Author Topic: opinions on lights (Read 7484 times)

stockastic · « **on:** January 23, 2010, 14:39 »

I do a lot of tabletop stuff and want to stop fighting with my pile of homemade lighting junk. I'm thinking about investing in some more serious lights. These look good to me - does anyone have an opinion on them?

http://www.obnphoto.com/items/softbox/CL400_2_pvc.html

gostwyck · « **Reply #1 on:** January 23, 2010, 15:08 »

Those are probably junk too. I tried some very similar units about 2 years ago and they were completely useless __ nothing like enough light output (unless you want to do 50 sec exposures) and gave out a disgusting palid colour.

Get yourself some decent strobes and learn how to use them.

sharply_done · « **Reply #2 on:** January 23, 2010, 15:40 »

Continuous lights (as opposed to strobes) are fine for product photography, but you'll need much more power than the 240W these units supply. I have two 1000W and one 500W continuous softboxes, and those are sometimes not enough! Also, the only way to adjust the lighting balance is to move the lights closer to or farther from the target, so having the lights on casters is a big plus.

The biggest advantage to using continuous light is you are shooting in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get environment - there's absolutely no guesswork involved in getting the exact lighting balance you need. The biggest disadvantage is that they get very hot, and you'll have to work efficiently if you're shooting things that don't like the heat. Like people.

stockastic · « **Reply #3 on:** January 23, 2010, 16:37 »

Note that each of these holds 8 30W CFL bulbs which should easily be the equivalent of 1000W of incandescent bulbs.

gostwyck · « **Reply #4 on:** January 23, 2010, 17:00 »

Quote from: stockastic on January 23, 2010, 16:37

Note that each of these holds 8 30W CFL bulbs which should easily be the equivalent of 1000W of incandescent bulbs.

Yep, that's the theory. Go ahead, buy them and discover for yourself how different the reality is.

stockastic · « **Reply #5 on:** January 23, 2010, 17:01 »

I believe I understand the limitations of these lights but I think they'd work adequately for what I do. I am wondering more about the quality of the fixtures and stands. I already have enough stuff that falls over.

gostwyck · « **Reply #6 on:** January 23, 2010, 17:22 »

Quote from: stockastic on January 23, 2010, 17:01

I believe I understand the limitations of these lights but I think they'd work adequately for what I do. I am wondering more about the quality of the fixtures and stands. I already have enough stuff that falls over.

Ok __ the stands look very nice.

NB: What's the point in heading the topic 'opinions on lights' if you only want to know about stands?

Randy McKown · « **Reply #7 on:** January 23, 2010, 18:15 »

http://www.fotodiox.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=72

Bad thing is these units do not have variable control .. only 1/2 & Full. However, they are sturdy, and reliable for your purposes and in the same price range as what you were looking at for a cont. light set. The umbrellas are shoots through. They also have Bowens mounts so you have a lot of options when looking at 3rd party modifiers. Oddly enough included stands are a big plus from this company. Most companies throw in pretty weak stands. You can't tell from the photo but these stands are monsters ... big sturdy .. use clip locks and are spring loaded. They could charge $80-120 per stand and I would still call it a fair deal. I have 6' octogon softboxes on these stands and they handle the size and weight with absolutely no problem.

dbvirago · « **Reply #8 on:** January 23, 2010, 18:40 »

Same opinion as all above. As with Randy, these are similar priced and much better quality than the ones you are looking at.

http://www.adorama.com/FP320PWK.html

Umbrellas are shoot through or bounce. Lights are variable. I have much higher power, but rarely use more than 1/2.

We've all been there. You keep buying junk to save money and just keep throwing it away to buy new junk.

elvinstar · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2010, 18:52 »

I've bought quite a few strobes from ebay sellers and haven't had a problem yet. For even less money than you're talking about, you could get 2 of these 180ws strobes, these light stands, and these umbrellas for a total of $188.55 shipped.

stockastic · « **Reply #10 on:** January 23, 2010, 19:28 »

Thanks for the strobe tips. I'm actually surprised at those low prices and will save the links. But I should have explained at the start that I'm not doing any people shots, mostly just objects and isolations at this point, so I don't really nead strobes because the exposure time doesn't matter much. On the other hand I've been spending way too much time trying to get the light right, work out the shadows and reflections, which is why I'm looking for continuous light. I couldn't find any reviews of OBN gear and I want something that at least stays upright and holds its position and angle.

When/if I start doing people shots, I'll need the strobes.

elvinstar · « **Reply #11 on:** January 23, 2010, 19:40 »

I started with continuous lights and eventually moved to strobes. I use them not just for people, but for object/food shots as well. Even if the only advantage is a cooler working environment, it's worth it to me!

stockastic · « **Reply #12 on:** January 23, 2010, 19:45 »

Heat is indeed a problem, that's why I liked these CFL units.

gostwyck · « **Reply #13 on:** January 23, 2010, 20:33 »

I was using cheap strobes (really, really bottom end of the market) before I bought continous lights like these in the hope of replacing them. Trust me, the really crappy strobes were still much better. Fortunately, having actually used strobes, I could tell how bad they were. Btw, I only use lights for food/isolations.

LSD72 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 23, 2010, 20:58 »

How about some dirt cheap optical slaves? Heres the seller I bought from.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Compact-Slave-Flash-for-NIKON-S550-S600-S700-S6-NEW_W0QQitemZ170434786496QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDigital_Camera_Flashes?hash=item27aeb474c0

I got 2 of these for my cardboard lightbox. Just over $20 for two. Not the best but they work for now. Have not had a misfire yet either. They work for my budget. I only use them as optical slaves and they are as powerful as the on camera flash.

Just a thought.

stockastic · « **Reply #15 on:** January 23, 2010, 22:01 »

11.99 with free shipping.

Wow, that is cheap.

elvinstar · « **Reply #16 on:** January 24, 2010, 10:00 »

I had also bought a pair of those exact same slaves. If you're only shooting objects, they will be fine. Other than that, the recycle time is just too slow.

Dook · « **Reply #17 on:** January 24, 2010, 11:52 »

You can buy good quality studio flash lights for around 1000$ ( Alien Bees or similar). I do not think it is too much if you are serious about this job. Save your money elsewhere, on clothing, for example.

elvinstar · « **Reply #18 on:** January 24, 2010, 12:50 »

^^

Quote

around 1000$ ( Alien Bees or similar). I do not think it is too much

You have to realize that not all of us (like me) are making a full-time living from photography. For us, $1,000 may be A LOT of money. I think that it's better to have something to use now, even if it's not top-of-the-line.

PeterChigmaroff · « **Reply #19 on:** January 24, 2010, 13:16 »

Quote from: sharply_done on January 23, 2010, 15:40

Continuous lights (as opposed to strobes) are fine for product photography, but you'll need much more power than the 240W these units supply. I have two 1000W and one 500W continuous softboxes, and those are sometimes not enough! Also, the only way to adjust the lighting balance is to move the lights closer to or farther from the target, so having the lights on casters is a big plus.

The biggest advantage to using continuous light is you are shooting in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get environment - there's absolutely no guesswork involved in getting the exact lighting balance you need. The biggest disadvantage is that they get very hot, and you'll have to work efficiently if you're shooting things that don't like the heat. Like people.

Sharpley, Years ago I put together a bank of dimmers. You can get them to 2000w easily if you like. They control many cheapo incandescent lights I use for table top stuff. I found PAR 50 W lights have a nice colour and look to them. You can put them in cheap IKEA holders and they dim nicely. Slight colour shift but not bad. The PARs come in wide beam, narrow and spot. So you can get some control that way too. The dimmers allow for massive control on setups. Tweak away at hearts content until it looks right. Many small lights have a big advantage over a few big ones. Ideally I'd buy a truck load of Dedolights buy hey, I'd rather go flying. And yes, models aren't too keen on hot lights and neither am I for people shooting. Those things can cause bad burns. You have be so careful. I set up this incandescent ring light once for effect shooting. You could feel the heat wave at 10 feet. If the models were smart they would have asked for a dosimeter.

stockastic · « **Reply #20 on:** January 24, 2010, 14:15 »

This is all good advice and I'm taking it in. I'm a small potato with about 1 year of experience in stock so my story is probably of interest to relative newbies like myself.

What I'm shooting now for microstock is just objects, concepts (using objects) and occasional food items. I've been using a few 5500K fluorescent bulbs in clip-on fixtures, sheets of translucent plastic from HD, white foam boards and other cheap cr@p. I fuss around with the lights and backgrounds and, eventually, surprisingly get nice clean shots. But it's taking too long. I know how to work with fluorescent lights, even after white balancing you don't always get great color rendition but that can be tuned in PP. The continuous lights let me work out the shadows and hot spots without taking 100 exposures.

The array of HD junk basically doesn't give me enough light. I have to get the bulbs in close, resulting in hot spots and shadows, more reflectors, more plastic sheets. I thought these ODN rigs would at least let me move the light back further from the subject, plus be easily adjustable and aim-able. I'm very wary of just buying the next step up in "junk", but I can't spend $1000 on gear either. I'd very much like to get into strobes, which open the door to portaits and people shots, and maybe that could be done more cheaply than I realized, and that's the future I think.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #21 on:** January 24, 2010, 14:34 »

Quote from: stockastic on January 24, 2010, 14:15

I'd very much like to get into strobes, which open the door to portaits and people shots, and maybe that could be done more cheaply than I realized, and that's the future I think.

If you are interested in strobes, then I would suggest that you check these out:

LumoPro LP120 Manual Flash ($130): http://www.mpex.com/browse.cfm/4,12311.html

The LumoPro flashes were basically designed around requirements from the Strobist website (strobist.blogspot.com). The nice thing about the LumoPros is that they have four (4) different types of inputs: miniphone cord, PC sync cord, hot shoe, and slave.

As you are probably aware, the nice thing about strobes is that they are highly portable (since they are small and don't require electricity for power).

You can pick up a pair of these strobes, along with light stands, umbrellas, and adapters for about $400.

MPex.com also has various kits for the Strobist (@ http://www.mpex.com/page.htm?PG=Strobist%20Kits).

stockastic · « **Reply #22 on:** January 24, 2010, 15:17 »

GeoPappas, thanks, I'm saving that link. I've heard that the Strobist is a great source of information.

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Author Topic: opinions on lights (Read 7484 times)

stockastic

gostwyck

sharply_done

stockastic

gostwyck

stockastic

gostwyck

Randy McKown

dbvirago

elvinstar

stockastic

elvinstar

stockastic

gostwyck

LSD72

stockastic

elvinstar

Dook

elvinstar

PeterChigmaroff

stockastic

GeoPappas

stockastic

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