I did a course in the College of Building & Printing back in the '80s and we used these in the studio all the time, and the bigger versions called "Blondes", those were Yellow at the back. I can still remember the heat and the smell.
These lights appear to be what’s called Redheads in the filmmaking industry. They were used for ENG video productions, Electronic News Gathering. An ENG lighting kit would generally contain 3 red heads, 3 lighting stands and gels and were very light and compact to carry by news crews. Can be 800w of tungsten halogen light. We still use tungsten lights for film production and stills photography because they have a lot of control and a beautiful light. In fact my Lowel ENG 4x lighting kit is a fraction of the weight of my colleagues LED lighting kit and more compact. However it great to see tungsten halogen lights for photography.
Keeping things simple is certainly a refreshing approach! However, this makes me feel so old hearing these lights referred to like this. Redheads (800w) and their fellow 2kw open face sisters, Blondes were the ubiquitous units for video and small film production. They were never really intended to run for long periods, the lamps have quite short life and as you discovered, they get bieedin hot. Care should be taken with running them without a full scrim or a safety glass as the lamps can explode, especially if they've been touched by bare fingers previously. They also kick out quite a bit of UV without a glass. Tungsten is certainly the full fat light compared to the skimmed feeling of all but the highest end LED fixtures. Kept my little trunk of Arri's for when a bit of the real stuff is needed!
yes, by the look of it, its a halogen, or Tungsten bulb, aka like cinema sets use, or a movie projector (the pro theatre ones!), and from my technical investigation of all that tech, they are hot because of the physics, they work like a fluorescent light, in that a particle inside {powder or metal ion} is excited by electricity effectively you are at welding temperatures!, so thats why the gloves, not for heat protection per say, but to keep YOUR hands' oils off the bulb, as at ~1,200 Deg.C the oil will self ignite, and cause a fire, exploding the bulb, hence why in cinema projectors they are in a housing out of metal, ceramics, etc. like a bomb shelter, to catch any glass shards, so you don't end up a "shotgun victim" as this is what comes out, and its toughened glass!!
Looking around, those tungsten Redhead lights are great for warm images but they can be modified with blue glass to get a more daylight feel. The great thing with Tungsten lights vs LED lights is the much better colour rendering you get from those old hot lights. The obvious downside as mentioned is the crazy heat and inefficiency of them. Great video, thank you.
I really want a light like this! I think I’m too scared of burning myself to not choose led, but I want a big light like this. By the way, think you’ll start making videos about an actual shoot? Would be fun and informative to see how you actually work. (I also wouldn’t say no to seeing more of your photos in your videos. :D)
On film sets in France, these light are nicknamed "mandarine"... mandarin, so logically in English. This is due to the colour of their bowl. Why so hot ? Because about 85% of the consumed power is converted in heat, not in light ! Making them a weapon of mass destruction for Mother nature. As for the same amount of light output, those things consume way more electricity than LED light fixtures. They burn your hands when you forget your gloves, they melt most (if not all) gels you put in front, they are impossible to handle earlier than 15 minutes after being turned off, they are heavy and you know that when you get one hitting your head or crushing your feet (you may laugh... until you live the experience, such as I did), etc. They used to be the tools, for decades. Not anymore, it's time to move on. And if you dislike LED lights, probably it is due to a wrong choice from a poor advice. It took me about six months to choose mine, of reading brochures and watching tests, and this time paid off. Those ones of mine are the tool of today. And not only for their efficiency (they remain "cold" because 85% of the electricity consumed goes into the light output, not the heat), but also for their quality (consider these indexes : TLCI, SSI and TLMF... just forget about CRI, which is a meaningless average measurement). For instance, three days ago I had to do tests for a film to come (next week-end) and the location was under those dreadful public roadside lights... more orange than "Mister Carotene" (I'm sure you get this one). I simply twisted the knob of my lights to 2700K, then pressed "REC". With the color-chart in the frame we will make a tiny green/magenta adjustment if necessary, but we probably won't have to. They were not even slightly warm, and I packed them immediately after turning them off. Then... for Champagne, I can help you. But first, you have to practice a litlle ! Search with these keywords "champagne prononciation", click on the little loudspeaker icon, and you'll progress faster than a bubble reaches the surface of your "flute" (the tulip-shaped glasses, in which the Champagne tastes its very best). Cheers !
My new favourite channel.. thank you for creating such interesting videos, they really stand out from the rest.
AS i always say. Light is light, no matter the source.
Hi Jodie, thanks for a really enjoyable and generous video. Nice to hear about your inspirations and the importance of the message - thank you!
I did a course in the College of Building & Printing back in the '80s and we used these in the studio all the time, and the bigger versions called "Blondes", those were Yellow at the back. I can still remember the heat and the smell.
That drinks trolley is a piece of art! Where did you get it? Loved those photos.
These lights appear to be what’s called Redheads in the filmmaking industry. They were used for ENG video productions, Electronic News Gathering.
An ENG lighting kit would generally contain 3 red heads, 3 lighting stands and gels and were very light and compact to carry by news crews. Can be 800w of tungsten halogen light.
We still use tungsten lights for film production and stills photography because they have a lot of control and a beautiful light.
In fact my Lowel ENG 4x lighting kit is a fraction of the weight of my colleagues LED lighting kit and more compact.
However it great to see tungsten halogen lights for photography.
Keeping things simple is certainly a refreshing approach!
However, this makes me feel so old hearing these lights referred to like this. Redheads (800w) and their fellow 2kw open face sisters, Blondes were the ubiquitous units for video and small film production.
They were never really intended to run for long periods, the lamps have quite short life and as you discovered, they get bieedin hot.
Care should be taken with running them without a full scrim or a safety glass as the lamps can explode, especially if they've been touched by bare fingers previously. They also kick out quite a bit of UV without a glass.
Tungsten is certainly the full fat light compared to the skimmed feeling of all but the highest end LED fixtures.
Kept my little trunk of Arri's for when a bit of the real stuff is needed!
yes, by the look of it, its a halogen, or Tungsten bulb, aka like cinema sets use, or a movie projector (the pro theatre ones!), and from my technical investigation of all that tech, they are hot because of the physics, they work like a fluorescent light, in that a particle inside {powder or metal ion} is excited by electricity effectively you are at welding temperatures!, so thats why the gloves, not for heat protection per say, but to keep YOUR hands' oils off the bulb, as at ~1,200 Deg.C the oil will self ignite, and cause a fire, exploding the bulb, hence why in cinema projectors they are in a housing out of metal, ceramics, etc. like a bomb shelter, to catch any glass shards, so you don't end up a "shotgun victim" as this is what comes out, and its toughened glass!!
Looking around, those tungsten Redhead lights are great for warm images but they can be modified with blue glass to get a more daylight feel. The great thing with Tungsten lights vs LED lights is the much better colour rendering you get from those old hot lights. The obvious downside as mentioned is the crazy heat and inefficiency of them. Great video, thank you.
The light globe is either tungsten or halogen, and they do get very hot, plus they are fragile.
Excellent video. Thanks.
Do you completely turn off the house lights when you finally take your shots? I'm sure this is obvious, but I am a relative beginner.
Thank you for sharing, subscribed :)
nice shoot, by the way, with the reflective objects do you like the flair, or do you use circular polarisers, etc. to minimise them?
I really want a light like this! I think I’m too scared of burning myself to not choose led, but I want a big light like this.
By the way, think you’ll start making videos about an actual shoot? Would be fun and informative to see how you actually work. (I also wouldn’t say no to seeing more of your photos in your videos. :D)
Can you create some bts videos of your fashion shoots?
How are you Lady Gaga?
On film sets in France, these light are nicknamed "mandarine"... mandarin, so logically in English. This is due to the colour of their bowl.
Why so hot ? Because about 85% of the consumed power is converted in heat, not in light ! Making them a weapon of mass destruction for Mother nature. As for the same amount of light output, those things consume way more electricity than LED light fixtures.
They burn your hands when you forget your gloves, they melt most (if not all) gels you put in front, they are impossible to handle earlier than 15 minutes after being turned off, they are heavy and you know that when you get one hitting your head or crushing your feet (you may laugh... until you live the experience, such as I did), etc.
They used to be the tools, for decades. Not anymore, it's time to move on. And if you dislike LED lights, probably it is due to a wrong choice from a poor advice. It took me about six months to choose mine, of reading brochures and watching tests, and this time paid off. Those ones of mine are the tool of today. And not only for their efficiency (they remain "cold" because 85% of the electricity consumed goes into the light output, not the heat), but also for their quality (consider these indexes : TLCI, SSI and TLMF... just forget about CRI, which is a meaningless average measurement).
For instance, three days ago I had to do tests for a film to come (next week-end) and the location was under those dreadful public roadside lights... more orange than "Mister Carotene" (I'm sure you get this one). I simply twisted the knob of my lights to 2700K, then pressed "REC". With the color-chart in the frame we will make a tiny green/magenta adjustment if necessary, but we probably won't have to. They were not even slightly warm, and I packed them immediately after turning them off.
Then... for Champagne, I can help you. But first, you have to practice a litlle ! Search with these keywords "champagne prononciation", click on the little loudspeaker icon, and you'll progress faster than a bubble reaches the surface of your "flute" (the tulip-shaped glasses, in which the Champagne tastes its very best).
Cheers !
Hi Jodie, thanks for a really enjoyable and generous video. Nice to hear about your inspirations and the importance of the message - thank you!