Is there any way to fix an umbrella to this

03/17/2007 01:21:58 PM · #1

I have a set of very-hot flood/worklights
like these

Is there anything I can do to make them work better for me ? An umbrella, softbox, something ??

Prof_Fate

03/17/2007 01:27:41 PM · #2

Get a cheap white sheet and you can bounce the light off or even shine it through the sheet - just keep the light far enough back you don't set the sheet on fire.

03/17/2007 01:29:59 PM · #3

Cheap, white, sheet. Okay - that I can do.

Would it be worth it to drop $150 on this instead ?

Telehubbie

Canon EOS-40D

03/17/2007 01:30:15 PM · #4

Ya, don't attach anything to those lights unless you want an indoor barbque.

03/17/2007 01:30:48 PM · #5

Originally posted by Telehubbie:

Ya, don't attach anything to those lights unless you want an indoor barbque.

They are VERY hot. It gets almost uncomfortable to work near them.

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

03/17/2007 01:33:28 PM · #6

try save some money for a studio-flash-kit.

Working with lights like these is horrible. believe me, I did it too, and I'm happy I got studio-flashes now. Much easier to handle and control.

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

03/17/2007 01:37:51 PM · #7

I did this once, with gaffer tape, worked fine (if the stick on the umprella is long enough), but now I have lots of adhesive on the lamps grip (from the chrome stick i got it off)

03/17/2007 01:42:20 PM · #8

Originally posted by biteme:

try save some money for a studio-flash-kit.

Working with lights like these is horrible. believe me, I did it too, and I'm happy I got studio-flashes now. Much easier to handle and control.

Would something like THIS kit be good for shooting in a fairly small location ?

03/17/2007 01:44:18 PM · #9

Originally posted by kashi:

Originally posted by biteme:
try save some money for a studio-flash-kit.

Working with lights like these is horrible. believe me, I did it too, and I'm happy I got studio-flashes now. Much easier to handle and control.

Would something like THIS kit be good for shooting in a fairly small location ?

* 2x 8"Reflector Kits
* 2x 7'Light Stands
* 2x 42" White Umbrellas
* Cat no. CPLK1

hmm. not enough information.

For a small room I'd choose for a 150 w/s set. But I can't see how strong this set is.

03/17/2007 01:49:30 PM · #10

Originally posted by biteme:

For a small room I'd choose for a 150 w/s set. But I can't see how strong this set is.

W/S ?

03/17/2007 01:51:00 PM · #11

Originally posted by kashi:

Originally posted by biteme:
For a small room I'd choose for a 150 w/s set. But I can't see how strong this set is.

W/S ?

uhm , yeah, the strength of the strobe. watts / second I believe it is.

03/17/2007 01:59:00 PM · #12

Originally posted by biteme:

uhm , yeah, the strength of the strobe. watts / second I believe it is.

Okay.

The kit I linked to is a continuous lighting kit.
Strobes are flashes, right ?

Prof_Fate

03/17/2007 02:11:35 PM · #13

Yes, strobes are flashes. A xenon bulb or something similar - thousands of volts let loose all at once, then then it takes 1-3 seconds to recharge the capacitor to do it again.

Paterson Interfit Stellar lights are nice and not expensive - B&H, adorama and other sell them. About 1/3 less money than Alien Bee units for the same power and features.

The hidden cost is you need a light meter that can measure flash - $90 for something basic and analog in nature to $250 for a Sekonic L358 (most popular choice) to over $500 or more for the newest PC-programable Sekonic unit. You can't adjust what you can't measure, so you need the meter if you're using more than 1 light, and that's just about all the time.

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D

03/17/2007 02:46:20 PM · #14

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

The hidden cost is you need a light meter that can measure flash - $90 for something basic and analog in nature to $250 for a Sekonic L358 (most popular choice) to over $500 or more for the newest PC-programable Sekonic unit. You can't adjust what you can't measure, so you need the meter if you're using more than 1 light, and that's just about all the time.

I never use a light meter, no problems ever. I have to work with it at school, but I hate these things ;)

Louis

Nikon D800

03/17/2007 02:54:53 PM · #15

I'd stay away from Henrys' Opus flash kits, especially when they are discounted. My first light setup was from Henrys in Oakville. It was about $550 (Canadian) for a 2x100w flash kit, including a softbox, umbrella, stands, and a gel kit. Sounds like a good deal, but it was obviously used. No good.

I was kinda pissed but kept the lights (my pics in the SPII challenge in September were taken with them). I quickly outgrew those Opus lights and went for AlienBees instead. I love my bees, they're great. And you will probably need some kind of metre, though you might get away without one (some notes on what's possible with a metre aside from just figuring out exposure are in the notes for this picture).

Elvis_L

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

03/17/2007 03:51:12 PM · #16

A light meter is something you can get down the road. we don't have one but my wife

jaded_youth does pretty well without it. I will say however that good lights make a big difference. You don't have to have the most expensive but don't go too cheap. You may just have to spend more to replace them later. We have alien bees as well and love them. I can't attest to any other brand though. you can get a AB 400 for about $225. WE have AB 800s and could easily do almost every shot we have ever done with a 400. So for around $260 or so you could get a nice strobe with an umbrella and know it will last you a good long while. The best part is that it won't get hot at all and you can adjust how powerful it is.

Message edited by author 2007-03-17 15:51:38.

MikeJ

Canon EOS-1D Mark II

03/17/2007 06:09:37 PM · #17

With the work lights like that, a light panel works well. You can keep the panel far enough away that it won't catch fire (usually) and a large light panel creates some really good light... even better than a umbrella and most softboxes. You can make a 6' high by 4' wide one from PVC and nylon for about $35. Here are a couple of links to one I made a while back:

//www.sitnprettyphoto.com/display/panel5a.jpg
//www.sitnprettyphoto.com/display/frontside.jpg

and some info:
//www.sitnprettyphoto.com/display/panelinfo.txt

Although rather than halogen work lights like you showed, a couple of photoflood lamps will also work and are about the same as your double work lamp.

You can use your camera meter for continuous lights like this. But if you get flash or studio lights, it makes it a lot easier if you have a flash meter. If you know how to use your histogram, you can use that to set your exposure. It's a little more time consuming, but after you have your lights set up and your exposure right, you will need to do very little tweaking of exposure unless you move your lights or change the entensity of them.

Mike

Sony FE 3.5-5.6/28-70 mm OSS

03/17/2007 06:41:57 PM · #18

Originally posted by MikeJ:

Oh - this I like.

JunieMoon

Sony Alpha a7 II

03/17/2007 06:46:00 PM · #19

I bought a similar flash unit set as you have listed here. I can tell you that I have a problem with their strength. They are basically for fill, hairlights, or accent lights. I still need a main light to get enough light. There is also a problem with synchronization if you don't have a cable connected to your camera. Lucky for me I got around it by using my rear sync setting on my camera, which allows the units to flash first, with my flash delayed a millisecond after the flash units. If I use regular auto flash, for some reason the images come out too dark, as if the slaves aren't really affecting the image. I also have tried my wireless setting, which doesn't get as good a result either. Anyway, depending on what you plan on using them for, realize they do not replace the main light for your studio. They are not strong enough. If you buy this kit, be sure to invest in at least one photoflood for your main light source.

cbonsall

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM for Canon

03/17/2007 06:54:35 PM · #20

take a look at www.strobist.com, excellent advice on affordable lighting using off camera strobes such as speedlights

03/17/2007 09:04:14 PM · #21

Having fun playing tonight. I hit Henry's today and picked up a cheap light thing (sorry - not sure the technical name, a slave ? strobe ?).
THIS from way up.

Anyhow.

Here's a shot, straight from camera (well, resized and saved for web, but NO editing, NO sharpening, NO colour correction, etc)

Bounced my on-camera flash (SB400) off ceiling.
Used the flash thing as a shoot-through, to camera left.

C&C please

Makka