Lighting my way in a dark TV studio.

Next to a police officer patrolling the dark streets at night, I am willing to bet people in the entertainment business get a lot of use out of their EDC lights. I work at a large TV production facility, and constantly find myself pulling out my LumaPower LM31 to light up a dark corner in the studio. Between productions, we turn on the some of the bright, overhead "work lights" to see our way around, but during the show we just have our alleyway "safety lights" to illuminate things behind the set. The safety lights are ok, but if you are working on something inside a panel, behind a set piece, or under the set, out comes the LED light.

Years ago, I made due with the good ole' Mini Maglite (2AA incandescent)... but after discovering higher quality LED lights, I never looked back. Along with my LumaPower LM31 (which I absolutely love!), I carry an ARC-AAA Premium edition in my change pocket for backup. At home, my wife uses a Fenix E01 for a booklight, and we have an Inova X5, as a general purpose backup.

My friend and fellow technician carries a Fenix LD10 with him when he is working... People know we always have our lights with us, and they will ask: "Hey...Can I borrow that for a minute?" I am always happy to oblige! Do any of you guys work in the broadcast tv field? If so, how do you illuminate your way?

Television news for half my forty plus years in broadcasting. Our newsrooms and studios were always well lit. Looking back, I can think of a number of times I could have used a light when covering a story. Don't recall ever carrying one.

My travels often take me to odd dark corners around studios, control rooms or stages. My Fenix P3C-CE with it's adjustable brightness fits perfectly for every one of those nooks and crannies. It's always in my pocket or on my belt, and works well for everything from reading tiny labels on equipment to providing a lot of throw to reach up to the rafters.

Hi Babo... Forty years in broadcasting...that's great! Our sets are also well lit (for tv)... but you can't have lots of flood lights on around back, during the production. The safety lights are good for general walking around in back of the set, so as no to run into anything. I pull out my flashlight, for example, when I have to plug in a 12/3 lighting cable under a dark panel....

Howdy jkdguy and welcome to CPF,
I'm not in broadcast per say, but I've been around recording studios for many years, and since coming to CPF I've found the perfect light for checking behind, under, and around equipment, dark corners, as well as every kind of nook and cranny.

The Streamlight Stylus Pro 2xAAA pen light:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/streamlight-stylus-pro.html

This is always in my front shirt pocket making it instantly accessible, and since it has a nice momentary clicky I can grab it and light it up one handed.

Just the right amount of light (24 lumens) with a perfect beam for closeup, but enough of a center spot to see something 20 feet away too. And it's tough!

The only bad thing about it is that the momentary tail switch is a bit difficult to latch on for continuous use and actually takes two hands, but that's not what I bought it for, so it's not a problem for me.

I also EDC a NovaTac 120P and a Jetbeam C-LE, but this sees more use around the studio because it's right there ready to go.

Here is the same thing in a 1xAAA:
http://www.batteryjunction.com/streamlight-66318.html

I've got both, but find the 2xAAA fits my hand a bit better even though it is a bit bulkier in the pocket.

I'm glad you found a good light for your needs.... it sure helps to be able to see what your doing.

Hello PhotonWrangler and Derek Dean. Derek, that StreamLight Stylus Pro 2xAAA looks like a very nice light, perfect for tech work. I prefer lights that can run on common battery sizes (AA and AAA). (I use Sanyo Eneloops for my lights, which work great.) I may have to add that Streamlight model to my tools one of these days!

Hi JDK,

I agree, flashlights that run on oddball batteries aren't for everyone. One of the advantages of using a light that takes "normal" batteries is that you can often scavenge some batteries from another nearby device (wireless mic, etc) if yours runs out. For me though, it's worth the hassle of stocking CR123s just to have over 200 lumens of visual punch when I need it. And that 200 lumens usually elicits a quiet 'wow' from others when I turn it on. :huh:

PhotonWrangler,

No doubt...having a 200 lumen LED torch is pretty cool. My most powerful light right now is my LumaPower LM31, at around 80(?) lumens. I would like to get something that is in the 120-150 lumen range down the road...as a higher power alternative to my LM31. I will probably stick with something from LumaPower. I like the fact that with several of their models, you can access all the light levels with one hand, by simple clicking the tail cap switch. This is especially handy when I only have one hand free when I'm working in the studio. That is one reason why I retired my Inova X5 to home use! (On the X5 you turn the tail cap to use the constant-on mode.)

Do you use rechargeable CR123s for your Fenix? I want to try them for my Inova X5... I think in the long run, that would save me some money... plus I factor in the environmental aspect (not tossing them out when depleted).

Re: *** Lighting my way in a dark TV studio. ***

Here's a photo of my handy LumaPower LM31:

Re: *** Lighting my way in a dark TV studio. ***

Nice. I like the orange clicky cap.

Tail cap switches are great! I don't think I will ever go back to a twisty as my main EDC light. My LM31 also came with a black switch cover, and a glow-in-the-dark one, but I think I prefer the orange...