On my way home today the idea of using xenon car-bulbs as photo illumination. Seeing as conversion kits are dirt cheap (Doesn't really need to be HQ stuff to just sit indoors...) I figured that they would be ideal to use as a light source in some home brew photo lights. The heat output is a bit lower than a halogen bulb, and the light can be matched the color of a flash. (Yeah, and it looks cool ) Anyway, does anyone know the aprox. color temperature of a standard flash unit? These kits come in many temps. ranging from about 4K to over 12K. And is there anything I haven't thought about that indicates that this may be a bad idea?
First off, you'll need a 12V power supply/battery for your lights, that's one downside that comes to mind (could also be a good thing if you're looking for a portable system independent of household electricity). Also you can't touch the bulb by hand at any point and all in all they are very sensitive when not in an enclosure. Remember also that the current between the bulb and the ballast is quite high, so be very careful with your wiring when connecting them. Otherwise it sounds something that could work, though I don't know if you can adjust them in any way. Usually a flash has color temperature of 5500K. Hope this helps. Darkened
Just to clarify, are you talking about hot (continuous) lights? or did I miss a xenon flash? Halogen is a hot light, from what I have used. Which is a very different sort of light source then a flash, be it a pack and head, flashgun, or a monoblock.
The electrical part shouldn't be a problem. I have plenty of power supplies to run it (ATX would do just fine ) I was planning on making some reflectors and diffuser for them, making the light pretty soft. I guess the only adjustment would be to move them back anf forth in the room JJ: I was thinking of using them as hot lights. I COULD use them as normal flashes, but then i would probably be better of just buying some proper ones. The idea was to use a couple of these xenon bulbs as constant illumination. The reason for asking about the color temperature was to best match the color of a flash, so that if these was ever going to be used together with a flash, the color would match (Making PP a whole lot easier). ...if that makes sense...?
How much light comes off of a xenon bulb? I would think that a flash would overpower a hot light such as that. If you did combine the two, wouldn't it be easier to put a gel on the flash to bring the color temps in line? -monkey
I'm looking at some 35W bulbs. (about 2500-3000lm) Putting gel on the flash wouldn't be easier if I could match the color by buying the correct type of bulbs in the first place.
If the xenon bulbs truly only offer 2,500-3,000 lumens of light, then they will most likely be out-powered by any flash you add to the scene. I might be way off, and I hope someone corrects me if this is the case. I wasn't totally sure myself, so I did some poking around for more information. I came across an interesting article over at photo.net. The bit that might apply here: Don't let this stop you, though. The only question I raise is whether or not you'll be able to mix a decent flash with a DIY hot light setup without the flash killing all the steady light. You would have to reduce the power on the flash significantly, or diffuse it enough so as not to overpower your hot lights. -monkey
The thing with hot lights is that you can just open up the shutter speed and let it burn in without affecting what was lit by the strobe. Almost useless unless you're on a tripod (or all you need is 1/60s or so) but it's definitely an option.
I actually thought about it myself and tried it out myself a few months ago... being a cheapo as i am(if youve seen my case mod thread, then you know), i hoped to add a few free high power lights to my arsenal... well, it was worth a try but not really worth the effort... xenon doesnt really give as much light as you'd imagine. The thing that really matters isnt the intensity, power or color of the light, its the diffusion... bulb actually emits light sideways.... and then youve got the reflector that actually redirects it in the right direction and then the magnifying glass that corrects it even more.... needless to say, the light is far from perfect with lots of dark spots all around.... you'll see on the picture. bulb & converter: with the reflector: power source: next to quick improvised softbox (notice the light on the paper... you can see the dark areas and stuff) the result... with 2 extra 250w construction lights on the other side and manual white balance: id say it would be smarter to invest in 2 of these babys: ....unfortunately didnt get a shot of the casing around it but its frikin bright!
I see. That was a bit of a letdown... I guess it looks cool, but other than that it's impractical and expensive for what it is. Ohwell. But thanks a lot for the input!
Blah, talk about uneven. For under $10 or so, you should be able to pick up a "cool white" compact fluorescent bulb and a cheap clamp-on light socket (can't think of a better name, sorry). If you can get them in reasonably close to the subject, they tend to kick out a usable amount of light. The cool white bulbs are fairly close to daylight in color temp, though daylight bulbs are available but I find them to be a tad warm. Standard 'soft white' ones balance pretty close to tungsten. Can't expect great accuracy for the price, but if you just stick something grey in before you shoot, in RAW, and then eyedropper the WB after the fact, you'll be OK. Far from ideal, but it's what I started with and it's extremely usable for the price.
Yeah. I was playing with the idea of getting some of those spiral-shaped fluorescent bulbs. The only shop that had them doesn't sell them anymore, though. I guess a standard U-shaped 23W FL bulb should be OK, right? It cost almost nothing to try out, so I'll give it a shot next time I'm out shopping. I will get a proper flash sooner or later, but I'm low on money ATM so it'll have to wait. I just need some good light for shooting stuff indoors for the winter. (I doubt I'll get out as much as in the summer.)
http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html may be helpful to you - it applies just as much with continuous lighting as with strobes of any sort. Not that you're necessarily doing only macro, but the idea applied on any scale helps soften the light source and will generally give more attractive results.
Smilo: If you're just looking for the basic "studio" lighting and want some cheap but fair compact fluorescent bulbs then why not use ebay? E.g.: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=photo+bulb&_sacat=See-All-Categories Here in DK we don't pay import tax thing (told & moms) on non-EU goods if the value of the item is below 85kr. I don't know if it's the same in Norway. If you order from the UK or anywhere else within EU there's supposed to be only taxes of the country you buy from and none of your own... That is in case Norway is part of that commerce deal since you're not in the EU... I think the point of these being twisted like they are is to give you an even light distribution. The U-shaped will probably make it hard for you to achieve even lighting. P.S. And yeah I know I'm pushing ebay a bit recently.. sorry ;-) I just love it and use it a lot myself.
The spirals are to add enough surface area - the more volume for luminescent gases in the bulb, the more light you get. I can only assume that there's a maximum effective tube diameter, but you'll notice that larger wattage bulbs have more spirals
I did find some construction lights at "Biltema". They have two straight FL bulbs mounted sideways inside the housing. That should in theory give a pretty even light. A tad bit expensive for what is is, though. Firehed: Seen that one before. Good article. I even built a makeshift softbox a while ago after reading that: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?p=1733465&postcount=15 Not pretty, but it worked. I'll make a more permanent solution soon, though. Ole: Yeah, i know ebay have about everything. I just hate that kind of shops.
Ha ha yeah I know what you mean. It's why I both hate and love ebay. But with time I have to say I've come to like the thing. Only thing where I burnt my fingers was buying a fake memory stick pro duo that would only store 1/4 and kept erasing itself. Seeing as shipping was 2/3 of the cost and returning it would cost me as much as I paid (shipping to China). Since then I've bought lots of other useful and rare things though. It's amazing how I can have something shipped across the globe or just from England and it costs me half of what I'd have to pay in stores. I feel as long as we're talking small amounts then it's a great place to shop.
It's actually the payment that stops me. I just haven't bothered to get a credit card or a PayPal account (Sounds like more hassle than it's worth, TBH).
I just use my Visa via Paypal...? Can't say I see the hassle in that. Don't you have a Visa? I tend to think everyone in Europe over the age of 18 has a Visa
