HMI recommendations

[francisco santos]

Hi,
Finally getting around to buying my first set of HMI's. So far I got a few kino 4x4s daylight, 2 arri 650s which is about it. I want to add one hmi to the kit for some outdoor stuff and possibly to blast through windows any suggestions? Ive used the joker 800 which was pretty nice but thats about it thus far.

Thanks,
Francisco

 

[Mark K.]

The Arri M18 would hands-down be the place I'd start. It's the most light you can get out of a conventional household socket, or suitcase generator. Great for balancing daylight interiors, great for pushing through windows, and a full stop more output than a 1.2kw HMI.

 

[Martin Stevens]

The Arri M18 would hands-down be the place I'd start. It's the most light you can get out of a conventional household socket, or suitcase generator. Great for balancing daylight interiors, great for pushing through windows, and a full stop more output than a 1.2kw HMI.

I agree, the Arri M18 is my favorite HMI, with the Joker 1600 not far behind.

 

[Paul Dean]

The Arri M18 would hands-down be the place I'd start. It's the most light you can get out of a conventional household socket, or suitcase generator.

When the M18 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 M18 can operate off a standard wall outlet. As you can see by this thread - http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?120687-Arri-M18-vs-Joker-1600 - it has proved not to. The reason is that, 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 M18 into the wall without taking necessary precautions. The first thread mentioned above (http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?55400-Daylight-Source-Question) has a number of useful tips on operating the M18 on house power and portable generators (drawing 19.5A it will not operate on a 2000w suite case genny.)

Paul Dean

 

[Sergei Franklin]

I would consider Plasma lights such as from www.hivelighting.com. They are more efficient than HMI's, have a better spectrum and longer bulb life.

 

[Cristian Mihai]

What do you think about the ProFoto Daylight HMI 800 ?

http://profoto.com/int/products/con...rodaylight-air-head-and-ballast-901172-901132


A lot of modifiers available and if discounted a bit is a very good price. Anyone has ever seen or used ?

 

[Josh Tyron]

Last summer I was sitting with a very similar lighting setup. I began adding HMIs. I started with two old 1.2k Arri's. They are not pretty but they work like champs. I found right away that I had two big ass lights that over powered my other gear. I then bought a Arri 200w pocket par. You can find these used for a good price. I love this light. Mainly because it plays well with both the 1.2k's and my old tungsten lights with gel. I am currently looking for a Arri 125w and 400w pocket par to round out the set. Rent the big ones collect the small ones. Thats my advise anyways. Good luck!