Budget HMIs... are they worth a darn?

	Budget HMIs... are they worth a darn? by Todd Terry (Todd at Fantastic Plastic) on Jun 23, 2008 at 2:56:26 pm HI kids... This is cross-posted in Cinematography.... I'm looking for a non-bank-breaking way to supplement our existing HMI lighting... and ran across these little HMI instruments... pretty dirt cheap.... http://www.alzovideo.com/alzo_800_hmi_cool_lite.htm Anyone have an opinion as to whether these would be useful for supplemental and incidental lighting (specials, dark corners, maybe hair lights) in scenes primarily lit with, say, a bounced 1200w Par or a couple of Joker-Bugs? I admit, they do look a bit toyish, are really just 150w HID lamps, have no focusing or controllability (other than barndoors).... and I know you "get what you pay for" but when one could buy several of them for the cost of one "real" little 150w HMI, I'm wondering if they aren't worth considering for minor applications.... Thoughts appreciated.... T2 __________________________________ Todd Terry Creative Director Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc. fantasticplastic.com Respond to this post   •   Return to posts index