old/used BWA verses new CYX for video shoot?

ship

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Been working on these mid-70's 2Kw Mole Richardson Lekos Molelipsols of late. Almost a week now in working on three of them - takes three to four hours just re-assemble one of them once taken apart. Going out on a video shoot rental of them. First time in about the last ten years they are seeing use - this I remember because last time they were used I had to manufacture parts to a few of them as with now in total tear down and re-doing I didn’t do last time. Overt missing parts last time like gel frame clips and lens train keyway slides. This time in really looking at and cleaning and painting them, also getting rid of the asbestos wiring, cleaning lenses, re-surfacing the bases, replacing a few screws and fabricating some gate baffles. This plus I found the drop in iris’s for the fixtures which will need a bit of work also. (Past pyro dust seemingly as what was baked onto the front lenses don’t come off in the dish washer and needed further attention.)

So within a few hours in the morning I’ll be all set to bench focus the things which no doubt won’t be fun. Have to remove the rear handle from the fixture to access the third bench focus screw and than it’s all about a large filament, large hole in the reflector, some play in how both reflector and lenses are installed, if the third gate baffle I found on one I made for the others was supposted to be there (not easy to remove) etc. and in general three screw bench focus while good for accuracy - takes patience and on a 2K lamp not easy to be handling.

Question on the other hand comes up for me in only today checking the specifications of the BWA lamps these fixtures were lamped with that in finding two bad and only having in stock one used spare that was good, I now have two used lamps and two new lamps going on a video shoot. This as opposed to a cabinet full of the the less lamp life but more output CYX 2Kw lamps normally used on a 2Kw Studio Fresnel in bulk with us.

My supplier had to special order the BWA lamps for me and they after over a week still are not here yet, yet in the late morning I’ll be ready to bench focus but have to wait in hoping what’s above in question is correct. Luckily I have until the end of the month before the rental picks up the fixtures, but also other things to be getting done. Given this special order and two fixtures with used and one with a new lamp also the main question, how will this used verses old lamp question play on video once even bench focused? No idea on how old beyond having been on the shelf for about ten years how old the used lamps are - could be origional in being like 25 years old but still with unknown amount of hours. This verses the spare and third fixture with a new lamp, how will this play on video?

Should I just play it safe and in having already ordered the BWA lamps eat them in going readily available CYX lamp - all new if important to match up? Hear the rental per fixture is $75.00 each which don’t nearly match up to the parts and labor I have already put into the fixtures but its video. Should I after all this work into bringing them to factory specification also lamp them all new or not worry about for video two used lamps matching up with a used lamp of the long life type in general?
 
I have 2 Midget 2k's in my space right now that take the same lamp. I had one fixture that had a BWA and one that had a CYX. I called up my supplier to get a new lamp and he insisted I get a BWA. I looked up the specs on both lamps and realized you get more power and less lamp life with the CYX. However... the BWA costs twice as much as the CYX and the life of the CYX is more then half of the life of the BWA.

When I went into the shop to pick up the lamp I had them give me a CYX. My sales guy is still calling me trying to figure out why I took the CYX over the BWA. He claimed it would not work in the fixture... however.... it works... and is half the cost... and its brighter....

I see no reason to ever use the BWA unless there is an access issue to the fixture.
 
I have two Strand patt 243 2kW fresnels in my inventory, one of them came with the BWA lamp the other with the CYX lamp. I am just using the remaining hours on the BWA lamp and will then replace with the Osram CYX. I have five CYX lamps on the shelf and for the number of hours a year I use these fixtures I have enough lamps to last me at least three lifetimes.

Anyway the CYX is a good lamp, great light output at 59,000 lumens, good colour temp at 3250K and the 300 hour lifetime is as good as many other high output lamps. the cost as mentioned is not outragous at dealer cost. Basically in $/lumen, buying one CYX is the same as buying two BTRs.

If I use the BWA lamped fixture and the CYX lamped fixture side by side I know which is lamped as which. So for video work I would not be surprised if they notice a difference between the fixtures - but only they will be able to say if it is significant. If it is I would lamp with the CYX.
 
Shelf full of CYX lamps for me means if not at least a half dozen in stock I start to sweat, if a half dozen I'm fine for the most part if not more in stock between uses when I should have a lot more. On the other hand the BWA lamp, for the last ten years I have had two used spares in stock (one broken I hadn't noted), and specifically for the fixtures only in use once like almost ten years ago now. Already stuck with a lot of obsolete lamps on the shelf that reflects in my year end inventory, I look forward to getting away from the BWA but am seemingly stuck with it so far for that fixture.

That CYX is primarially for a 2Kw Studio Fresnel and there is lots of in stock for them and they often go out on shows as possibly the most popular Fresnel for touring or in general use lamp where I work. Price between the two wasn't much different for me, it was more the wait I would normally get in requesting Osram or Ushio CYX lamps due to better support and packaging of the lamps I get from my supplier as opposed to the GE or Phillips that he normally stocks which don't transport as well but at times I buy when really short.

Finished the fixtures today, also finished working on polishing and spray graphiting the drop in iris's. Two pound rivets on the iris's had to be replaced in becoming missing - the standoff and screw option turned out better than the pound rivet option for replacement even if the standoff was smaller. Ah' the abrasive sponge silicone fiber Dremmel wheel in cleaning shuch iris leafs - worked great.

Went onto bench focusing the two I could lamp. BWA lamp's didn't die so I'm thinking they will be fine and bright enough. It's a video shoot yes but on the other hand it's three unique fixtures and as I find out today two will be lensed with rented from elsewhere 6x9 lenses and the last with my 8x21 lens available. In other words given this, the 6x9 lens trains will get the used lamps, the 8x21 will get a new lamp in working out perpaps as best solution without going CYX.

Bench focus for the fixtures I have lamps for better than expected. Was able to get a 5' dia hard edge at 16' with out adjusting the focus much without a problem. The first fixture it was only a slight adjustment to center the dark or hot spot, the second fixture I reversed the focus base some so as to lessen the dark spot center and center it some but overall it wasn't bad.

I was thoroughly impressed without bench focus how forgiving such big fixtures were for gaining that hard edge, much less how easy once the handle was out of the way how easy it was to refine that bench focus.

Very nice fixtures - very nice - fought more at times more with ETC Lekos in getting a good focus. Ton of bricks for a light fixture on the other hand.
 
And why are you doing this, ship? If a 2000W incandescent profile fixture is desired/demanded, I'm sure you know Robert Juliat makes several. However, next to a HPL750/115 SourceFour-10°, I observed the S4 to be brighter.
 
And why are you doing this, ship? If a 2000W incandescent profile fixture is desired/demanded, I'm sure you know Robert Juliat makes several. However, next to a HPL750/115 SourceFour-10°, I observed the S4 to be brighter.

1) These are lighting fixtures proper which have not had care given to them no doubt since they were bought and I do love old fixtures.
2) Renter used to work for us and remembered these specific fixtures in now renting them for use as follow spots for his specific video shoot. Such fixtures fall under my department as no-longer active stock and it's great for me in seeing them get out the door again and interesting for me in a good project and something to learn from how they were done type of way in me wasting time on the boat anchors.
3) They are not boat anchors. Was able to get a hard edge from the fixtures (at 16' a 5' good hard edge dia. circle) and while I fought the filament dark verses light edge, certainly it was at some point a worthwhile light to be working on and was blinding the longer I attemped to focus it - this even with the long life lamps.
4) The work I just put into them from replacing missing pound rivets on iris leafs to re-surfacing the lampholder now preserves the fixture for historical value in a "ready to go" type of way. Also in working on the iris, just learned a bit about replacing broken or missing Iris pound rivets by way of what works and tolerances. Every project useful even if kind of silly for efficiny to work on in learning stuff. Found some great Dremmel wheels to recommend for surfacing from shutter to base etc. Good stuff learned by way of doing as opposed to finding the easy in giving what we have "AS Is" as it were or saying no. Nice fixtures I also learned, like the lampholder even over that of a normal Mole lampholder for the same base.

Side note, that third gate plate I made and installed into the fixtures right next to the lens train in gate plate positions did function properly it would seem in no doubt helping attain the hard edge beam of light. Huge and heavy but did get a good beam of light out of them, this much less supprisingly easy to bench focus in the end - forgiving in bench focus also as concept.
 
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