wanted to shoot, so we used 7 575 power pars and had no issue with flicker at 1000 fps. The hive lights are fine for what they are, but if you don't need to shoot at extreme frame rates a lot of other lights do a better job at being a light than the hives. I am sure they will improve with time, but things like their inability to hot restrike, and their color drift can be a real pain in the ass.

Nick
 
To me, nothing looks quite like an HMI. It's sort of the look of (daylight) film. And these days, what with LEDs now becoming ascendant, HMIs are incredibly inexpensive on Ebay.

Stephen
 
Stephen Pruitt said:
To me, nothing looks quite like an HMI. It's sort of the look of (daylight) film. And these days, what with LEDs now becoming ascendant, HMIs are incredibly inexpensive on Ebay.

Stephen
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Wait until you see a Carbon Arc... NOW that is full spectrum lighting my friend.

Don't get me wrong, HMI is great, but I've come to be a Hive user because of the convenience, purity of spectrum, and lack of flicker. One of these days I'll own one or two, I currently rent one for every job.
 
Nick Gardner said:
Re the hmi vs hive video, that's not particularly fair. A flicker free hmi should not be doing that. Sure there are half a dozen ways to get one to fuck up like that, but that is not working correctly. I did a shoot where the client owned 6 or so hive lights for phantom shoots. He was dismayed to find out that his hives didn't have the output to light what he wanted to shoot, so we used 7 575 power pars and had no issue with flicker at 1000 fps. The hive lights are fine for what they are, but if you don't need to shoot at extreme frame rates a lot of other lights do a better job at being a light than the hives. I am sure they will improve with time, but things like their inability to hot restrike, and their color drift can be a real pain in the ass.

Nick
Click to expand...

I definitely have to side with you there - I've seen people use them in situations where one Arri M18 would be a much much better choice...
 
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