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Thread: Continuous lights

  1. #1

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    Continuous lights

    I'm looking to get maybe a kit but definitely a big softbox (60") and light, however everywhere I look all I see are strobes. I don't want strobes, I want to buy continuous lights. Alien Bees had been recommended to me at some point, but they are only strobes, right?

    Which brands make continuous lights/kits?

    Thanks.
    --Mario

  2. #2
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Re: Continuous lights

    Arri, Lowell, Smith Victor, Mole Rchardson...
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

  3. #3

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    Re: Continuous lights

    Not sure where you're looking but b&h and ebay have TONS of them.

    Bardwell mcalister
    Pro Can
    ETC
    Strand
    MacTech
    Light Panels
    Kino Flo
    LTM
    Aadyntech

    I wouldn't buy anything with the name Lowell on it. Cheapest lights on the planet.

  4. #4

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    Re: Continuous lights

    Quote Originally Posted by vinny View Post
    I wouldn't buy anything with the name Lowell on it. Cheapest lights on the planet.
    Good thing you told me. Affordability is an issue. At least, I want to get a big Octagon Softbox. I saw some Fotodiox softboxes for around $40-$50 (no lights of course). So besides the speedring that these are designed for, are there softboxes for strobes and continuous lights or can you use them for both?

    Thanks Peter and Vinny.
    --Mario

  5. #5

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    Re: Continuous lights

    I had a pair of medium Photoflex soft boxes, a gold/silver reflector and a back drop stand.
    It did everything I wanted for portraits & tabletop. I wish I still had it. I still have one small Mole Richardson (works great for warming tortillas!)
    I notice a lot of guys like Lowels.
    The big thing about hot lights is make sure you've got the amps for them. Blacking out your building ain't a way to make friends.
    "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

  6. #6

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    Re: Continuous lights

    No one's mentioned Westcott yet - good continuous lights.

  7. #7

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    Re: Continuous lights

    There have been so many advancements in LED's in the last couple years but most people rule them out when referring to "hot lights". The single Led fixtures and led banks have very hight output and use only a small percentage of the juice. Same goes for flourescents, they don't have to be HOT to be continuous!

    Cheap soft boxes can/will melt or catch on fire if you use quartz globed lights in them. Westcott makes some decent soft boxes and fixtures to go in them. I said decent, Chimera makes the best but cost $$$$$$$. Chimera makes a reasonably pricedfixture called the TRIOLET that may interest you.

    You didn't say what you'll be shooting. People move, still life doesn't

  8. #8
    jp's Avatar
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    Re: Continuous lights

    I use aluminum work/brooding lights for hot lights. No softbox option, but it's good for photographing individuals. Even the made for photo/video products tend to have affordable options compared to strobe (but much less powerful) If you use fast film like iso 400, sometimes the modeling lights of strobes is adequate.

  9. #9

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    Re: Continuous lights

    Quote Originally Posted by vinny View Post
    You didn't say what you'll be shooting. People move, still life doesn't
    Mostly people, but I don't rule out objects/still life.
    --Mario

  10. #10

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    Re: Continuous lights

    This is the softbox I saw on Amazon:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A2L77EE7U53NWQ

    It is exactly what I'm looking for: big Octabox, very reasonably priced, and good reviews. I almost bought it, and then I noticed that it was for Alien Bees. I remember AB made only strobe lights. Still, I was going to buy it and then look for a ring that fit the light that I ended up getting, but then I started thinking that perhaps there was a difference in boxes made for strobes and coninuous. Strobes are only powered for seconds at a time, while continuous lights, well, they stay on for longs periods of time. So I thought there might in fact be a difference between boxes. Is that true?

    Also, thinking about the head I could use with a softbox, I saw that Profoto made these:

    http://profoto.com/us/products/conti...ed-accessories

    What I like about these heads is that they can be adjusted, the brightness, down to 10% of their total power. Others do too, and frankly, I wouldn't get these because they are expensive. Can you recommend other heads that do the same thing? If not, not one of these that can be dimmed, which is a good head to get for the big softbox I want? Thanks.
    --Mario

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