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Thread: Economical Continuous Lighting

  1. #1

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    Economical Continuous Lighting

    I am working on a slit-scan photography project and I am realizing it would be really helpful to have good control of the lighting since there are so many other funky variables involved. Slit-scan won't work with strobes, so I am looking for continuous lights.

    I want to:
    - Light a full body evenly with soft lighting, minimizing shadows
    - Use color and black and white film
    - Throw enough light to use small apertures for deep DOF

    The room I'm shooting in has some ambient day light (EV 9 @ ISO 100) and I want to add two stops. The camera and lights will all be a few feet from the model.

    I have zero experience with studio lighting and don't want to spend a fortune on it. I noticed lots of used arri 300s for sale on ebay but thought they might throw hard shadows and I'm worried about the color temp. There are lots of cheap LED fixtures and kits on amazon but I'm worried they won't be bright enough or just fall apart.

    I probably won't use this stuff often, so it doesn't need to last forever. That said, my general preference is for used quality equipment over new crap.

    Any suggestions?

  2. #2
    Les
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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

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    This may be my approach along with this...or perhaps 2 units, which would give off 1500 watts. One can easily manipulate that.
    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...l?sts=pi&pim=Y

    Arri lights (HMI's) are less prone to change color on you, but they require specific ballast and are usually pretty expensive....even the used ones.

    There are other ways to do this.

    Les

  3. #3

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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    I've actually been faking it with a portable quartz halogen work light, which I suspect is the same bulb as that. Maybe I just need some diffusers.

  4. #4
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    My first studio lights 2003 were Lowel Tota-Light Tungsten Flood Light

    They make a lot of light and heat, we also used Lowel Omni-Light 500 Watt Focus Flood Light at work

    Both had a recall in 20xx where Lowel shipped free to anybody that asked, safely screens in case the lamp shattered with possible eye damage to sitters. I got safety screens for all the Lowel I used.

    None ever shattered in my usage.

    Most Home stores now sell powerful LED work lamps with safety glass permanently installed. Some old hot lamp work lights did not.

    If shooting people, make sure you don't hurt them...

    There is also a UV problem with some shop lights and I don't have all the details on that.

    I still have my Tota lamps JIC and not for sale...

    I now use P C Buff Einsteins and they also have shatter shields.
    Tin Can

  5. #5

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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    After some research, I ordered some modern Godox lights from B&H. They seem to cover all of the bases and are cheaper than old Arri's.

    Thanks for the suggestions.

  6. #6
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    Please review what you bought after you use them

    I looked up Godux at B&H and they have many interesting models, then I noticed this company makes adapters to fit P C Buff softbox with Balcor mount to Bowens mount that is used on Godux

    I want to upgrade to LED high power studio lamps perhaps Godux
    Tin Can

  7. #7

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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    LED work lights should work well for your project and are far cheaper than any designed for photography. Since you are doing some color work, try them by reflecting light off a CD and observe the bands of colors on the surface. The CD acts like a prism and displays the bands of color in the spectrum. If they are approximately the same as those of the sun, they will work extremely well. If there is a large imbalance, difference in width, of the colors, hey will be OK with B&W, but may be difficult to work with when printing color. The most likely imbalance is too much red.

  8. #8

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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    LED is good, but to work with high f/stops and slow film there is no substitute for flash.
    LED are usually intended for video, where shutter speeds are usually in the 1/25-1/60s range.

    To shoot at f/8 on fp4 (which I rate iso64) two of these guys without any modifiers will only get me to 1/30s, and are too much for some people (lots of blue eyed folk who can’t handle bright lights here in Norway).

    As much as I’d love to use continuous light more, for what I do flash is the only game in town.
    "I am a reflection photographing other reflections within a reflection. To photograph reality is to photograph nothing." Duane Michals

  9. #9

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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    I have Lowell lights that I've used over the years: three DP Lights, and a couple of Tota Lights. Unlike other Lowell lights, DP's are versatile. They're quite adjustable in that one can adjust them to be more direct light, or to be a softer, less focused light. They also accept a variety of accessories, like a snoot, one that attenuates the light be a stop, one that adjusts the light to a gradient, etc. Each of my DP's gave removable barn doors on all four sides. (It can be rotated, as well.) Bulbs are available in 500w, 750w, and 1000w sizes.

    I have a friend who's an architectural photography, had he uses a set of Omni lights for all his supplemental lighting. (Interior photos.) They are a convenient size, and they transport well. But, the adjustments are micky-mouse and don't make much difference. There's also no 1000w option.

    I did a portrait of my son one time using a Bronica and HP5 film rated at ASA 200. The amount of DP light that I needed had him squinting into the camera. Maybe for digital, where one can raise the ASA to much higher values. But problematic for film portraiture, in my view.

    It cuts down on the light intensity a little. But, always use them with a protective screen, in case a bulb bursts. For example, they're called hot lights for good reason.

  10. #10
    (Shrek)
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    Re: Economical Continuous Lighting

    LEDs have come a long way in the last 10 years. If using commercial or household LEDs for color photography, there are 2 specs to watch: CRI and R9. Any LED with a CRI >90 should be ok for color photography, but most LEDs are weak on the Red spectrum, so they have another spec they give out that measures the red output, the R9. Higher the better.

    I would recommend getting panel lights designed for office use, they come in 24x24", 12x48" and 24x48" (24x24 is most common now). I also suggest buying as many as you think you will ever need, from one batch. Make sure you pick them yourself off the pallet, if possible, so they are sequentially-made. They change components quite often in these, if you get lights from different batches the color might not match. And of course don't use shutter speeds over 1/60th or so, possibly 1/125, to ensure each photo captures several cycles of output from each LED light (they mostly run over 5,000 cycles per second now, so this is less of a problem these days).

    If doing portraits, halogen lamps are still better because of the high output in the infrared-red range, which is the weakness of LEDs.

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