Battle: Arri 1000 Fresnel vs 1000 Open Face
In this article we will compare a very popular Arri 1000w Fresnel light to Arri 1000w Open Face. Please note that at PAT Rentals, we carry both lights.
Quick verdict: Depends (I prefer the Arri Open Face though).
Both lights are comparable in size and power consumption but the open face light seems a bit lighter thus more versatile when handing the unit. The Fresnel unit, as its name suggest has a lens in front of the bulb. The Open Face, again as the name suggest, has only metal protective mesh between bulb and the scene. The lens is suppose to intensify the light but in my experience this is not so pronounced in units this small.
In the wide position, both lights produce equal-size beam spread of comparable brightness.
But when you spot the light, the Fresnel version is more manageable. The Fresnel spots nicely into a center. This Fresnel's precision can be translated on the film set into higher brightness of the unit in the Spot position. The Open Face, on the other hand, creates a spot in the middle while still spreading considerable amount around. This means that the latitude of brightness intensity from wide to spot is high on Fresnel unit and mediocre on the Open Face light.
The fresnel lens has another advantage producing more clean shadows as visible in the following two pictures below, so it's the preferred choice when intending to produce shadows.
The Fresnel unit has clear advantages but the Open Face outperforms the Fresnel light in one important aspect. It's a bit smaller and lighter thus, in my opinion, more versatile in my film set operations.
Hopefully you found this comparison useful. You can find both lights for rent at PAT Rentals (www.patrentals.com).