I'd like to get a couple of portable softlights for shooting interviews, and my budget is only about $500. I already have plenty of 650 Arri fresnels, so I was considering getting a couple of used Chimera softboxes w/ speedrings. Is this a good plan, or are there other options that will give me more bang for my buck? Any input would be appreciated!
Cinematography : Softbox Advice by Jay Pulk
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Just buy a roll of diffusion and hang it infront of some 300s. 650s are waaay too powerful to blast in someone's face unless they are far away.
I can use 300s if the 650s are too bright, but hanging diffusion doesn't give me the same light characteristics as a wider softbox.
JTL Versalight softbox kits are a real value, travel light and if treated well will last. 3 light 500-750 watt kits with stands run under $400 and break down into one bag. I'm not associated with the company so it's an honest review. Easy to find just do a web search. They are always on ebay and Amazon. Do not purchase their air cooled lights they are way to noisy.
I have the Chimera for my softbank kit; but in truth I never really use the thing. I would pick up a few road-rags kits and stands, if you can for more versatility -v- a softbox for only one light. Wescott makes some cheaper ones which are just as good as the matthews. Granted, you'd miss out on the egg-crate material for the softbox, but it's never been too big of an issue for me.
Jacob, Thanks for the info about the JTL lights. I'll check them out more. You're right about the kind of lights with fans. I tried some of those last year, and they were too noisy for live audio recording.
Adrian, I've never used Roadrags before, but they look like they have open sides. If they do, that would drive me nuts for the kind of lighting that I usually do. Thanks for the tip though, because those could be handy for some other applications.
Nicole, These lights look like they might be a little flimsy for my applications, but your recommendation makes me want to look at them some more, since they're so inexpensive. Thanks!
They are most simply flags/nets/scrims. If you want to you can very easily build your own soft-boxes out of show-card cut as trapezoids and the taped on the end with 216 or whatever diffusion you'd like; and clamped to the doors on the light. We'd do this all the time in the studio with 2Ks/5Ks/10Ks, but also can apply to 650s and Babies; with just smaller pieces of foam-core. You can also keep white side in to get a bit more bounce of if you wanna make it a lot more like a chimera you could coat the inside in heat-resistant silver paint, or were it me, tin-foil (or maybe space blankets now that i think of it...) costs a hell of a lot less than chimera, and you can make it the size you'd want (and they last pretty ok if you don't bang the hell out of 'em)
That's a brilliant idea Adrian. It's the most fragile option, but because they're so inexpensive to make, and I can adjust the size to whatever I want, I think it might be the best option. I can even leave the barn doors on to attach diffusion of some kind, and hang another layer at the outside edge if I want to soften the light more.