Any electricians out there w/ lighting knowledge?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

09/25/2008 08:43:25 AM · #1

So here is my question.

I work in a high school (teaching photo) and am looking for cheaper lighting solutions. I have one of these spiderlights and its pretty nice, but I want to avoid the high cost.
I have a teacher that does metals and electricity and he was going to have his students fashion me another one of these.

My question is this... Does anyone know where I can get the right style sockets? I've found some on the Internet, but they say they are strictly incandescent. I don't know why there is a difference...(I use CF bulbs in my home lights--whats the diff?)

I'd like to try to have the other class wire this up (plus my boss loves when various divisions work together) and use it w/ an umbrella.

Any suggestions?

ralph

Nikon Z9

09/25/2008 08:53:26 AM · #2

the socket is the same incandescent/CF
i would worry about the operating freq of the CF bulbs / (60/50hz??)
you may get uneven output at high shutter speeds ...

Five_Seat

Canon EOS-6D

09/25/2008 08:53:33 AM · #3

Check out this thread... I haven't tried it, but it looks like something i might try in the future.

//www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=806904&highlight=spiderlite

-Steve

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

09/25/2008 09:06:52 AM · #4

Thanks for the link... that definitely helps...

Man_Called_Horse

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

09/25/2008 09:10:59 AM · #5

In the career that I call "my job", and wish I was calling my job something else that wasn't so brutal, we build lights all the time.

As a matter of fact, I just had my guys build 4 custom harps for 18" paper balloons, and just yesterday, I had a guy build 3/ hundred foot string lights for a night shot coming up down at San Pedro, CA to create some depth off of one of the slips.

It says strictly incandescent because it is rated for nothing higher than 15 or 20 amps.

Amps is what causes heat.

Heat is an enemy of electrical stuff for obvious reasons.

Just look into the amperage of the item in question. Ceramic sockets are the best for heat and are rated accordingly, plastic sockets are the least desirable since they don't hold up as well to heat.

There are many different types, and brand names out there.

Remember to GROUND your homemade light if you can. If you can not, do not let students touch two homemade lamps at the same time.

Hope this helps.

Message edited by author 2008-09-25 09:12:18.

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/25/2008 09:12:33 AM · #6

From my understanding, CF bulbs have a high startup demand for power, and then lower usage once on, compared to incandescent. Thus, I could see it not working quite right. The bulbs may take awhile to reach full brightness, or may never fully light.

I replaced my canister lights in my kitchen with CFs (a bank of about 8 bulbs) and they take a good 3-4 minutes to fully light up. However, I replaced the 12 bulbs in my dinning room chandileir and that works fine. Thus, the type of socket could be the difference?

I also know the switch could cause problems as some switches that work for incandescent won't work for CF.

09/25/2008 09:18:40 AM · #7

Originally posted by LoudDog:

actually found the answer to that one here. it has more to do w/ the actual way the bulb works.