Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi,

I've been a happy owner of an AlienBee lightkit for about 8 years. I'm not an advanced studio lighting users, and mainly bought the kit for hobby use. I do own quite a few stands, assorted light boxes, reflectors, barn doors, etc... and I think 4 heads.

I haven't been shooting stills much lately, but am doing more and more quick video shoots. I'm wondering if any of the light modifier gear I own can be safely used for video lights?

Can I buy inexpensive halogen heads and use them with my AlienBee lightboxes, etc...? Are video specific light modifiers designed to manage more heat than my products? Is there any sort of standard sizing for the light heads? (i.e. would my reflectors, boxes, etc... even fit on video heads)?

Thanks for any thoughts or help!

We haven't done any testing on video products, as we do not manufacture them. However, video lighting tends to be a continuous high output, thus generating a lot of heat. From what i have seen, video softboxes have vents on the sides to release trapped heat. Even if the boxes could with stand the higher temperatures, the lights could shut down (even our lights shut down if they get too hot).

I am not aware of any means to connect our modifers to continuous light sources, and if you are able to, i would not suggest doing so.
TS