DP Stephen Hussar's Favorite Lighting Instrument: Zylight F8-100
Stephen Hussar, a director of photography with years of experience in documentary and cooking show production, has found his go-to lighting instrument in the Zylight F8-100 LED Fresnel.
Hussar has been using the F8-100 on various projects, including a documentary about the restoration of a 1891 steam locomotive at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington (WW&F) Railway Museum in Alna, Maine. He appreciates the instrument's versatility and ability to deliver close to the light output of a traditional 1000-watt Fresnel.
From Cooking Shows to Railroad Restoration
Hussar has worked on numerous cooking shows, including America's Test Kitchen, Simply Ming, and Cook's Country. He typically shoots with a Sony F55 and is particular about his lighting, often using the Zylight F8-100 for its ability to provide a natural light output.
When shooting in the museum's machine shop, Hussar uses the F8-100 as his main light to create a daylight-balanced beam that mimics the warm glow of sunlight. He has used the instrument extensively and praises its even light output, controllability, and color temperature.
Zylight F8-100 Features
The Zylight F8-100 LED Fresnel is available in daylight (5600K) or tungsten (3200K) versions. It collapses to less than four inches thick for easy transport and features a patented focusing system that allows spot and flood operations.
The instrument's eight-inch SCHOTT glass lens maintains single shadow traditional Fresnel beam shaping, while its quantum dot technology provides a more refined and balanced natural light output, delivering high CRI (Color Rendering Index) and TLCI (Television Lighting Consistency Index).