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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Your thoughts on continuous lighting
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06/28/2018 11:11:58 PM · #1
I've been kicking around the idea of getting some continuous lighting even thought I've never used it. There are time when I am shooting portraits where I would really like to open my 50 up to 1.4 but even at the lowest power it blows everything out. Can anyone give me thought on brands, modifiers, types (led, tungsten, fluorescent etc)
I'd like to get something good but hopefully keep it under $1500

Message edited by author 2018-06-28 23:12:35.
06/29/2018 12:39:31 AM · #2
I love continuous lighting. I bought a cheap set just like this one on ebay in 2013 for doing food photography and I still use them all the time for product photography and occasionally for portraits. the daylight fluorescent bulbs burned out occasionally and were a little expensive, so last year I replaced them all with these LED bulbs from Amazon. There may be continuous sets on ebay that come with LED bulbs now - I'd go with LED. In fact, I am thinking about buying some LED strips and just lining the inside of a softbox with them and see how that works. I've also seen some compelling DIY projects like this on YouTube.

Also, you can buy some stackable ND filters to use with your strobes to be able to shoot at f1.4 but you have to experiment (unless you know all that exposure and lighting math that I don't) and focusing is tricky unless you use a good modeling light of some sort.

Hope that helps.
06/29/2018 01:15:13 AM · #3
All good thoughts, thanks Ken!

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

I love continuous lighting. I bought a cheap set just like this one on ebay in 2013 for doing food photography and I still use them all the time for product photography and occasionally for portraits. the daylight fluorescent bulbs burned out occasionally and were a little expensive, so last year I replaced them all with these LED bulbs from Amazon. There may be continuous sets on ebay that come with LED bulbs now - I'd go with LED. In fact, I am thinking about buying some LED strips and just lining the inside of a softbox with them and see how that works. I've also seen some compelling DIY projects like this on YouTube.

Also, you can buy some stackable ND filters to use with your strobes to be able to shoot at f1.4 but you have to experiment (unless you know all that exposure and lighting math that I don't) and focusing is tricky unless you use a good modeling light of some sort.

Hope that helps.
06/29/2018 03:47:40 AM · #4
You can build LED panels very easily yourself. I built 2 panels of 60x40cm with around 500LEds on it. Powered with old PC powersupply. And power regulator. first time I turned it on, I got almost blind.

I can post later the how to build it.

Message edited by author 2018-06-29 03:48:30.
06/29/2018 05:04:08 PM · #5
Sounds good, but I am a little DIY-impared. I am more hoping someone can tell me if there is a clearly better advantage going with leds vs fluorescent or models they like

Originally posted by GeorgesBogaert:

You can build LED panels very easily yourself. I built 2 panels of 60x40cm with around 500LEds on it. Powered with old PC powersupply. And power regulator. first time I turned it on, I got almost blind.

I can post later the how to build it.
06/29/2018 05:24:36 PM · #6
I think in general that LEDs are cheaper to run, less toxic, longer-lasting, less fragile, and more expensive than comparable fluorescent lights.
06/29/2018 07:54:48 PM · #7
Just out of curiosity, why continuous vs strobe?
06/29/2018 09:55:10 PM · #8
Originally posted by tanguera:

Just out of curiosity, why continuous vs strobe?

WYSIWYG (that's my reasoning)

Originally posted by GeneralE:

I think in general that LEDs are cheaper to run, less toxic, longer-lasting, less fragile, and more expensive than comparable fluorescent lights.

Not more expensive than daylight fluorescents. At least not from my experience. The rest is all true, though. Less heat also.
06/29/2018 10:38:15 PM · #9
Originally posted by tanguera:

Just out of curiosity, why continuous vs strobe?


I don't know that I have a better reason than that I just want to try it, Johanna. Although, I did think about what Ken said, the wysiwyg issue is interesting to me. Although, now that I have been looking, I am starting to think I might get more bang for my buck getting some nice, big softboxes for my strobes....
06/29/2018 10:41:07 PM · #10
Originally posted by smardaz:

Originally posted by tanguera:

Just out of curiosity, why continuous vs strobe?


I don't know that I have a better reason than that I just want to try it, Johanna. Although, I did think about what Ken said, the wysiwyg issue is interesting to me. Although, now that I have been looking, I am starting to think I might get more bang for my buck getting some nice, big softboxes for my strobes....

Hmm, now I am thinking of adjustable power LED strips lining the inside of a softbox attached to a strobe for use as focusing/modeling lights.
06/29/2018 10:45:12 PM · #11
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:


Hmm, now I am thinking of adjustable power LED strips lining the inside of a softbox attached to a strobe for use as focusing/modeling lights.


I'd be careful, I'm pretty sure if you connect strobes to LEDs you'll open a Kodachrome wormhole.
06/29/2018 10:57:45 PM · #12
Originally posted by smardaz:

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:


Hmm, now I am thinking of adjustable power LED strips lining the inside of a softbox attached to a strobe for use as focusing/modeling lights.


I'd be careful, I'm pretty sure if you connect strobes to LEDs you'll open a Kodachrome wormhole.

When I was a small child doing experiments as part of my plan to grow up to be a mad scientist, when people warned me about the dangers of potential catastrophic or cataclysmic results, this only served to inspire me to continue. But now that I am grown up... huh, still inspired! Whaddyaknow.
06/29/2018 11:18:19 PM · #13
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

Originally posted by smardaz:

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:


Hmm, now I am thinking of adjustable power LED strips lining the inside of a softbox attached to a strobe for use as focusing/modeling lights.


I'd be careful, I'm pretty sure if you connect strobes to LEDs you'll open a Kodachrome wormhole.

When I was a small child doing experiments as part of my plan to grow up to be a mad scientist, when people warned me about the dangers of potential catastrophic or cataclysmic results, this only served to inspire me to continue. But now that I am grown up... huh, still inspired! Whaddyaknow.

My dad was the science teacher at my elementary school, and we conducted some interesting experiments trying to develop "rocket fuels" ...
06/30/2018 12:27:30 AM · #14
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

Originally posted by smardaz:

Originally posted by Art Roflmao:


Hmm, now I am thinking of adjustable power LED strips lining the inside of a softbox attached to a strobe for use as focusing/modeling lights.


I'd be careful, I'm pretty sure if you connect strobes to LEDs you'll open a Kodachrome wormhole.

When I was a small child doing experiments as part of my plan to grow up to be a mad scientist, when people warned me about the dangers of potential catastrophic or cataclysmic results, this only served to inspire me to continue. But now that I am grown up... huh, still inspired! Whaddyaknow.

My dad was the science teacher at my elementary school, and we conducted some interesting experiments trying to develop "rocket fuels" ...

That's pretty awesome. I was most often without adult supervision and had a library of the "How and Why Wonder Books" (LOVED THEM!). When I was about 5 or 6, I tried mixing anything and everything I could find to get something to explode. I made a mixture in a glass Alka Seltzer bottle/tube and tied a string around it and hung it out my bedroom window. The next afternoon, I checked it and the glass had shattered. SUCCESS!! But I could never reproduce it. 35 years later, my little brother confessed that he was outside, saw it, and amused himself by swinging it and banging it against the side of the house til it broke. I think that's why most successful mad scientists didn't have little brothers.

edit to add: the statute of limitations on beating up your little brother for something is 36 years. At least that's what I told him when I punched him after confessing.

Message edited by author 2018-06-30 00:29:53.
06/30/2018 10:22:45 AM · #15
Originally posted by tanguera:

Just out of curiosity, why continuous vs strobe?

I have some LED panels. In portrait work, continuous lights can make pupils constrict. That constriction leaves more of the iris (colored part) showing, which can be very pretty. Pupils enlarge in a dark room making large black holes with narrow iris rims, and pupil constriction in response to flash may not be fast enough or strong enough to make the iris show to best advantage. (Adding a small continuous light can help overcome that.) Continuous light lets the photographer select shutter speeds faster than the sync limit without going to high speed sync (if camera and flash make that available, and if the subject can tolerate the brightness). And continuous lights let you see what you will get. That is sometimes better than looking repeatedly at many test images (many speedlights don't have modeling light capabilities) -- and it can give a better sense of color/contrast/ratios than strobe modeling lights (which may not match the flash output closely enough in power or color). And for video work, continuous light is mandatory.

On the other hand, continuous lights can be so bright that the subject squints (usually not attractive) or demands to stop the session soon (sigh, so you drop the power/brightness and deal with the variables still under your control or get out the flash equipment after all). Gel for color effects can be a challenge with larger LED panels. LED panels often are too big to work with most light modifier equipment, so some effects are not easily available. And relying on shutter speed to freeze motion has serious limitations. Continuous lights usually don't produce enough light for extra fast shutter speeds, while flash units can with freeze motion with light durations much shorter than fastest shutter speeds -- easily available in some brands. Inexpensive LEDs apparently can produce problems with color, while some of the more expensive ones have better calibrated output.

Both kinds of light have excellent uses. I'm still experimenting with lighting. So far, no explosions.
06/30/2018 11:06:54 AM · #16
Interesting. I've owned both and although they've made massive progress with LEDs, they just cannot replace strobes. For one, there is not an LED on the market that has the same power capabilities as strobes. Believe me, I've searched. To approximate the power you need really huge panels, and the price is ridiculous. Not to mention that the size is an issue of you're shooting in small spaces. Then there's the whole modifier issue. There are none really for the larger panels because they're mainly used for video, which requires much less light, and usually no modifiers. Then there's the drop-off issue. Check out the charts - a strobe can `'throw`' it's light over 15-20 feet, so you can place the instrument way out of frame. Most LEDs drop off between 5-7 feet, so they need to be really close to the subject. I suppose it depends on your intended use: if you're doing nothing but headshots, and you can place the lights within a couple of feet of the subject, it's not an issue.

The whole WYSIWYG thing is irrelevant. I can almost dial in the levels before I start shooting, and just require one or two level adjustments to get the right mix. Most good systems even allow you to change the settings from your camera!! It's just like being able to visualize your exact camera settings to get the look you want before you take a shot. What takes longer is to dial in the light position, which you would still need to play with regardless of light source type.

Color temp is definitely an issue with LEDs - especially if you're going with bargain brands. Although with digital, this can usually be addressed in post with white balance or other adjustments.

The irises: I suppose if you're doing some really close close-ups like headshots, it might be an issue. I have never had this problem. Also, pinpoint irises can also be really weird, even though you see more of the iris. However, there's also the issue of catchlights: most LEDs are square, so the catchlights will also be square. But so are windows (for natural light shots), so this might not be a problem, although you should factor that into your considerations.

I purchased (and eventually returned) some Rotolights, which were fantastic - the first ever LED STROBES!! There were 3 small ROUND heads, IR triggered, both cable- and battery-powered, came in a rolling case with stands, "gels", bought additional barndoors (what passes for modifiers), and was super portable. However, even at full power, three heads set 3 feet from my subject I just could not get enough light without having to shoot wide open, slow shutter, high ISO. It was absurd. Fortunately I also brought my strobes with me which saved that shoot.

I think it really depends on what type of shots you're planning to use your lights for.

Message edited by author 2018-06-30 11:10:03.
06/30/2018 05:54:27 PM · #17
Johanna and Robert, thank you SO much, this is exactly the kind of discussion I was looking for. There's still some things you can only get on DPC. I think this has helped me make up my mind that I am going to get the large soft boxes for my Hensel's that I've always wanted.
06/30/2018 08:55:13 PM · #18
Originally posted by smardaz:

Johanna and Robert, thank you SO much, this is exactly the kind of discussion I was looking for. There's still some things you can only get on DPC. I think this has helped me make up my mind that I am going to get the large soft boxes for my Hensel's that I've always wanted.


Hensels rock. Good choice.
06/30/2018 10:10:38 PM · #19
I bought the Hensels after using them at Jennifer's when she did Sofia's senior portraits. Never regretted it, those things are built like tanks.
06/30/2018 11:27:27 PM · #20
Originally posted by smardaz:

I bought the Hensels after using them at Jennifer's when she did Sofia's senior portraits. Never regretted it, those things are built like tanks.


Indeed. I use ProFotos but same thing.

07/01/2018 04:20:14 PM · #21
So I placed my order this morning, 4ft by 6ft softbox. Also got some barn doors as I've been wanting to play with some more direct/harsh light setups
07/01/2018 04:21:31 PM · #22
If you don't have strip boxes, you don't know what you're missing
07/01/2018 05:01:21 PM · #23
Originally posted by tanguera:

If you don't have strip boxes, you don't know what you're missing


Why you gotta tell me that after i make the purchase? Lol, it's all good, I've been coveting this big diffuser for a long time
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