Can anyone reccomend a great lighting kit for under $1500. It needs to be somewhat mobile and ready for some indies. Thanks, Jack

Lowel makes nice kits. Tungsten lights with stands, barndoors and hard case. You can also check Arri lights - more expensive and worth every penny. Not the Lowel kits are bad - I have a 6 light kit with the Omni’s and Tota’s that I bought new in 1990 and am still using it 16 years later.

As usual B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/) is a good on line place to buy.

i have always wanted to buy a small kit myself. i wanted a Joker 5600k kit. but its quite expensive... any suggestins anyone?
i want a handy set, as cheap as possible, daylight, something which has a specular throw as well as a Softbox. the Joker would be ideal...

I bought new in 1990 and am still using it 16 years later.
17 years now.. it's '07. ;) Either way though, I'd call that a good investment.

Well Will, if you want me to be absolutely, completely, painfully accurate, I've had the kit for 16 years, 6 weeks and 3 days. So not quite 17 years.

Yet.

paramvr - you could try the Lowell kit. They have one with a nice softbox.

Thanks for the suggestions ... it got me on track ..

Not as nice as Lowell, but I have a nice portable kit made by Britek.

The stands are not exactly top-notch but they work, albeit when the softboxes are mounted they are a bit top-heavy. Always sandbag 'em.

You can get an idea of what you can get for your buck at Skaeser.com (http://store01.prostores.com/servlet/skaeser/Categories?category=DIGITAL/VIDEO+CONTINUOUS+LIGHTING+KITS).

Not the best brand, by far, but it packs up nicely and is easy to lug around at a moment's notice.

And it's cheap. :blush:

thanks directorik
checking out on B&H now...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=7461
some great stuff. but unfortunately they are mostly tungsten. of little use in outdoors and docus. but will keep looking...

they are mostly tungsten. of little use in outdoors and docus

Gels for the lights, or colour-correcting filters for the lens, or the white-balance settings (if video) on the camera ought to cover most those issues. :)

There are 5600 degree tungsten lamps, although they are a bit pricey by comparison. Keep in mind, if you're balancing artificial light with sunlight, you'll need some very powerful lights. Reflectors, scrims, and the like often make more sense in bright sunlight. Of course, you can always use some combination or both.