Spotlight on the Dedolight 4-light Kit – Everything You Want to Know

Extremely compact yet providing high light output, the Dedolight 4-light is the perfect solution when you need to supplement or extend natural light on your shoot.

Compact and well-engineered lighting system

Our Dedolight rental kit is centered around the DLH4 light head. It includes four 150w lamps that provide exceptional economy and outstanding life expectancy. The incredible control and output from these lights make them like no other compact light fixture.  They far surpass the traditional studio light concept with Fresnel lenses. Unlike Fresnels, Dedolights provide a clean beam without stray light. They also offer even light distribution within the beam as opposed to the hot spots produced by Fresnel studio lights.

The Dedolight system is regularly used on big Hollywood films, especially for intricate special effects sequences like those seen in The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series of films. These innovative lamps have even won an Emmy and two awards from the Oscar Committee of the AMPAS.

A bit of history

Named for Dedo Weigert, the German director of photography who invented them, these handy, versatile tools are ideal for an astounding number of applications. Weigert wanted a powerful yet highly controllable light source that would take up a minimum amount of space, draw a minimum amount of power, and produce unprecedented light quality. His comprehensive lighting system meets the challenge.

For example,

  • Many DP’s consider them the cleanest light for architecture.
  • Their compact and lightweight properties make it easy to rig and or hide them behind objects, even with gaffer tape!
  • They’re great for bar and restaurant scenes when you need to use bounced light off down-lit tables for illumination.
  • The effective output is 300 watts from a standard 100-watt bulb.
  • Greater venting allows the heads to be mounted at virtually any angle, including upside down.
  • Accessory attachments let you create everything from a circle of light 3mm in diameter to a rectangular beam of light 1/16th of an inch wide.

By using two aspheric lenses that are perfectly matched for the many focusing positions, you can quickly improve light output, enhance the light field’s smoothness, and increase barn door control from flood to spot. The Dedolights also have a fantastic range of beam angles—from 4.5 degrees in the spot position to 46 degrees when flooded.

The Dedolight advantage

Once you’ve added the Dedolight 4-light kit to your film lighting equipment rental package, you’ll quickly understand why it’s often referred to as the most innovative lighting system ever developed for film and television. Excellent reach, precise color temperature control, a variety of power options, incredibly low projected heat, and a range of mounting accessories make this a must-have kit on any set.  These lights are built to withstand harsh use: even if you drop them you won’t destroy the lamp!

The 4-light system is an excellent addition to your film lighting equipment rental. These low voltage lamps offer several advantages over traditional light sources.

  • They produce up to 40 lumens per watt. As compared to the 20 to 25 lumens per watt of high voltage halogen lamps.
  • Their low price and long life provide tremendous savings in operating costs.
  • Their rugged construction makes them much less vulnerable to premature lamp failure due to shock and vibration.

The kits are also ideal for one person camera crews.  They weight 3x less and are 3x smaller than comparable lighting systems. And as they come with a wide choice of AC power supplies and batteries you can use the light heads in the rain and snow.

The beauty of aspheric lenses

In the Dedolight’s aspheric lens, the front lens is fixed while the other moves either with the lamp and reflector, or relative to both the lamp and reflector. This offers solutions to two common lighting problems.

Conventional studio lights often have a light distribution with hot spots or “hot shoulders” (brighter rims with dark centers). The Dedolight aspheric system gives you an edge to edge, even and smooth light distribution in all focus positions. And because regular discharge lamps don’t have consistent color properties, you often get bluish rims in some focus positions. The aspheric system in the Dedolights gives you a significant improvement in color distribution.

A transforming addition to any film lighting equipment rental package

It’s safe to say that Dedolights have altered the way still photographers and film professionals alike practice their craft. They combine an extraordinary level of lighting precision that no other system can match, and with the variety of kits available, there’s a Dedolight for virtually any shooting scenario.

Interested in adding the Dedolight 4-light kit to your rental? Moving Picture Rental of Miami stocks an extensive inventory of lighting solutions, including the Dedolight system. Learn more about our lights, camera and other production packages, call us today at 305.522.1361 or email us at info@movingpicture.com.