The Diva-Lite puts out a broad soft wash of light. The drop off is like the light off of
a bounce card. For this reason it is most effective in close proximity to the subject.
By being close the light is softer and easily controlled with the built-in barndoors and detachable louvers.

This instrument is proving to be very popular for interviews. It is small enough to travel easily. It is light enough to rig onto lighting stands or onto grip arms. An interview can be done with as little as a single Diva-Lite 400 and a bounce card.

Diva-Lites operate on Kino Flo True Match 55 watt compact fluorescent lamps.
Daylight balance (KF55) and tungsten balanced (KF29) lamps are available.

Light level control is established through an on board dimmer as well as by 2 and 4 lamp switching. An in-line power switch controls the power. Louvers provide control over the spread of the light.

The ballast is designed to provide flicker free operation under extreme conditions.
It is equipped with a voltage controlled input stage. This stage regulates the
voltage coming into the ballast and smoothes out any minor or major voltage fluctuations that would otherwise cause a lamp to flicker or vary in light output.
This is especially important for location shooting applications where the quality of
the electricity is unpredictable.

The Diva-Lites are available in three voltage models: 120VAC, 230VAC and Universal 120VAC –230VAC (Diva-Lite 400 only). The Universal models are especially useful for international photographers that travel through many countries. The universal model has a built-in auto-sensing voltage regulator so it can be plugged into voltage ranging from 100vac-230vac.

The Diva-Lites have been used in very trying circumstances from war torn countries to remote locations where power is very often a small-unregulated generator.

The Diva-Lites feature a built-in dimmer control. Lamps can dim from 100% down
to 5%. However, it is not recommended that the dimmer be used to adjust exposure levels beyond one f-stop down. As the lamp cools the color may drift into the magenta spectrum. Under certain conditions this phenomenon may have a positive cosmetic effect; much like using cosmetic gel that is magenta in appearance.

To adjust for lower light levels, the Diva-Lite 400 is equipped with a select switch
to control 2 Lamp or 4 Lamp operation. Switching off a set of lamps reduces the
light by one f-stop.

The Diva-Lite 400 comes with a 25ft power cord to accomodate putting the unit
on a light stand. An in-line power switch located on the power cord controls
the power

The ball and socket mount is a Kino Flo standard. It allows unlimited fixture orientation and keeps the fixture lightweight. The fixture can operate in either a horizontal or vertical position. It is easily rigged on the end of a grip arm to allow positioning off camera as a backlight for interviews.

The Center Mount has a ball and socket design with a lock down handle.
To orient the fixture release the handle, position the fixture then lock down
the handle.

Even in the hands of an inexperienced lighting professional, the subject will end up looking good. There will be no sharp shadows that define age in a face. For more softness adding a Flozier is recommended or in situations where subjects are
wearing glasses and the reflection of the lamps may be distracting.

The Flozier is cloth material that slips over the front of the fixture and provides
a large area of white diffusion. The resulting larger area of diffusion further softens
the light.

This is especially useful when dealing with reflective subject matter as a means of diffusing the reflection of the lamps in the fixture. The harshness of lamp reflections in glasses is easily avoided. The Flozier is available in two densities, full and half.

Honey Comb Louver The spread of the light is controlled by means of thin wall honeycomb louvers. The advantage of these louvers is the minimal loss of light
at the center of the beam. The louvers are available in 90°, 60° and 45°.
They are light weight and are held to the fixture with Velcro fasteners.

The Remote Dimmer DIM-5 is a useful accessory for controlling the light output
when you can’t reach the on-board dimmer knob. When the remote dimmer is
plugged into the fixture, the on-board dimmer is automatically disabled.
The dimmer comes with a 15ft extension cable.

   Cases

The Clamshell Travel cases are recommended for transport in small vehicles or local production trucks. They contain space for the fixture, lamps and a lightweight stand. The clamshell cases hold
one Diva-Lite 400 (KAS-D4-C) or one Diva-Lite 200 (KAS-D2-C).

  Medium Duty Rolling Case

  Heavy Duty Flight Case

The Medium Duty Rolling Case (KAS-D2-R) is designed for air transport or common carrier. The retractable handle ensures easy handling of the kit. The lid has additional storage for extension cables, colored gels and accessories.

The KAS-D2-R holds one Diva-Lite 400 or two Diva-Lite 200's.

.

The Heavy-Duty Flight Case is well suited for long distance transport by sea or air. The rugged construction ensures that the fixtures are well protected. The case
has room for fixtures, spare lamps and stands

The flight case holds two Diva-Lite 400's (KAS-D42) or two Diva-Lite 200"s
(KAS-D22).
.

  The Lamps

Diva-Lites operate on 55Watt twin tube compact fluorescents. Kino Flo’s
True Match KF55 and KF29 are designed for daylight and tungsten respectively.
In 1995 Kino Flo received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture and Sciences in part for the development of its color correct line
of fluorescent lamps.

The True Match lamps allow the KF29 to mix seamlessly with regular studio quartz hard lights. The KF55 mixes seamlessly with natural daylight or HMIs.

The question of whether Kino Flo has a KF32 lamp in this format comes up frequently. The KF29 lamp is formulated to match the average quartz lighting unit in a studio. Studio fixtures never burn at 3200K. They are closer to 2900K. For that reason Kino Flo offers only the KF29.

420nm blue and 550nm green lamps are also available for lighting blue and green screens. The narrow band lamps provide an efficient light source for special effects compositing.

The Diva-Lite is an efficient soft light compared to conventional studio fixtures. The Diva-Lite 400 is the same
light output as a 1K studio soft light. It draws 2 amps at 120Volts compared to 8 amps on a studio fixture.
This is especially important when shooting on location and power availability is an issue. The low power draw
is also an advantage when operating on battery inverter power sources. On the HMI side, the Diva-Lite 400
would be approximate to a 400Watt with a soft Dome.

Long Lamp Life

Lamp life of a compact fluorescent for the television and motion picture industry is determined more by
its lumen maintenance than by its actual burn time. All fluorescent lamps display a lumen depreciation curve.
This means that over time the light output gradually drops and lowers in color temperature.  A lamp may be
rated at 10,000 to 20,000 hours, but its useful light quality is shorter. It is realistically more in the 2,000 to
2,500 hour range.

All fluorescent lamps require some "burn in" time before they operate at their rated Kelvin temperature and brightness. For dimming products, the lamps perform best after 100 hours of operation.

Due to portable nature of the Diva-Lites, the lamps can be damaged from handling and transport before
"burning-out".

True Match Color Correct Lamps

True Match lamps are formulated to correspond to the spectral distribution curves of film and video cameras
as well as look correct to the eye. They are designed to match the colors from quartz units or daylight sources
such as HMI’s.  This gives the camera operator the option of mixing quartz hard light sources with fluorescent
soft sources. Most lighting designers want the ability to use both qualities of light to enhance the set.

Architectural lamps are designed to optimize government-mandated standards for lumens per watt efficiencies (energy savings targets). In order to achieve these standards, the lamps contain high levels of light in the green spectrum, which our eyes don’t perceive as inaccurate. Film and television cameras do record this added green. For example, green renders Caucasian skin tone as grayish and unattractive. The architectural lamps do not match with other studio lamps. They render colors inaccurately and make correction in post almost impossible.

In 1995 Kino Flo received a technical achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
for the development of the first color correct lamps for film. Kino Flo continues to be a leader in their field introducing new developments and constantly improving the efficiencies and formulations of its lamp technology.

Heat Management Design

The physical heat of the lamp directly influences color temperature and lumen performance and lamp life.
In order to maintain a stable color performance the lamp requires:

• a cool spot at the tip of the lamp
• a horizontal orientation
• or a vertical orientation where the base of the lamp is above the lamp tip.

The Diva-Lite design addresses these requirements:

• The lamps are correctly spaced to maximize light output and minimize heat.
• The reflector is vented in the back to increase airflow.
• The ends are open to minimize heat build-up.
• The power cord is oriented in such a manner that the lamp tips will naturally be in down position when fixture is operated vertically.

A well maintained lamp temperature extends the lumen maintenance, color temperature and life of a lamp.

Many manufacturers do not emphasize heat management as a critical design element. They place lamps so close together that they heat each other up and never provide a stable temperature environment.  A True Match lamp
in a poorly ventilated fixture will not perform as well as in a Kino Flo fixture. We have seen customers of other manufacturers buy True Match lamps and wonder why the performance is not as good as in a Kino Flo fixture.
The answer is ventilation.

Center Mount

The Center Mount is more flexible than a conventional yoke. A yoke limits orientation on two axis, tilt and pan.
The ball center mount design enables the beam to be oriented at any angle. This allows the beam to be rotated
and have the same effect as rotating a barndoor on a Fresnel.