Archives for ‘Dedolight’

Highlighting Details with the Dedolight EYESET

Samples of the Dedolight Eye Set

Call Attention to Details (and Only the Details)

No matter how precise you lighting needs to be (and with Dedolight gear, you can get pretty darn precise), eventually you'll run up against the limitations of how much of a "sliver" simple barn doors can give you. What if you want to light up your subject's eyes for a fashion shot or music video? How about highlighting a small bottle of perfume half-buried in the sand? Or calling out small details in your tabletop miniature shot? In most cases, barn doors will get you 60% there, but spill light on the rest of the scene, ruining your cool effect. Possibly making you feel like a failure.

Dedolight DPEYESET filters mounted on a DP2

That's where the Dedolight's EYESET filter kit comes in. The EYESET is three specially formulated filters, plus a custom filter holder, that fit into a Dedolight projection unit attached to your Classic, 200, or 400 Series light head. The filters themselves are specifically created for this purpose, and are different from traditional diffusion filters. By mixing and matching the three filters, it's possible to create seven different levels of effect. And if that isn't enough, you can focus the Dedolight head itself for even more variety. Click on the sample images above to see how this kit can improve two typical scenes, whether you're looking for something bold or a little more understated.

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Dedolight Projection Attachments: How to Use Gobos and Slides to Project Patterns

Dedolight gobos

How to Project Patterns and Images With Dedolight Heads

An excellent way to make your lighting more interesting is to involve gobos. Gobos come in a variety of forms, including silhouette patterns, color modulators, and more. Dedolight manufactures projection attachments for light heads in their Classic, 200, and 400 series that yield incredibly precise images and shadows. Dedolight's "Imager" attachments overcome several of the problems inherent in those of other manufacturers — Dedolight's offer:

  • High light efficiency due to perfectly-matched optics
  • Perfect contrast rendition
  • Very low distortion
  • No color fringing (a very typical problem on traditional profiler/ellipsoidal units)
  • No halation (which would impair the shadow edge or affect overall contrast)
  • Interchangeable lenses, from wide angle to telephoto and zoom

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Dedolight Projection Lenses

Dedolight projection lenses

Dedolight's "Imager" projection attachments are unusual in that they use interchangeable lenses, similar to those on an SLR camera. By choosing lenses with different focal lengths, you can produce patterns and effects ("gobos") in a variety of angles and image sizes. These are high quality, heat-tolerant, metal-barreled lenses that can be switched out quickly, according to your needs.

Which lens you use depends on what size image you need. The standard lens, included in the DP1 projection kit, is the 85mm f/2.8. At a distance of 6½ feet (2m), this lens will project a 53" (135cm) diameter image. On the other hand, if you wanted a much tighter beam, or you needed a greater throw distance, you can use the 185mm f/3.5 lens at that same distance could project a crisp 16" (40cm) diameter circle.

These lenses are available sized for either the Dedolight DP1 family (compatible with the Dedolight Classic and 200 Series light heads) or the Dedolight DP400 projection attachment (for the 400 Series.)

Lenses for Dedolight Classic and 200 Series Imagers
Model Focal Length (mm) f-stop Notes
DPL60M 60 f/2.4
DPL85M 85 f/2.8 Standard imager lens
DPL185M 185 f/3.5
DPLZ120M 70-120 zoom f/3.5
DPLZ150M 85-150 zoom f/3.5
DPX Similar to a camera's macro extension tube; enables extremely compact projections (2" across) or, with an iris, a point of light as small as 2mm!
Lenses for Dedolight 400 Series Imagers
Model Focal Length (mm) f-stop Notes
DP400-70 70 f/1.5
DP400-100 100 f/1.6
DP400-150 150 f/2.2
DP400-185 185 f/3.5 Standard projection lens for DP400. Focus scales on both sides of barrel.
DP400-230 230 f/2.0

Click to view a Dedolight photometrics table, showing image sizes, lux values on typical light heads, and more.

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A Comparison of Dedolight to Lowel and Arri Lights

Have you ever experienced the awesomeness of a Dedolight in real life? If not, this might be the video that finally gets you to drive out to your local dealer and try one!

Mitch Gross at Abel Cine Tech put together this terrific short demo showing the difference between Lowel, Arri, and Dedotec light heads of similar wattage. Mitch explains what to look for when sizing up a lamp; beyond brightness, it's also important to consider the light's evenness, precision, falloff, and other considerations that don't always show up on spec sheets (but will impact your day-to-day usage tremendously.)

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NAB 2010: Dedolight's New LEDZilla Accessories

Mitch Gross of Abel Cine Tech caught up with Dedo Weigert at NAB 2010 to check out the new softbox, lightsaber, and Chinese lantern LEDZilla attachments:

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