This is topic Helios bulb comparison... recommendations? in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 02-10-2009, 09:58 AM:
 
I try to keep an open mind about bulbs, with a couple of notable exceptions. In my place, Christie bulbs seem to outlast everything, followed by Superior Quartz (for 7kW), and after that, most everything else.

I'm wondering if anyone has a current performance comparison of higher wattage Helios bulbs. Last time I saw much conversation about this, the general opinion was that they put out more light at the start, but dropped off quickly and were hard to get to warranty. That was over a year ago though. Still the same? Any better? Do I have to buy one and try it myself?

I'm running Big Sky pedestal mounts here, running between 4,000 and 7,000 watts.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-10-2009, 10:00 AM:
 
Jack,

I'd be much more inclined to run the Christie CDXL's which are their Helios equivelent than to actually run the Helios... The Helios have a very bad track record for reliability. Either should work fine with your Big Sky Mirror but unless you want a dented mirror stick to Christie. Also, Christie produces Osram's larger sizes of Short Gap Lamps but that fact is kept very secret... by Osram!

Mark
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-10-2009, 12:58 PM:
 
I tried a LTI Helio's 2k and I just barely got my warranty hours out of it- got 2300 hrs and was beginning to flickering badly on the pull.

..whereas Christies, with the warranty hour at 2400, I can almost get double hours on one bulb.

True, they have great light, but not the duration.

Thus, which side of the fence do you want then: Great light, or duration. When an LTI, you can't have both at the same time.

I'm staying with Christies - not worth the hassle with other manufacturers.

-Monte
 

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Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 02-10-2009, 01:50 PM:
 
Jack, I need to re-iterate some discussion from another thread a while back (I think it was in discussion over the foreign-made equipment):

Don't try to be penny-wise and pound foolish. Sure the Christies may cost a few hundred dollars more up front, but their proven track record results in a per-hour cost literally in pennies.

That and the refunds and lost good will from ONE failure of an unproven or less reliable bulb will INSTANTLY wipe out any supposed savings from the cheaper bulb.

Not to mention the cost of a new reflector.

By the way Helios is the name of a book detailing the "China Syndrome" meltdown of a German Nuke reactor.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 02-10-2009, 08:26 PM:
 
Christie/Osram have comparable pricing. Either one is good. The Helios might be very slightly cheaper.

Dealer cost is NOT the same across the industry. Louis
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 02-11-2009, 11:32 AM:
 
OK... thanks for the comments.

To refine where I think I was going with this: I'm not trying to save anything... just wondering if I could get more/better light from one of those newer bulbs, hours notwithstanding. Electrical savings or extending hours into the rediculous is not a consideration here. I'm not interested in risking more light against a greater possibility of violent bulb failure.

Mark: I believe I was thinking about the Christies, but Helios came to mind first.

Not really considering brand loyalty as much as whether these bulbs are any better than a standard old HS bulb, which generally works fine in my lamphouse.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 02-11-2009, 12:18 PM:
 
Different lamp/reflector and lens combinations behave differently. There is no universal magic lamp for all applications (in terms of light).

I've been doing tests for several manufacturers (LTI is NOT one of them). I've found one value priced lamp...ASL...that has a special version of their 4000-watt lamp called the 4202. As compared to a Christie CXL-40SC, the XM4202 will put out at least 20% more light when new. It has a pretty rapid burn-back and also a rather short life (about 800-hours before I noticed some flicker growing). However, it is also rather low-cost. The CXL-40SC is about 50% more expensive. So it really comes down to cost/hour and desired light.

If you NEED the light (to achieve 16fL)...then that also has to be factored in. If you don't need the light then while the Christie may cost 50% more...the cost/hour in my typical systems is such that Christie remains cheaper to operate 39% cheaper, in fact.

My testing on Christie's CDXL line of lamps though is showing tremendous light improvement (38% for the CDXL-45 over the standard CXL-40). Unfortunately, the CDXL-45 is about 38% more expensive than the CXL-40...so while you are getting the light, you are also paying for it. The CDXL-45 though is showing that it holds its high brightness VERY long..it decays about half as fast as the standard lamp.

Nothing is easy on figuring out bang for the buck on lamp (unless you are only worried about hours).

My suspicion is that the LTI Hellos behaves like the ASL 4202 series...they are quite a bit brighter initially, but have a rapid burn-back and have a relatively short life before visible artifacts show up.

Steve
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-11-2009, 01:02 PM:
 

quote: Steve Guttag

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but have a rapid burn-back and have a relatively short life before visible artifacts show up.

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quote: Louis Bornwasser

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can't have one without reducing the other

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quote: Scott Norwood

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Related question: what is the magic formula for determining the required lamp size for a given screen size?

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quote: Steve Guttag

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It would be more than " a little dim."

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