Continuous lights

[macandal]

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.

[Peter De Smidt]

Arri, Lowell, Smith Victor, Mole Rchardson...

[vinny]

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.

[macandal]

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.

[John Kasaian]

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!:rolleyes:)
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.

[djdister]

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

[vinny]

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:)

[jp]

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.

[macandal]

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.

[macandal]

This is the softbox I saw on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003EWMDOW/ref=gno_cart_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=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/continuous-lights-heads-ballasts-kits-associated-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.

[vinny]

I wouldn't use quartz fixtures on softboxes made for strobes. You can get away with those cfl heads in the soft boxes for strobes.
Also, you get what you pay for. I've only used my cheapo soft box about 6 times in my house and it was fine. It failed on the 7th time which happened to be the only time i've used it on a paying gig. One of the rods poked through it's corner, rendering it useless.

fyi, strobes are daylight balanced. Most "hot lights" you can afford are tungsten balanced.
for a big soft box try a 2k blonde Ianbeam, this is tungsten balanced.
Dimming a tungsten filament causes the color temp to change drastically. Led's don't change color temp when dimmed but usually lack the punch required to shoot through a soft box. There's no such thing as cheap daylight balanced hot lights.

If you plan on using any smaller soft boxes and tungsten lights, fixtures like this:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-1000W-Red-Head-Light-Strand-Quartz-Color-lenses-scrims-1K-ianebeam-/121494310799?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c49a00f8f
chinese version:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Photo-Video-Studio-Continuous-Red-Head-Light-800w-Video-Lighting-Bulb-/251125850935?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a78446337

[Tin Can]

Still not sure why you want continuous for stills. But I bought Einstein strobes because they go very low output, 2.5ws. My friend also has a full set. We got light.

Here. (http://www.paulcbuff.com/e640.php)

Also not sure why everybody seems to hate PCB gear. I started using White Lightnings 20 years ago and I always knew when I bought my own I would buy PCB. I am a sucker for US products. I also like his control system. The tiny transceiver controls 16 lights with a flash meter that exactly matches my Sekonic L-758DR. I stopped checking.

As I wrote in a PM, I have a few other things you may try out here or borrow.

[NickyLai]

I'm looking to get maybe a kit .....

This link (http://www.skaeser.com/servlet/Categories?category=LATEST%20ARRIVALS) looks like has a lot of kits to choose from.

I don't know them and haven't buy from them neither, but keep the link for future need of continuous lights. I got the link from BetterLight member forum.

Happy Shopping Season!
Nicky

[jnantz]

the comment about lowell is funny
i have used lowell lights ( tota, omni and L lights )
on and off since the 1980s and never had a problem

that said, i have wanted to sell all my lights ( lowel as well as monoblocks )
to get a smith victor kit, they are wonderful ... wish i had the $$ they aren't cheap.

[Bruce Watson]

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?

If you want softlights, the obvious choice is fluorescents (because they are already inherently soft lights and therefore ideal for softbox use). Either straight tubes with electronic ballasts designed for photography / video, or compact fluorescents (curly tubes). The big name for this kind of lighting is KinoFlo (http://www.kinoflo.com/). Westcott (http://www.fjwestcott.com/) is big into the compact fluorescent side.

You'll need bulbs that are color corrected, which KinoFlo has made for them (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?sts=ma&N=0&Ntt=kino+flo+true+match). Done right this typically means six or seven phosphor tubes, which is really the only way to get the tubes CRI up toward 90+ which is where you'll need it for color photography work.

You could also use tungsten "hot lights" which are, in fact, hot. These draw a lot of power and convert a surprising amount of it to heat.

An alternative to tungsten lights are high intensity discharge (HID) lights. Osram trademarked the HMI version, but HMI has become this type of lighting's "kleenex", it's become the generic name for this type of lighting. HMI lights are what is used in football and basketball stadiums, and for much movie work in Hollywood. An 18kW HMI does an excellent imitation sun as it blasts through a window, but it takes a generator on a truck to run it. There are much smaller versions of course, the most common being 575W. But this is still a huge amount of light (HMIs are about the same efficiency as fluorescent, about 4x more light that the same wattage tungsten). At the really small end of HMI are the CDM lights.

The joy of the CDM lights is that they give you about the same lighting quality as the bigger HMI lights, but at a fraction of the cost. And... you can get fresnel lights, which means you can control how hard/soft your shadows are and how big a spot you throw. These things work great in a softbox (they don't really get hot), and they bounce really well too.

My favorites are the Cool Lights 150 (http://www.coollights.biz/clmf0150-cool-lights-fresnel-p-63.html)s, with a softbox for when you need it.

[DrTang]

Arri makes great hot lights

you can use a softbox designed for hotlights with strobes

just don't use a strobe only softbox with hotlights


you can still find old Berkeley Color-tran lights around - they were built to last and will be pretty cheap now

[macandal]

Still not sure why you want continuous for stills.It's just a preference thing. I never got comfortable with strobes. Also, I shoot 4x5, film, b&w almost exclusively, so continuous works for me. Not saying I would never shoot color, but I'm mostly a b&w shooter.

[Tim Meisburger]

I'm going to San Francisco in January for a meeting and while I'm there hope to pick up some lights. I've got a budget of $600 and was thinking about trying to find some used Arri fresnels, but am not sure if I can use them here, as we have 220v electricity mains. Suggestions are welcome.

[Tim Meisburger]

Also, I see you can buy a 100w led and a controller for $25 bucks on eBay. Would it be possible to switch out the halogen on an Arri with that?

[Tin Can]

I'm going to San Francisco in January for a meeting and while I'm there hope to pick up some lights. I've got a budget of $600 and was thinking about trying to find some used Arri fresnels, but am not sure if I can use them here, as we have 220v electricity mains. Suggestions are welcome.

Talk to a local Thai electrician, as it may be possible to split your local 220 vac into 110 vac using half a circuit.

Don't do it yourself.

[Tim Meisburger]

No, you cannot do that. Its not like 220 in the US.

[mdarnton]

It's just a preference thing. I never got comfortable with strobes. Also, I shoot 4x5, film, b&w almost exclusively, so continuous works for me. Not saying I would never shoot color, but I'm mostly a b&w shooter.

For me the secret of shooting with strobes used to be Polaroid. Now it's a Nikon D300 in the same role. I have always had a really hard time predicting what's going to happen, too, and I've been using them for 25 years. But I still loves them strobes. :-)

Not trying to change your mind--just mentioning the easy alternative.

[Tin Can]

For me the secret of shooting with strobes used to be Polaroid. Now it's a Nikon D300 in the same role. I have always had a really hard time predicting what's going to happen, too, and I've been using them for 25 years. But I still loves them strobes. :-)

Not trying to change your mind--just mentioning the easy alternative.

And I made the mistake of confusing you with the OP as both your user names seemed close enough to my feeble brain...

[Tin Can]

No, you cannot do that. Its not like 220 in the US.

Good to know.

[macandal]

What do you guys know or think about this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Powerful-2100W-Equivalent-Total-Fluorescent-Studio-Light-Kit-/151117561040

??

[Tim Meisburger]

I have been looking at sources for new and used lights in San Francisco online, and one thing I noticed is that there are a lot of rental places for lights. You can rent an Arri kit for $20 a day, and they have all sorts of other kits. If I lived there I would surely rent before I bought so I could get a sense of how I like each type. The CFK kit you linked to looks okay for soft light, but my frustration has always been with the difficulty of controlling light shape and spill, which is why I think I might like the fresnels.

[vinny]

What do you guys know or think about this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Powerful-2100W-Equivalent-Total-Fluorescent-Studio-Light-Kit-/151117561040

??

I'd go for a brand that also sells "egg crates" or "lcd's-light control devices which attach with Velcro to control spill. Available in varying degrees, they help put light only on the subject.

[axs810]

Look into Fotodiox C-1600. It's can take (x16) 30W CFL that gives out an equivalence of an 1,800W tungsten light


I bought mine originally for indoor wet plate collodion work, but due to health issues can't be around those chemicals for a bit. They work great and provide a ton of light...although I might actually sell mine in a few days because I have more access to portable strobes.

[Peter De Smidt]

There are also LED like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JOL9QM/ref=gb1h_img_c-2_7042_14676a8d?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0J7D4HGBPEJJ4PQGZVWP&pf_rd_i=5550342011&pf_rd_p=1990147042

I have not used one. Do your research to see if it'd be good for you.

[Tin Can]

This here looks like the cheapest way in. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0050K3DW2/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0095PO930&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1GEGQHF57RB0WEWS1NWC#customerReviews) It's on Amazon, read a bunch of reviews, I have always found Amazon reviews to be helpfull if you read about 20 of them, both the good and bad reviews. Nothing will be cheaper than this, as this one even has the bulbs.

[Tin Can]

There are also LED like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JOL9QM/ref=gb1h_img_c-2_7042_14676a8d?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0J7D4HGBPEJJ4PQGZVWP&pf_rd_i=5550342011&pf_rd_p=1990147042

I have not used one. Do your research to see if it'd be good for you.

I have similar x's 3. I use them for lot's of things. For soft light I bounce them off the ceiling or my V boards. Direct they are great for focusing and then I dim them and pop strobes.

I even simply use them as room lamps.

[Peter De Smidt]

Randy,

How bright are they?

[Tin Can]

Randy,

How bright are they?

Bright enough on full power at 5 feet you will hurt your eyes.

An ipod app says 500 lux at 5 feet

My Sekonic set at ISO 100 reads f22, 1 sec at 5 ft.

[Peter De Smidt]

Thanks, Randy.

[macandal]

Okay, this is getting waaaay too complicated. I’m going to try to simplify it.

I have other lights. I hadn’t posted them because I had them in storage and didn’t know what I had. I have two:


2 Photoflex Starlite QL (https://www.photoflex.com/products/starlite-ql) light fixtures (one with a 150 Watts/120 Volts fluorescent bulb and the other is a 50 Watt light bulb, I think)
One SilverDome NXT, X Small (https://www.photoflex.com/products/silverdome-nxt-extra-small) Softbox, 12x16x9”
One SilverDome NXT, Medium (https://www.photoflex.com/products/silverdome-nxt-medium) Softbox, 24x32x17
I have 3 Smith & Victor lights 650 Watts (similar to this set (http://www.smithvictor.com/products/detail.asp?prodid=95&id=14&pid=1&s1=Lighting+Kits&s2=Photoflood+Kits+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++&nm=K83+KIT))


So, to this I just wanted to add one big, bright octabox anywhere from 48” to 60”. That’s all I want.

Thanks.

[axs810]

Fotodiox C-1600 Cool Light Fixture with Softbox

http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-C-1600-Fixture-Softbox-Flourescent/dp/B0095PO930/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417732810&sr=8-1&keywords=fotodiox+c1600

[macandal]

Fotodiox C-1600 Cool Light Fixture with Softbox

http://www.amazon.com/Fotodiox-C-1600-Fixture-Softbox-Flourescent/dp/B0095PO930/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417732810&sr=8-1&keywords=fotodiox+c1600Only problem is that it is similar to my medium box. I'm looking for something bigger.

Thanks.

[Peter De Smidt]

Well, there's: https://www.photoflex.com/products/octodome-nxt-small

If that's not big enough then: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1038559-REG/impact_luxbanx_duo_medium_octagonal.html

You can cruise through BH Photo/video's offerings too. All the listings I looked at listed how many watts they could be used with. I'd start with finding a light modifier and then finding a compatible light source.

[macandal]

For example, something like this (http://www.fotodioxpro.com/fotodiox-pro-led100wa-56-daylight-studio-led-high-intensity-led-studio-light-for-still-and-video-with-dimmable-control-12v-ac-power-adapter-light-stand-bracket-cri-85.html):

126040

or this (http://www.fotodioxpro.com/fotodiox-pro-led-200wa-studio-led-high-intensity-led-studio-light.html):

126039

with this (http://www.fotodioxpro.com/studio-lighting-backdrops-camera-support-systems/fotodiox-pro-60oct-standard-softbox-with-speedring.html):

126042

would work.

[Oren Grad]

How much light do you need? What kinds of working apertures are you trying to achieve, for what kinds and sizes of subject?

I have a set of Lowel Totas, but I rarely use them. They're egg-frying, softbox-igniting hot, and for all the hassle and safety issues they still don't give anywhere near as much light as I want for big formats. I quickly moved on to strobe.

[David R Munson]

OP you might also consider making a diffusion panel and shooting lights through it. A diffusion panel is one of the lowest-cost, most-versatile bits of lighting kit I've ever used. Shoot hot lights through it, shoot strobes through it. Use it to diffuse direct sunlight, even.

I detail how I made mine here: http://photo-otaku.com/building-a-42x42-diffusion-panel-frame/

[Peter De Smidt]

Or bounce lights into a V-flat (two 4x8 foot--or whatever-- pieces of white Gatorboard joined at the long seam with white gaffer's tape.)

Like others have suggested, I started out this way too, but I soon learned that getting enough light was a problem with large format film, both for the sitter and because of all of the heat.

[Daniel Stone]

I picked up a Snap-On(in name only) 2000 lumen work light from Costco a few months back. It was touted as "5000k, daylight balanced".

Well after a couple months of sporadic use, it's been quite a pleasure to use. Very bright. Quite small, and was inexpensive for what you get, approx $40. I'm going to buy a few more, since I like them so much.

Like this one pictured here, but the 2000 lumens, vs the 1600 lumen version, pictured:
126047

This, in conjunction with a small diffusion frame/material, can make a really nice light, IMO. Using the default 'daylight' color balance on my OOOOOLD Kodak digital camera made a pretty darn neutral file(this has NO post-processing, outside of a size adjustment, FYI. Remember, color balance was NOT on "auto", it was manually set to "daylight" on a ccd-based ~2005era Kodak digicam):

(light was bounced into a silver umbrella)
Click picture to make it larger
126048

-Dan

[Tin Can]

That's a good price. I will get a couple if they still have them.

I buy from here (https://www.superbrightleds.com/) for a variety of LED miracle lights. They even have car spot lights which may be nice for photography and cheaper than the Pro brands.

I am sold on LED and use them in every fixture in my loft. I had 2 from Costco that would randomly turn on and off, it was very annoying, but that's only 2 out of 40. They are getting better very quickly. I hated CFL's.

[macandal]

How much light do you need? What kinds of working apertures are you trying to achieve, for what kinds and sizes of subject?

I have a set of Lowel Totas, but I rarely use them. They're egg-frying, softbox-igniting hot, and for all the hassle and safety issues they still don't give anywhere near as much light as I want for big formats. I quickly moved on to strobe.Shooting mostly people. Individuals and groups of up to 5 (for the moment). I shoot 4x5 and I usually shoot using very small apertures (i.e., 22-90).

[Tin Can]

Shooting mostly people. Individuals and groups of up to 5 (for the moment). I shoot 4x5 and I usually shoot using very small apertures (i.e., 22-90).

You need lots of light. Of course how much light anything delivers is dependant on distance of light to object.

[SergeiR]

Not sure why wouldn't you use strobes. Easier to carry, less power, not as much heat and space. But then its jut me.

For 90 you will need lights (specially with any kind of diffuser) that would lit up stadium

[Oren Grad]

Shooting mostly people. Individuals and groups of up to 5 (for the moment). I shoot 4x5 and I usually shoot using very small apertures (i.e., 22-90).

OK. Wanting to work at apertures as small as f/32 and f/45, with subjects as large as full-length portraits, and typically with a big softbox, is what drove me to strobes. Couldn't come anywhere near the amount of light I needed with the hot lights I looked at, not without frying the subject, myself, and my house's electrical system. Perhaps things have changed and there's some new LED-driven magic. But my impression is that most new lighting products these days are catering to folks who work in small digital formats, where f/8 is considered a small aperture.

[Peter De Smidt]

I agree with Randy that LED is worth investigating. Back when I did this, I used a 2000w Blonde, an open-faced flood. It's like turning on a furnace. It could easily ignite just about anything.... Plus there are other safety concerns. The bulbs can explode. As a result, you must use a special safety shield if it's used anywhere near people, and you must have the proper fire extinguisher handy. I have serious reservations about people using these, or similar lights, in anything but a full professional studio with a number of assistants on hand. Stuff happens during a shoot. Your attention is elsewhere... disaster. The sturdy stands, C-stands or similar, should be properly sand-bagged, the power cords should be gaf taped to the floor....

Even with that light I found that with 8x10 HP5+ film I lost a lot of film speed....kinda undermined the whole thing.

LEDs should be great with BW film. Color rendering is another matter. If color is important, test by evaluating the light with something like a MacBeth Color Checker.
CFLs suck. They're a hazmat situation waiting to happen, and even the expensive photo ones I've tested have been very deficient in the reds.

[MDR]

LED are not the best choice yet their Color fidelity leaves a lot to be desired for. Even the expensive units for Motion Picture work do have some Problems in that regard. Some natural Color tubes Kinoflo or similar are not bad and less hot than Tungsten. I personally love the look of a good mole or arri Tungsten light. 2000w at f90 means low shutter speeds. Even big movie lights with more than 2000w will be a bit slow. This is one of the rare occasions where strobes are the better choice unless you can get something along the line of a Maxi Brute actually this could be a pretty good choice 9K + so could a Mole Richardson Dino 24lite. But they are super expensive Diffusion is done trough a Diffusion Frame (cheap to make). A good strobe is cheaper than the aforementioned movie lights.

[Peter De Smidt]

A new option: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/LED_Light_Cube/Ntt/LED+Light+Cube/N/0
I have no idea how good the color is.

[Oren Grad]

A new option: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/LED_Light_Cube/Ntt/LED+Light+Cube/N/0
I have no idea how good the color is.

The bigger problem for the OP is that one of those doesn't deliver nearly enough light to get to f/22 and beyond with short exposures. Nor are they cheap, if you want to start ganging them.

[djdister]

Shooting mostly people. Individuals and groups of up to 5 (for the moment). I shoot 4x5 and I usually shoot using very small apertures (i.e., 22-90).

Agree with the others that strobes are your best option, plus used strobe kits can be had on the cheap on Craigslist and the like. There is no compelling reason for you to use continuous lighting under this scenario.

[Peter De Smidt]

The bigger problem for the OP is that one of those doesn't deliver nearly enough light to get to f/22 and beyond with short exposures. Nor are they cheap, if you want to start ganging them.

True.

[ShannonG]

Agree with the others that strobes are your best option, plus used strobe kits can be had on the cheap on Craigslist and the like. There is no compelling reason for you to use continuous lighting under this scenario.
Yup,one can pick up a lower end Speedatron set for cheap,and hand building custom light modifiers such as diffusion panels is fun and makes your light totally unique..As opssed to buying the same lighting look everyone eles buys from a catalog or web site..

[macandal]

I have a question about some of the lights I have. I mentioned in an earlier post (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?118068-Continuous-lights&p=1194128&viewfull=1#post1194128) that I have a pair of StarLite QL (https://photoflex.com/index.php?/products/starlite-ql) lights. My question is, can I use anything other than halogen bulbs with them? I wanted to use LED bulbs on these but I don't know if I can, I mean, safety-wise? Are these lamps designed for a specific kind of light? Thanks.

[DrTang]

screw a regular household bulb in.. extension cord to power bar with a fuse

get way back and turn it on

I bet it works,,


then you can get led bulbs for it


caution..I am not an electronic engineer

[Tin Can]

I have a question about some of the lights I have. I mentioned in an earlier post (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?118068-Continuous-lights&p=1194128&viewfull=1#post1194128) that I have a pair of StarLite QL (https://photoflex.com/index.php?/products/starlite-ql) lights. My question is, can I use anything other than halogen bulbs with them? I wanted to use LED bulbs on these but I don't know if I can, I mean, safety-wise? Are these lamps designed for a specific kind of light? Thanks.

They sell this in accessories. https://photoflex.com/rr-parts/fvsl150cfl

I offer no advice, but you should be able to figure it out.

[macandal]

They sell this in accessories. https://photoflex.com/rr-parts/fvsl150cfl

I offer no advice, but you should be able to figure it out.Randy, I saw that, but then that implies that it is either fluorescent or halogen only? Any electrical engineers out there?

Thanks.

[John Olsen]

Arri makes great hot lights


I have a couple of Arri fresnels and they're so well made that I'm happy just to unpack and use them. Some quality is well worth having - Arri is that kind of quality. I compare them to my Naren, Photogenic, Mole-Richardson, Smith-Victor and Lowell units and they're way above all of those.

[Kirk Gittings]

the comment about lowell is funny
i have used lowell lights ( tota, omni and L lights )
on and off since the 1980s and never had a problem


Me too....but not on and off-regularly. I have 6 Tota's and two Omni's. They are beat to shit but just keep on working. Some periodic maintenance on the lamp receptacle on the Omni's but that's about it.

[Taija71A]

My Lowel Fren-L 650's... Are amongst my favorite Tungsten Lights.

They are much better than an Arri 650 Plus...
Especially as you get closer to 'Full Spot'. No contest.

If anyone has a Fren-L 650 'FS'... You know where to find me! ;)

-Tim.

[AtlantaTerry]

I wouldn't buy anything with the name Lowell on it. Cheapest lights on the planet.
Neither would I. But I do own products made by Lowel.
http://lowel.tiffen.com/

[appletree]

Great thread. Helped me finally understand hot lights (continuous lighting) vs. strobe. I mean, sort of common sense, but I understand the decisions one needs to make before investing in lighting setups. Camera settings (aperture) you would like to shoot at, distance, subject(s), etc. For people continuous lighting where you want to shoot at f/22 or something will burn em alive, so strobes might be best. Where as still life, it doesn't matter other than the electric bill. Then again, I guess different "moods" are set for continuous lighting (and understanding the shadows and angles that will take place in the negative) vs. strobes.

Sorry, I offer no help and this was a random post. But thank you for everyone's input and comments.
So many options and choices one must make before diving into studio lighting.

[Drew Wiley]

Hmm. I've kept my good ole Tota, Omni, and Arri equipment. The only real problem with "hot lights" is that they're, well, hot! Not the best thing for a studio without air conditioning during a Las Vegas summer shoot. But with a bit of planning and common sense, I've always preferred them to flash.

[StoneNYC]

Hmm. I've kept my good ole Tota, Omni, and Arri equipment. The only real problem with "hot lights" is that they're, well, hot! Not the best thing for a studio without air conditioning during a Las Vegas summer shoot. But with a bit of planning and common sense, I've always preferred them to flash.

Fun story you reminded me about.

When filming Indiana Jones (the new one) the crew were filming the scene where the motorcycle goes through the library and crashes, it was a 3 day shoot and on the second day the crew somehow forgot to turn off all the lights, I mean this never happens but it was a 16 hour day and I think they just left to pass out, anyway the next day was 103 degrees outside and was 120 degrees inside!!!! All day they would do a single take, pass out waters to all the "students" then collect all the waters, then do a take, then pass out bananas, then collect the peels, then another take, all day long with water and food because everyone was in wool, and passing out.

They had portable air units but the library building was over 100 years old and didn't have its own cooling system so the external air wasn't very good and it was just stupid so hot out. And they have to be turned off during a take for the sound.

So yea, hot lights can get HOT, lol.

[Drew Wiley]

I always wonder how those old-time classic black and white actors felt, with the men all in suits and ties, and hot fresnel lights aimed at them the whole time.

[LabRat]

I always wonder how those old-time classic black and white actors felt, with the men all in suits and ties, and hot fresnel lights aimed at them the whole time.

And the sweat had nowhere to go...

Steve K

[Robert Langham]

I use a set of Dynalites shooting still life. Keep in mind the "time machine" function of photography when imagining an image. Sometimes I use the modeling light for one exposure or multiple exposures to build up an image. Sometimes I use the flash to freeze action in a still life. Sometimes the flash is plugged in and synced, other times it's fired as open flash. Other times some combination. Many images actually cannot be seen by eye until you process the film because they are longer or shorter periods than a human can see.

The hard and fast rule is: It depends, when using hot lights, flash, LED, tungsten, et.

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