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Thread: What lights should I buy?

  1. #31
    Cooke, Heliar, Petzval...yeah
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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Petronio View Post
    ... try starting with one pack and two heads...
    Frank, I think Ron mentioned that it won't be sufficient for tabletop and portrait work for 8x10 and 8x20 with adequate DOF. That's why I chose the "impressive setup". With accesories, you're right, I should probably go for some smaller softboxes and umbrelas. But Octagons stays .
    Peter Hruby
    www.peterhruby.ca

  2. #32

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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    One of the key basics of lighting is that the light source should be about the same size as the subject and about equal distance away... of course laws are meant ot be broken but starting with that in mind is a really good way to begin. So... if you really need to horse the power of two 2000 watt plus packs into one light source you'll want to look at the special bitube heads and whatnot. The regular 2040s only can handle one 2000 watt pack.

    Frankly, you probably can get into f/45-64 territory for most moderate-sized still-life photos with a single 2000 watt pack and head. And if you need more light, most studio photographers will do multiple "pops" where you open the shutter on Bulb and fire the strobe however many times you need to build up the exposure.

    Not that sheer horsepower is a bad thing... it's just expensive.

    And yeah the Octas are great for people, maybe not so ideal for most still life though. You tend to use more strip style banks and controlled sources.

    You may enjoy going through the Chimera and Lowel websites to see some options...

  3. #33

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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    The WL X3200s go for about $500 on ebay.

    Bookends are useful and cheap reflectors: two 4x8' sheets of foamcore taped together along the long edge so they will stand.

    If you are interested in shooting people, the best book I have found is: Photographing People, Portraits, Fashion, Glamour by Roger Hicks, Frances Shultz et al, published by Rotovision. It is out of print but available from Amazon used.

  4. #34
    Cooke, Heliar, Petzval...yeah
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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    I think I need to read some good books about lightning. Maybe books I have are not the best before I make any decission. I have a good composition books but they're not very technical related. I'll definitely look into those websites.

    Any recommendations?


    Well, Ron just red my mind before I posted this thread
    Peter Hruby
    www.peterhruby.ca

  5. #35

    Join Date
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    Ottawa, Ontario Canada
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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    As mentioned by others in this thread- you ultimate choice will depend on your and requirements and applications. As a commercial photographer working with 8x10 equipment I approach it this way; I want a lot of power. Here's the reason- When doing food and table-top illustrations I am working rather close to the subject which is some cases require some bellows extension factors. When doing food and other subjects which require accurate color matching on transparency film, I might need some filtration or even the use of a polarizer which will absorb 2 f/stops right there. Even black and white work may require the use of a filter for proper panchromatic rendition of a subject in terms of contrast. All of theses factors are light eaters.

    As for the QUALITY of lighting. Most commercial photographers, nowadays use light modifiers such as soft boxes. Here again you will lose light in that the light is bounced within the soft box and then further diffused by the scrim(s) on the face of the box.

    So let's review for a moment- Say we lose 1 stop for bellows extension, 1-3 stops for filter packs or a polarizer, the watt/second rating or a guide number for a flash unit that is really intended for portrait work may not cut it in terms of depth of field and other requirements. It is true that in some cases it is not advisable to stop down too much, say past f/11, to avoid loss of quality due to refraction, however when shooting relatively close with multi layered illustrations, you may need between f/22 and f/45 to pull everything into acceptable focus even if you have used your camera movements to their utmost. Oh-with weaker lights you can do multiple pops by working in a darkened room and repeatedly firing the flash until the correct exposure is obtained. Polaroid test are needed for this procedure when working with view cameras.

    I recommend a unit that can generate about 2400 watt/seconds for full use of an 8x10 system. My experience is that Speedotron units stand up under heavy industrial conditions for years and there is plenty of theses units on the used market as well. Other makers are Norman, Pro-Photo and Dynalight.

    You can also opt for continuous lights. With those you can select an f/stop and compensate with the shutter speed. That is easy enough in black and white but in color transparency work you will need lights and film that is balanced for 3200 K degrees. Some longer exposures will carry reciprocity law failure factors and require extended exposure times and may even require some filtration. There are lots of great quartz light units on the market that are relatively less expensive than strobes. I have some old Color Tran and Mole-Richardson lights that are basically for cinematography- they come in all configurations- fresnel spots, floods, mini broads and broads. Lots of theses are on the used market because the motion pictures business has been going with HMI lights and other complex systems. Photogenic still makes their mini-spots. Theses work well for commercial and still life work in multiples.

    In my portrait studio, I look for lower power lights because I want less depth of field and I love using direct lighting from 16" parabolic reflectors mounted on my lamp heads. When feathering the lights and using barn doors and snoots I still have sufficient light even of I choose to power the down to 25 w/s for use with my Imagon lenses.

    If you would get into you application I may be better able to assist you.

    Ed

  6. #36

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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    Mole Richardsons! The really big ones! You can get used ones cheap from Hollywood supply houses. How do you know if you've got enough light unless the insulation starts smelling and the electrical supply panel starts smoking? Don't trust them cheesy light meters
    Sometimes those fresnels will blow out on you (well, your sitter unless you're taking a self portrait) Hell, everyones into piercings and such these days, so charge 'em extry for the glass shards.
    You've got to love the sound of circuit breakers popping if you want...LIGHT!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  7. #37
    Cooke, Heliar, Petzval...yeah
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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    Quote Originally Posted by John Kasaian View Post
    Mole Richardsons! The really big ones! You can get used ones cheap from Hollywood supply houses. How do you know if you've got enough light unless the insulation starts smelling and the electrical supply panel starts smoking? Don't trust them cheesy light meters
    Sometimes those fresnels will blow out on you (well, your sitter unless you're taking a self portrait) Hell, everyones into piercings and such these days, so charge 'em extry for the glass shards.
    You've got to love the sound of circuit breakers popping if you want...LIGHT!

    LOL. Funny
    Peter Hruby
    www.peterhruby.ca

  8. #38
    Cooke, Heliar, Petzval...yeah
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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    I think I just got crazy

    This is what I just bought. It is my Christmass present.
    Peter Hruby
    www.peterhruby.ca

  9. #39
    Moderator Ralph Barker's Avatar
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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    Big Mole Richardsons. Yeah. Didn't Dali use those to get things to melt for him?

    Actually, I use a 600W Arri fresnel as a focusing light. But, I tell models to close their eyes before I pop the switch.

  10. #40

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    Re: What lights should I buy?

    They're (Mole Richardsons) also useful in making quesadillas for lunch! If there was a cheese melting Olympics Mole Richardson would get the gold, LOL!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

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