Vintage Lighting - good photos of old lighting equipment

[church]

I found this website by accident

Home - DRPLighting

They are a hire shop for old fixtures for TV and movie work. They include some nice photos of working fixtures going back to the 30s. Mainly Strand but some Furse and other makers. They claim what you see on the website is the tip of the iceberg. Nice photos of old focus spots.

I have a number of these fixtures in my own inventory.

You can also see a photo of the Strand Patt 45 fresnel, considered by many of us to be the worst fixture ever made. The optics are so bad that when you turn them on the stage seems to get darker - a fixture that vacuums the light from the stage. Built to be cheap so schools would buy it, no reflector a small lens a door on the rear. I am convinced the design was stolen from that of a mantelpiece clock where they removed the clock mechanisim, put a lamp inside closed the door on the rear and hoped some light would come out of the hole in the face where you inserted the key to wind up the now missing clock mechanisim. LOL

I had one friend who actually used them by pointing the back of the fresnel at the stage and leaving the rear door open, he claimed it was the only way to get any light out of them.

[gafftapegreenia]

I've always thought about buying up piles of old kit and inventorying them in an old warehouse somewhere.

[sertek58]

I've always thought about buying up piles of old kit and inventorying them in an old warehouse somewhere.

I did, I have 20 or so stored , until I find what to do with it.

[derekleffew]

... the Strand Patt 45 fresnel, considered by many of us to be the worst fixture ever made. ...

(Feigning outrage and incredulity...) What!? Someone speaking ill of a Strand lantern?! Heresy!

Strand Archive - Patt.45

[gafftapegreenia]

I think this calls for a shoot out between a Patt. 45 and an Altman 1KL

[sertek58]

The back door with the socket of a Patt 264 is something in term of cheap realisation of a good idea.But still a fan.

Strand Archive - Patt.264

[ship]

Site under construction for me in only seeing some form of wash light and no links or scrolling.

That said, great that people are doing old fixture collections on their sites. TBA once I get done a lot more gear...

Curious and interesting that of a black hole Fresnel. The #45 is viewed in this way as the #43 is the PC base unit for the #73 pre-Leko version (though seemingly shorter in length from photo to the element I have seen) and last stage in once it became the #73 history before the actual Leko came out - at least by them in copy and than in buying the rights/company to. Kliegl I believe also has a similar PC that's mostly a Leko before 36', yet still a PC officially. Such PC fixtures with lens train and shutters but still with a concave instead of ellipsoidal reflector got really close and not un-imagionable how good a beam for what they were they got. Anyway, both Kliegl and Strand had these pre-Leko fixtures that I know of, and the base of the Strand #73 is that of a #43.

Would think a #45 would be as per any verly Fresnel, as per the #43 PC fixture in, not something I would want to use but very much antique history for what they did do and perhaps use for a modern grainy image of light in design. Black hole for lighting... mine came to me without most of the gizzards, but at least on the #73 in making them accurately I think, I did a long R&D project in something that was viable as per a PC fixture optically and I think posted about.

(Re-Viewing the above Derek Link... Yea,... that would be bad but very hitoric.)

[ship]

As known, I have a large inventory of old fixtures. So far, some went out for one show a few years ago in accent lighting for, heck we have vintage guitars, why not also do some vintage lights with them. (Large amount of making modern lamps work with old fixtures so as not to use the antique lamps, but it worked and we learned stuff in making modern lamps work.) Since than, not so much in only a few requests dropped for show or need in only one show them went out on and only a few of them. Mostly for me in shows, it’s bigger and better and them Mole lights from the 10Kw Fresnel, to the 2Kw Molelipsiadial for prop or in especially on the Fresnels converted to LED or lower wattage mostly for prop use. Less in accuracy, can I make a 10KW Fesnel bench focus with a 1Kw lamp... yes I can when not doing LED for gizzards of it. At least for a stadium, a antique fixture won't be seen mostly any more than a modern one. For a movie shoot, perhaps antique in fairly accurate at least - this given your name is out there and you have the bulk and range.

Old prop lights can be useful, but hard market to get into the rental for in say doing period movies or shows in needing them. I would for sure save what you have and contact movie and other rental companies with your inventory as available, but hard market to break into.


At some point, the more you have, won’t hurt. I normally for museum collection only collect up one of each other than box spot (cannot have enough of them), and after that duplicates of what I have for trade to others when I cannot trade off for more modern gear. Can’t fill a movie set in bulk of what I have as possibly needed given only a few at best of anything for museum collection instead of rental intent. A bulk collection of even any vintage gear can be useful for prop light in that way if one markets oneself so it’s known as per museum. Having a bulk of gear on the other hand for a period is another thing for rental. That's business type stuff.

[DMXpro]

Question. I've worked with an Alt. 1Kw, and yeah--it's pretty bad. However, would it be alright to use as a gobo projector? I can't imagine wasting a S4 on that, but I think the Altman would work great (it has sticking shutters, hard to shape the beam) in like the FOH position or in our projection booth, even if it was fitted with a 750W or 575W HPL.

[Les]

Question. I've worked with an Alt. 1Kw, and yeah--it's pretty bad. However, would it be alright to use as a gobo projector? I can't imagine wasting a S4 on that, but I think the Altman would work great (it has sticking shutters, hard to shape the beam) in like the FOH position or in our projection booth, even if it was fitted with a 750W or 575W HPL.

As long as you aren't projecting any intricate designs (text/etc), the 1KL would be fine for projecting gobos. I dropped a breakup in a 1KL once and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Better than the 360Q I'd say. Don't expect the longest life out of the gobo because it still has an aluminum reflector. Clean the optics up and be sure to adjust the peak/flat (sliding the lamp house forward or back until optimum-ish).

[DMXpro]

Right. Thanks