User Report: Mark C. Doyle

Frezzi’s SSG Super Sun Gun 200

by Mark C. Doyle
President, SSI Production Services

BELLMORE, N.Y.

SSI Production Services is a Bellmore, N.Y.-based production crew that has worked for some of the highest profile news organizations in the country, such as Fox News, NBC and CBS. Recently we have shot for the Food Channel, Home and Garden TV and completed shooting a series for PBS.

We can accommodate up to three-camera shoots and have begun doing lots of corporate and industrial projects. We currently use the Ikegami HL-V55 3-chip Betacam SP cameras and always carry light kits with each rig.

We saw Frezzi’s Super Sun Gun at NAB last year and were impressed at the versatility of the light. The first advantage it gave us is that it is an extremely portable HMI, which provides daylight as opposed to tungsten lighting.

We find that in most interview situations daylight comes in, so having a daylight balanced light is a big plus.

HMIs are higher on the color rendering index than standard lights and the Frezzi Super Sun Gun, while having 200 watts of power, actually gives us the equivalent of 400 watts due to its reflector design. We found the Frezzi Super Sun Gun to be the most efficient light on the market from a cost, size and light output perspective.

The built-in dimmer control on the ballasts allows us to control the light output by up to 50 percent, and we can further control the light by using the supplied softbox and barn doors.

A WALK IN THE WOODS

We recently shot a job for Fox News Channel where we had to do an interview in the forest. We lit the subject’s face with the Frezzi 200 and used the dappled natural light from above to light the rest of the scene.

This combination gave the subject a three-dimensional quality and excellent separation from the background, resulting in an outstanding shot.

The Frezzi includes both AC and DC ballasts in one case and these are the smallest ballasts that I’ve ever seen in a 200-watt unit. We can usually run up to 35 minutes on a single belt battery pack, which is ample time for most applications.

The Frezzi Super Sun Gun comes as a complete kit including AC or DC ballast, softbox with adjustable diffusion and gel filters, barn doors, bulb and a rugged, waterproof case.

Thus far, we have done more than 100 shoots with the Frezzi Super Sun gun and are pleased with the results. All you have to do is white-balance, set filters and you are good to go.

In addition, the manufacturer has given us excellent support for the product. When Frezzi upgraded the light with a new safety latch, we got our lights upgraded at no charge and when the company came out with a new handle design we received the modification as well at no charge.

All in all, our experience with this product has been very positive. The quality of our lighting has improved significantly and the ease of use makes this Frezzi lighting system one that we can recommend.

Mark Doyle is the president of SSI Production Services in Bellmore, N.Y. He can be reached at ssiny@hotmail.com.

For more information, contact Frezzi Energy Systems (973-427-1160, www.frezzi.com)