Lighting Kit for Fine Art Repros

[Jim Cole]

I know there has been a lot of discussion on this forum about properly lighting fine art, but I came across a lighting kit I was unfamiliar with and was hoping to get some feedback.

I want a basic lighting kit to act as a basis for fine art reproductions with Kodak EPN 4x5 film. Looks like a great setup, but I have never heard of the company.

Take a look at the following page and look at the 1920 Watt 3 Light Flo Dome Boom Kit for $399:

http://www.imagewest.tv/index.asp?Pa...PROD&ProdID=71

I like the power of the lights (dual 320 watt bulbs in each fixture), the daylight color temp and the cooler operation.

Does anyone have any experience with these lights or the company?

Thanks

[Walter Calahan]

Yes, saw them used during a presentation by Scott Kelby. Great for wide open aperture digital shooting. The beauty of using these is there's no flash, and the stay cool.

Check to see if they don't have the classic green cast of fluorescent lights. Most digital cameras would clean that up with auto-white balance.

Again, don't expect to get f/22 out of these without long exposures.

[Michael T. Murphy]

You should try to find a "CRI" rating for them.

Somre bulbs have gaps in their spectrum, so that it will never be enough to just color balance for them. They just won't be emitting certain frequencies, or not at an adequate level.

The CRI (color rendering index) will tell you how well colors can be shown under the light. Should be at least 98 for this type of work.

As you are not using a scanning back, are you committed to using flourescents? Flash has the advantage of freezing movement - vibration of floor from trucks passing etc. These are fairly weak, with longish exposures (and maybe reciprocity requiring color correction?)

A "modest" 650 iso?

Each fixture (both bulbs on) produced enough light to illuminate a subject eight feet away at a respectable f stop of 5.6 at a modest 650 ASA.

Backing off to twelve feet only 2 more stops we're necessary

[Jim Cole]

Walter and Mike,

Thanks for your comments. Glad to see someone has seen them in action. I assumed that if the bulbs are advertised as daylight balanced that they would emit the advertised 5600K without a green cast. I will be shooting on 4x5 transparency film so I need to nail the white balance as close as possible. I will be shooting with a MacBeth color checker card in each frame and then scanning the trannies, so I can make minor white balance corrections in CS3. I just want to keep these corrections minimal so as not to muck up the accuracy of the colors in the artwork.

I will check to see if I can find the CRI of these bulbs. I can always email the vendor and see if they will respond. I was planning to use constant lighting since it is easier to set up and check light levels over different areas of the artwork before exposing. I also like the idea of a cooler running light. I will be working in a solid foundation home in a quiet neighborhood, so I don't need to worry about excessive vibrations. I assume that long exposures won't be a problem even with the "modest ISO of 650 that was pointed out as long as I don't get into reciprocity issues with the EPN film which I haven't used yet. I'll have to check the specs on the film at the Kodak site and see where I will start running into problems. Also, I see that the ISO 650 reference refers to each fixture and I plan on using the three light kit that would provide 1920 watts. Hopefully that should keep exposures reasonable.

I'm not sure if there are any other major reasons other than vibration and power which would indicate the use of flash. If I can verify the CRI of the bulbs and they fall into the 98 range I would assume that I should be able to accomplish my goal of accurate lighting of art work.

I look forward to any other help with this decision.

Thanks,
Jim

[Jim Cole]

I got the following response back from Image West concerning the CRI of their 320W fluorescent bulbs:

"The question has been raised a couple times before on our fluorescent bulbs. If I remember correctly, I believe it's 92. I'll try and have that information on the website."

I asked him to verify the number rather than guessing and get back to me. I'll post again with the final number.

[Michael T. Murphy]

Thanks Jim, interesting. That should be something that they know - it is pretty imnportant. It would be nice to see a graph, but that sounds unlikely. They would already have it on their web site I am sure.

92 is not bad, not great.

I wonder, what are you getting from them, other than the bulbs? What are the fixtures like? Is this something that you could as easily do on your own, with good quality bulbs from Home Depot, etc., versus buying from them?

How much do other fluorescent systems cost - like the banks? I have some pretty high-end strobes (Broncolor), so I have not looked too much at this type of lighting.

I'll have a look at their web site to see what I can make of their fixtures.

[Michael T. Murphy]

Here a couple of sets from Claumet. $129 on the first fixture.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CF0003/


Westcott Spidelight. These look like good quality, professional fixtures. Can't see the actual heads and locking mechanisms from that other vendor!

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/HL4605/

Add to cart for $269 price.

The Kino Flo and Calumet banks are nice, but pricy:

http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/CE4510/

[Jim Cole]

Michael,

Seems like the Image West kit that I pointed to in the original post may be a darn good deal. Each two bulb fixture puts out more light than the Calumet halogen or fluorescent fixtures and I like the look of the Flo Domes. Three fixtures should provide plenty of light for my planned use. Calumet does not advertise the CRI of their bulbs either so I'll wait for a confirmed CRI from Image West and then make a decision. A CRI of 92 may be good enough.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

[rjphil]

Hi -
Kodak discontinued EPN last year. I've been using it for artwork for a long time and bought a quantity from Calumet. The option would be Fuji Astia, it has a similar tonal scale and neutral balance. You may want to try some different films with whatever lights you end up with to find your preference.

[Jim Cole]

R.J.,

Thanks for the Astia suggestion. I've had EPN on a wishlist at B&H for a couple of months and finally went to order it yesterday and it was out of stock. Great timing huh?

Have you shot Provia for repro work?