Danger! Noob In Control Of Lighting ... Advice Please!

InaGlo

InaGlo

TPer Emerita
Messages
8,683
Name
Glo
Edit My Images
Yes
Well you may seem to recall me posting excitedly about getting my Bowen Esprit 500dx kit prior to last weekend. No chance to play with it immediately as I had things on. Anyway, my bro came & put them together for me incase I broke a nail, lol! and last weekend I decided to have a mess around. Straight away after just one or two 'test' fires, first modelling light gives out.
I rang W.E. & guy told me to swap bulbs over to check that there wasnt a problem with the head but, as I removed the bulb (gently I might add) from the 2nd head, I heard that familiar 'tinkle' that you get when you know a bulb is gone. Tried it in other head anyway but of course it had indeed gone.
I ring W.E back and the guy said 'no probs, we'll get you a couple of replacement bulbs out' only then he finds they dont have any in stock. His next suggestion was to dismantle the kit and get it picked up and send me a new one... WHAT! for the sake of 2 bulbs!:puke:

While its a relief that W.E are trying their best, on the other hand it seems a little extreme to replace a whole kit for the sake of a couple of bulbs. However, I am now sort of tempted after I spent yesterday afternoon trying to get replacement bulbs myself but, no joy!
I feel a bit frustrated, Im brand spanking new to studio stuff. I just wanted a couple of half decent lights that would enable me to learn techniques with the hope of improving my nail competition pics. I didnt expect to learn over night how to get the best out of the lights but I didnt expect to encounter these sort of probs.
To those of you who have any experience of studio lights, do the modelling bulbs blow this quickly as a rule? is it something Im doing?... I did follow the vague instruction leaflet but I never even got passed a a testfire!
Is it going to cost me a small fortune in modelling bulbs? and where the heck do you buy them from?

Frustrated of Wolves :(
 
tyring to type this on my phone so sorry if goes a bit wrong.

you're modeling lights should last for ages. I've some that have been going for years and that's with carting them about lots and not being very delicate either.

There's nothing to stop you shooting without them though. I know it's not ideal when you're starting out but at least you'll have an instant veiw of what your shooting. Also, the model light and flash often look quite different anyway because of the difference in the size of the bulb and it's possition in the reflector.

So have a play and see what you can do.
 
Thanks for the response Dazza.
Good to know I can still use them but frustrating to to have this prob with brand new equipment.
Im wondering if its something Ive 'done' (though I cant see what) or if these particular heads/bulbs are that temperamental.
It doesnt help that I have no experience here. I can find plenty on the net about lighting postions etc but, very little about the actual equipment apart from talk of wattage!
Btw, what lights do you use? and ooh! I do like the sound of bulbs that last for years and not minutes.
Any advice on where to buy bulbs .... please dont say W.E :LOL:
 
Sorry to hear about your problems, Ive had a portable set of lights for 2 years now and they get a fair bit of abuse, not had a modelling bulb blow yet!!!!!
I think you have just been unlucky.
 
Gary Bagshawe said:
Sorry to hear about your problems, Ive had a portable set of lights for 2 years now and they get a fair bit of abuse, not had a modelling bulb blow yet!!!!!
I think you have just been unlucky.
Click to expand...
This is the thing ... being a noob, Ive been nothing but careful as Im so aware I dont know what Im doing.
Im now going beyond frustrated to feeling mighty p*ssed off!
Ive heard that there are 2 kinds of bulbs, the Photoflood which is very sensitive to movement and costs about £3.50 and a much more expensive bulb (the guy at W.E didnt say what this was called) that isnt so sensitive.
Needless to say the cheap sensitive one came with my lights.... fair enough but, I didnt expect it to be that sensitive!
Without knowing what bulbs are best or where to buy, Im tempted to tell W.E to just come and take the whole thing back!
 
InaGlo,

I know nothing about modeling lights, but a couple of things spring to mind...On some types of bulbs, its a definate no-no to handle them with bare fingers...you leave traces of grease behind that cause the bulbs to blow virtually as soon as they are switched on...

The other things is that some bulbs don't like any jolts or movement when they are hot...The bulbs in overhead projectors were very prone to this at one time...

Regards,

Pete
 
I'm surprised you’re having trouble finding replacements, the fact your bulbs blew so quickly would suggest their just cheepo types to me. :shrug: …unless you touched them as Pete says.

I'm thinking Maplins or RS supplies would have loads of choices that may be suitable

Glo, if you want, stick a picky up of the bulb...tell us its wattage and voltage, and anything else it might say about its type...take a picky of the holder area as well...and we'll all have a look...well I will anyway. :D
 
Forbiddenbiker,

That might be a bit difficult for InaGlo to do now, as shes working in the dark! :D :D :D

Regards,

Pete
 
Sorry to ask this in someone elses thread but I have been using Ikea £2.50 lights as backing lights - is there any reason why I can't put one of these higher power bulbs in their ES socket, or do they have to be the special lights. Maybe the wattage needs to be a bit smaller? Do you think?

Glo I too would feel gutted if I just got some lamps and they broke - good luck getting replacements
 
The only problem I could see is the heat damaging the light fixture your using.
Check to see what the maximum recommended wattage is before trying them.

Glo, have you tried Calumet Birmingham?
Address: 23 Aston Cross Business Centre, Wainwright Street, Aston
Birmingham B6 5TH
Phone: 0121 326 7636

HTH
 
Hi guys,
Thanks so very much for all your responses.
Matt & FB Im so very grateful for the addys youve given me here, and Ill try them tomorrow... with the exception of Calumet as Ive already tried them, after being given their number from Bowens.
Yup, after getting my knickers in such a twist earlier, I resorted to calling Bowens direct. I spoke to the chap in repairs who was really helpful. He suggested that I dont buy the Halostar straight out incase there is a problem with the heads and they just pop the bulbs straight away, so Im still looking for the cheapie alternative for now that came with my kit (can you believe Calumet were out of stock too & Bowens said they couldnt supply me directly).
I did know about not touching bulbs and used surgical gloves. The modelling bulbs look exactly like regular household bulbs. I was told to ask for BW-1824 at Calumet but, on the bulb it actually says Philips. PF 207E No.1 Photoflood 240-250v. 275w.
Neither Calumet or W.E could say when they will be receiving new stock so if I dont get any results from the above addys, I think Ill resort to trying to dismantle that mad softbox (its the thing Im dreading the most) and letting W.E come and take it back.
Thanks again for your support peeps... it helps to know theres someone here to listen to my rant! :)
 
I'm suprised you didn't get any spare bulbs with the heads, as mine came with a second bulb.

Try a normal 60w bulb for testing the unit, will save the hastle of sending the whole lot back.
 
Send the lot back and ask them to upgrade the whole kit to the next up the range as a gesture for all the lost time. :D you might have a head with a problem thats causing the bulb to fail.......do you want the chance of the fault getting worse ?

My PC at work had to be swapped because the XP disc wasn't in the pack.....even though windows was already on the HDD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top