I have noticed a replacement bulb or whole lamp housing for my HC3000 ranges between $190 and $370.

Do these bulbs ever vary in quality, or are the generally all to the same spec?

And would you recommend a novice to buy just the bulb, or the whole lamp housing?

Any recommendations on where to buy would be appreciated.

I was thinking of getting this:

https://www.interlight.biz/light-bulb/UHP-DC-200W-E21.5

Opinions?:confused:

I think the difference you're seeing is the price of the bare bulb vs the price of the entire lamp assembly. You can buy the bare bulb, but it's up to you to take the old bulb out of the assembly and replace it.

I've also heard that the manufacturers don't approve of selling the bare bulb, and the quality of them may vary, but I can't verify that.