litepanel Hilio?

[paul schefz]

http://www.litepanels.com/hilio.php
does anyone have any experience with these? are they new? they look powerful and supposedly made for a longer throw?

 

[Craig Weeding]

Hi Paul

I have two of these units,
over all they work well, lots of LED light that throws well and has DMX
They are also flicker free, which is great for high speed and short shutter times.
the main issue you should be aware of is the FANs on these units that Kick on when they get HOT!
There is a momentary push button on the back that will delay when the fans kick on by raising the trigger temp.
Once the fans Kick on they are too noisy to continue shooting dialog.
When you cycle power on the lights the momentary switch resets, If the lights are on a grid or a tall stand it is a hassle to climb a ladder and reset the switch every time power is reset.

Once during an interview I had two off these lights providing fill through a grid cloth and when the fans kicked on had to switch the lights out for two Joker 400s, the light level from the Hilios was very similar to the level from a joker 400 with a stippled lens on it.
of course the jokers do not have fans and we finished the interview with the jokers.

 

[paul schefz]

Hi Paul

I have two of these units,
over all they work well, lots of LED light that throws well and has DMX
They are also flicker free, which is great for high speed and short shutter times.
the main issue you should be aware of is the FANs on these units that Kick on when they get HOT!
There is a momentary push button on the back that will delay when the fans kick on by raising the trigger temp.
Once the fans Kick on they are too noisy to continue shooting dialog.
When you cycle power on the lights the momentary switch resets, If the lights are on a grid or a tall stand it is a hassle to climb a ladder and reset the switch every time power is reset.

Once during an interview I had two off these lights providing fill through a grid cloth and when the fans kicked on had to switch the lights out for two Joker 400s, the light level from the Hilios was very similar to the level from a joker 400 with a stippled lens on it.
of course the jokers do not have fans and we finished the interview with the jokers.

the fan does not bother me, i need something for location, battery powered....can these be used as fill outside? if they are comparable to the jokers 400, it looks very promising....

 

[Craig Weeding]

if the fan is not a problem then the Hilio could be the light for you.
yes the Hilio can be used as a fill light outdoors. Larger softer source then an HMI and less then 1/3 the power.
it is also easier on the talent to have a Hilio shining on their face instead of an HMI,

 

[Lenny Manfred]

You might also want to look into the Creamsource fixtures. A lot of punch. More compact, available chimera. No fan. plus it has a switch tfor instant on, tu simulate lighting. Maccam is a distributor.